Russian Sophiology

Fri Jul 26 23:12:00 UTC 2013

Will,

Thanks very much for the smart suggestion.  The sheer quantity of images there is astonishing.  After scrolling down through many hundreds of them, it became clear that the "krestnaia" type of Sofia is a pretty tiny minority.  I also noticed another thing: that central pillar of the seven pillars, which is the vertical beam of the cross in the "krestnaia" type, is usually perched atop (or emerges up from under) an ALTAR.  So, Christ's sacrifice at Golgotha is being repeated in the eucharistic liturgy (as was asserted at the council of Trent, and was taken for granted as early as Lateran IV in 1215).  In one variant, blood is spurting from the lance wound in the crucified Christ's right side (John 19:34) and out into a chalice on the altar.  Could this be Russian iconography's answer to the so-called Gregory Mass of the medieval West?

With regards to the list,

Daniel R-L

On Jul 26, 2013, at 3:38 AM, William Ryan wrote:

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
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Russian Sophiology
> To: 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 particular http://www.projects.uniyar.ac.ru/frescoes/rus/a3-0.htm: "����������� ����� ���� ���" ("����� �����������")- ������������ ����������� ����� ��������� ��������, ������������� � ������ ������ �������� � ��������, ��������� �������� � ��. � ������ ������ - ����� �� ����� ������� �����������: "����������� ����� ���� ��� � ������� ������� ����" � �� ������������ ����������. � ������ ���������� - � ������� ��������� �� ���������� - ��������. ����� - �������� ����� ������, �������� ������� - ����������� �����������. ��������� ����� ������� ������������� ������ � ��� ��������� ��������, ��������� ������, ���� ������� ����. ���� ����� � ���������- ����������, ������� ��������� ���������� �������� ������ �����������, � ���-����, ��������� ���� ����������� �� �����. ���� ������� ������������ ����� ��� ����������� �� �������-����������� ������, � �� �� ����� ��� ����� ��� ������� ������������ ������� ����� XVII ����.
> 
> 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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