(electronic version of the book - Florensky P.A. - Collected Works. Philosophy of the Cult (Philosophical Heritage) - 2004. Notes in square brackets correspond to the notes at the bottom of the page of the paper edition. Notes in curly brackets correspond to the notes of the paper version placed at the end of the book).

ru Tatyana Trushova If you found an error - write to e-mail saphyana@inbox.ru ExportToFB21, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6 21.10.2011 OOoFBTools-2011-10-21-15-40-33-1146 1.0 Philosophy of the cult THOUGHT MOSCOW 2004

Pavel Florensky Philosophy of Cult

(The Experience of Orthodox Anthropodicy)

Dedicated to the memory of my parents, Deacon Sergius Zosimovich Trubachev and Olga Pavlovna Trubacheva (Florenskaya)

THE HISTORY OF THE CREATION OF THE CYCLE "PHILOSOPHY OF CULT (THE EXPERIENCE OF ORTHODOX ANTHROPODICY)"

Priest Pavel Florensky repeatedly gave descriptions and definitions of anthropodicy (from the Greek άνθρωπος – man and δίκη – justice) ("justification of man").

1906: "Anthropodicy and Theodicy! These are the two moments that make up religion, because religion is based on the idea of salvation, the idea of the deification of the entire human being. The first of these moments is primarily a mystery, a mystery, i.e., the real descent of God to humanity, the self-humiliation of God or kenosis<... > self-abasement that justifies man in the face of God..."[1]

1912: "The supposed and partly sketched 2nd part of the Pillar, under a different name, the 2nd half of the μάφησις, i.e. anthropodicy, on mysteries and sacraments, on grace and the Incarnation of God in all forms and images"[2].

1914: Anthropodicy must answer the questions "how does this system of experiences and actions become salvific for me, since I am convinced of its salvific nature in general?"; In what real environment must I move, and in what connection with it must I enter into in order to assimilate salvation to myself? This is in terms of phenomenology"; "In what ways does man receive God's salvation into himself and is saved by his Saviour?" (This is in terms of ontology.) Anthropodicy describes how "when we examine ourselves, we find ourselves to be a 'lie' and impurity, we see our inconsistency with God's truth and, consequently, the need for purification." Anthropodicy is possible "only by the power of God," for "we live in God, but not ourselves," it is "the descent of grace into our bosom."

But "how is this possible? How can a "feeble human face" come into contact with "God's truth"? How does the divine energy not incinerate the insignificance of the creature? These and other similar questions require an ontological dissection. Translating into the coarse and poor language of earthly comparisons, let us say: how is it possible that the Holy Chalice does not melt like wax, and that our eyes do not become blind from the unbearable radiance of Him Who is in it? What would happen if a particle of the sun were lowered into the chalice? But there is That before Which the sun is darkness, and... The cup is unharmed.

Does it not seem at times that the priest is holding a thundercloud in his hand: one careless movement and a lightning strike will strike him? These are images. But no imagery can convey the power of the contrast between God and creation—a contrast that must necessarily be realized in order for the creature to be justified. Anthropodicy must clarify the ontology of this realized contrast between everything and nothing." "To a possible question about the content of anthropodicy, it may be necessary to answer: "The various types and degrees of the descent of God should constitute its main theme. In other words, it must speak of the categories of spiritual consciousness and of the revelation of God in the Holy Scriptures; about sacred rites and holy sacraments; about the Church and its nature; on ecclesiastical art and ecclesiastical science, etc., etc. And all this should be the frame of the central question of anthropodicy, the Christological one."