GEORGES

THE
GEORGES FLOROVSKY
THE PATRISTIC
Georges Florovsky (1893–1979)
(1893-1979) was was one
one of
of the
the most
most important
prominent
Orthodox
Orthodoxtheologians
theologians
of the
and ecumenists
twentieth century.
of the
His twentieth
call for a return
century.
to patristic

PATRISTICWITNESS
His call for
writings as a source
return to
of modern
patristic theological
writings as
a source ofhad
reflection modern
a powerful
theological
impactreflection
not only on
had a powerful
Orthodox theology
impactin the
not second
only on half of the
Orthodoxcentury,
twentieth theologybutin on
theChristian
second halftheology
of in
the twentieth
general. Florovsky
century,
was but
alsoona major
Christian
Orthodox
theology
voice in the
in general.
ecumenical
Florovsky
movementwas also
for four
a
major Orthodox
decades and he isvoice
one ofin the
the founders
ecumenicalof the

FLOROVSKY
movement
World Council
for four
of Churches.
decades and he is one

WITNESSOF
of the founders of the World Council of
Churches.
This book is a collection of major theological writings by Georges Florovsky.
It includes representative and widely influential but now largely inaccessible texts,
This book is a collection of major theological writings by Georges Florovsky.
many newly translated for this book, divided into four thematic sections: Creation,
It includes representative and widely influential but now largely inaccessible
Incarnation and Redemption; The Nature of Theology; Ecclesiology and Ecumenism;
texts, some newly translated, grouped in four thematic sections: Creation and
and Scripture, Worship and Eschatology.
Incarnation; The Nature of Theology; Ecclesiology and Ecumenism; and The
Kingdom of God.
A foreword by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware presents the theological vision of

OF
Georges
A foreword Florovsky and discusses
by Metropolitan the continuing
Kallistos Ware presentsrelevance of his work
the theological bothoffor
vision
Orthodox theologyand
Georges Florovsky anddiscusses
for modern
thetheology
continuingin relevance
general. Theof Introduction
his work bothby the
Editors provides a theological and historical overview of Florovsky’s
for Orthodox theology and for modern theology in general. The Introduction theology in the
context
by Brandonof his biography.
Gallaher The book
provides includes
a broad explanatory
theological notes, translation
and historical overview ofof patristic
citations and an index.
Florovsky’s work. The book includes explanatory notes, translation of patristic
citations and an index of proper names.

& PAUL
BRANDON
EDITED
THE PATRISTIC
THE PATRISTICWITNESS
WITNESSOF
OF
Brandon Gallaher is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University

& PAUL
BRANDON
EDITED
Brandon
of Oxford. Gallaher is Senior Lecturer of Systematic and Comparative Theology
LADOUCEUR

BY BY
at the University of Exeter, UK.
Paul Ladouceur is Adjunct Professor in Orthodox Theology, Université de
GALLAHER
GEORGES
GEORGES FLOROVSKY
FLOROVSKY
LADOUCEUR
Paul Ladouceur
Sherbrooke is Adjunct
(Quebec), Professor
and Trinity College,atUniversity
the Orthodox SchoolCanada.
of Toronto, of Theology at
Trinity College (University of Toronto) and Professeur associé, Université Laval
GALLAHER

(Québec), Canada.
Essential Theological Writings
EDITED BY
THEOLOGY
BRANDON GALLAHER
Cover image: Exodus (detail) by Marc Chagall 1966, Musée
national d’art moderne, Paris, dation 1988, en dépôt au
Musée national Marc Chagall, Nice. Chagall ® / © ADAGP,
& PAUL LADOUCEUR
Paris and DACS, London 2014. The Gallery Collection/Corbis.
Cover design by Amber Schley Iragui

ISBN 978-0-567-32151-0 EDITED BY

9 0 1 0 0
Also available
from T&T Clark
BRANDON GALLAHER
www.bloomsbury.com 9 780567 321510 & PAUL LADOUCEUR
iii

