Russian Sophiology

William Ryan wfr at SAS.AC.UK
Fri Jul 26 10:38:43 UTC 2013


Daniel,
For a quick couple of images: if you search on Yandex for премудрость 
созда себе дом, and click on the "kartinki" link you will get some 3000 
Sofiia images and on the first two pages you will find one ceiling 
painting and one proris', both with crucifixion images. I didn't have 
time to go further, but there must be more around somewhere.
Regards
Will

On 25/07/2013 20:55, Daniel Rancour-Laferriere wrote:
>
> My thanks to all of you who have responded to my question both on- and 
> off-list.  The responses have led me to some interesting texts and 
> images.  One image I have not been able to SEE is the "Sofiia 
> Iaroslavskaia" kindly suggested by Will Ryan, and which is a token of 
> the "Sofia krestnaia" type which the late Don Fiene wrote about in 
> 1989.  Perhaps it is to be found in the exhibition catalogue mentioned 
> by David Borgmeyer (which I have ordered on ILL).  If anyone could 
> locate an online image, I would be grateful to know about it.
>
> With regards to the list,
>
> Daniel R-L.
>
>
> On Jul 23, 2013, at 1:13 PM, David Borgmeyer wrote:
>
> My understanding is that Will Ryan�s Iaroslavl version is one variant 
> of the icon type �Sofiia krestnaia.�  These were more common in 
> northern Russia and explicitly connect the references to personified 
> feminine Wisdom in Proverbs, etc. to Jesus Christ crucified, as in 
> Paul.  This type seems to parallel the references Daniel 
> Rancour-Laferriere had mentioned in other/western sources.
>
> One can quickly find a small reproduction and brief introduction to 
> the type in Donald Fiene�s �What is the Appearance of the Divine 
> Sophia?� in Slavic Review 48:3 (Autumn 1989), 449-476.   The 
> Tretiakov�s exhibition catalog Sofiia Premudrost� Bozhiia (Radunitsa, 
> 2000) also offers numerous examples of the iconographic intersections 
> of Christ and Wisdom.
>
> Best,
> DB
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 17:51:58 +0100
> From: wfr at SAS.AC.UK <mailto:wfr at SAS.AC.UK>
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Russian Sophiology
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU <mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU>
>
> There are a few Russian fresco and icon representations of the theme 
> "Pemudrost' sozda sebe dom" in which the central figure is Christ 
> crucified.
> See in 
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>
> Will Ryan
> On 21/07/2013 07:25, Daniel Rancour-Laferriere wrote:
>
>     Dear Slavists,
>
>     I have the impression that, when Sofiia (Premudrost') is a person or a personification in the Russian cultural context, she is either an independent entity or tends to merge with Bogoroditsa.  I cannot seem to find passages in Bulgakov, Soloviev, or Florenskii where she is "Christ crucified," that is, wisdom (Wisdom) in the Pauline sense (see especially 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, 30).  Perhaps I have not searched thoroughly enough, and I would be grateful for any assistance.  In the Russian translation I see that Paul utilizes "premudrost'," not "sofiia."  The same goes for earlier Jewish wisdom writing in Russian, e.g., chapter 24 of Sirach.  In Septuagint and NT Greek I see "sofia," and in Vulgate Latin "sapientia."
>
>     I ask the question because there are examples from outside of Russia where the crucified Christ is Wisdom, and is referred to with some feminine construction (e.g., "Dame Sapience" in an illustrated Old French translation of Suso).
>
>     Thank you, and with regards to the list -
>
>     Daniel Rancour-Laferriere
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