The Patristic Witness

of Georges Florovsky
Essential Theological Writings

Edited by
Brandon Gallaher and Paul Ladouceur

Preface by
Metropolitan Kallistos Ware

Introduction by
Brandon Gallaher and Paul Ladouceur

Translations by
Olena Gorbatenko, David Heith-Stade, Alexis Klimoff,
Alexey Kostyanovsky, Paul Ladouceur, Christopher Sprecher,
Alexis Torrance and Gregory Tucker

9780567540188_pi-352.indd iii 26-Jun-19 3:25:56 PM

ix

Contents

Preface xi
Editorial Introduction xv

Introduction 1

Part 1 Creation, Incarnation and Redemption 31

1 Creation and Createdness 33

2 Preface to In Ligno Crucis 65
3 In Ligno Crucis: The Church Fathers’ Doctrine of Redemption 71
4 The Lamb of God 81
5 The Ever-Virgin Mother of God 95
6 The Stumbling-Block 107

Part 2 The Nature of Theology 113

7 Revelation, Philosophy and Theology 115

8 Western Influences in Russian Theology 129
9 Patristics and Modern Theology 153
10 Breaks and Links 159
11 The Legacy and the Task of Orthodox Theology 185
12 The Predicament of the Christian Historian 193
13 Saint Gregory Palamas and the Tradition of the Fathers 221
14 The Christian Hellenism 233
15 ‘On the Authority of the Fathers’ 237
16 ‘Theological Will’ 241

Part 3 Ecclesiology and Ecumenism 245

17 The Limits of the Church 247

18 Sobornost: The Catholicity of the Church 257
19 The Body of the Living Christ 273
20 Confessional Loyalty in the Ecumenical Movement 279

9780567540188_pi-352.indd ix 26-Jun-19 3:25:56 PM

x

x Contents

21 The Ethos of the Orthodox Church 289

22 The Ecumenical Dialogue 303

Part 4 Scripture, Worship and Eschatology 309

23 Eschatology in the Patristic Age 311

24 Starets Silouan 325
25 Scripture and Tradition 329
26 The Worshipping Church 335

Epilogue: ‘Let Us Choose Life’ 347

Index 353

9780567540188_pi-352.indd x 26-Jun-19 3:25:56 PM

i

Endorsements for
The Patristic Witness of Georges Florovsky:
Essential Theological Writings

The life and thought of Fr Georges Florovsky remain as significant and relevant today
as ever: for his creative synthesis of the patristic tradition but also for the unparalleled
intuition of his theological vision. This introduction to and selection of his authoritative
and formative writings provides a timeless insight into the breadth and depth of Fr
Florovsky’s theology, ecclesiology and eschatology. It is highly recommended to all
those interested in Orthodox theology.
John Zizioulas
Metropolitan of Pergamon

For a long time, students of modern Eastern Christian theology have lacked a reliable
and representative English-language selection from the prolific works of perhaps the
most influential Orthodox thinker of the twentieth century. This collection of significant
texts by Georges Florovsky is a wonderfully welcome addition to the available studies
of his life and work, and the editors have done a superb job of framing and interpreting
his writings for a wider readership. This is a real scholarly achievement and a great
contribution to theological renewal across all the churches.
Rowan Williams
University of Cambridge

Georges Florovsky was one of the most seminal Orthodox theologians of the twentieth
century. His important shorter writings have long been difficult to obtain. Now this
welcome volume brings many of them together into one place, showing that he
still has much to contribute to theology and ecumenism in the years ahead. Highly
recommended.
George Hunsinger
Princeton Theological Seminary

This book succeeds triumphantly in giving the reader access to one of the greatest
minds of the Russian religious renaissance.
Aidan Nichols, OP
Blackfriars, Cambridge

9780567540188_pi-352.indd i 26-Jun-19 3:25:55 PM

 GEORGES
THE
GEORGES FLOROVSKY
THE PATRISTIC
Georges Florovsky (1893–1979)
(1893-1979) was was one
one of
of the
the most
most important
prominent
Orthodox
Orthodoxtheologians
theologians
of the
and ecumenists
twentieth century.
of the
His twentieth
call for a return
century.
to patristic

PATRISTICWITNESS
His call for
writings as a source
return to
of modern
patristic theological
writings as
a source ofhad
reflection modern
a powerful
theological
impactreflection
not only on
had a powerful
Orthodox theology
impactin the
not second
only on half of the
Orthodoxcentury,
twentieth theologybutin on
theChristian
second halftheology
of in
the twentieth
general. Florovsky
century,
was but
alsoona major
Christian
Orthodox
theology
voice in the
in general.
ecumenical
Florovsky
movementwas also
for four
a
major Orthodox
decades and he isvoice
one ofin the
the founders
ecumenicalof the

FLOROVSKY
movement
World Council
for four
of Churches.
decades and he is one

WITNESSOF
of the founders of the World Council of
Churches.
This book is a collection of major theological writings by Georges Florovsky.
It includes representative and widely influential but now largely inaccessible texts,
This book is a collection of major theological writings by Georges Florovsky.
many newly translated for this book, divided into four thematic sections: Creation,
It includes representative and widely influential but now largely inaccessible
Incarnation and Redemption; The Nature of Theology; Ecclesiology and Ecumenism;
texts, some newly translated, grouped in four thematic sections: Creation and
and Scripture, Worship and Eschatology.
Incarnation; The Nature of Theology; Ecclesiology and Ecumenism; and The
Kingdom of God.
A foreword by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware presents the theological vision of

OF
Georges
A foreword Florovsky and discusses
by Metropolitan the continuing
Kallistos Ware presentsrelevance of his work
the theological bothoffor
vision
Orthodox theologyand
Georges Florovsky anddiscusses
for modern
thetheology
continuingin relevance
general. Theof Introduction
his work bothby the
Editors provides a theological and historical overview of Florovsky’s
for Orthodox theology and for modern theology in general. The Introduction theology in the
context
by Brandonof his biography.
Gallaher The book
provides includes
a broad explanatory
theological notes, translation
and historical overview ofof patristic
citations and an index.
Florovsky’s work. The book includes explanatory notes, translation of patristic
citations and an index of proper names.

& PAUL
BRANDON
EDITED
THE PATRISTIC
THE PATRISTICWITNESS
WITNESSOF
OF
Brandon Gallaher is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University

& PAUL
BRANDON
EDITED
Brandon
of Oxford. Gallaher is Senior Lecturer of Systematic and Comparative Theology
LADOUCEUR

BY BY
at the University of Exeter, UK.
Paul Ladouceur is Adjunct Professor in Orthodox Theology, Université de
GALLAHER
GEORGES
GEORGES FLOROVSKY
FLOROVSKY
LADOUCEUR
Paul Ladouceur
Sherbrooke is Adjunct
(Quebec), Professor
and Trinity College,atUniversity
the Orthodox SchoolCanada.
of Toronto, of Theology at
Trinity College (University of Toronto) and Professeur associé, Université Laval
GALLAHER

(Québec), Canada.
Essential Theological Writings
EDITED BY
THEOLOGY
BRANDON GALLAHER
Cover image: Exodus (detail) by Marc Chagall 1966, Musée
national d’art moderne, Paris, dation 1988, en dépôt au
Musée national Marc Chagall, Nice. Chagall ® / © ADAGP,
& PAUL LADOUCEUR
Paris and DACS, London 2014. The Gallery Collection/Corbis.
Cover design by Amber Schley Iragui

ISBN 978-0-567-32151-0 EDITED BY

9 0 1 0 0
Also available
from T&T Clark
BRANDON GALLAHER
www.bloomsbury.com 9 780567 321510 & PAUL LADOUCEUR