Florovsky, Georges V. (1893–1979)

PASCHALIS GKORTSILAS

Georges V. Florovsky has been called “the most profound Orthodox theologian of the twentieth century” (Blane 1993: 9). Florovsky was a historian of Russian thought and a scholar of patristics as well as an ecumenist. His overall thought has not been as systematically studied as the other Russian religious thinkers of the 20th century, such as Berdiaev, Bulgakov, or Florensky.

The son of a Russian clerical family, Florovsky studied history and philosophy at the University of Odessa. His first academic appointment was at his alma mater, but the 1917 Revolution compelled Florovsky and his family to abandon the country. After an initial move to Sofia, Florovsky eventually settled in Prague, where he taught at the Russian Law Faculty for four years. His first theological appoint­ment was as Professor of Patristics at the newly founded St. Sergius Institute of Orthodox Theology in Paris. Patristics was to be Florovsky’s true academic vocation and a major force in the shaping of his theological thought. Florovsky taught at St. Sergius until the outbreak of World War II and most of his books, such as his two volumes on the church fathers (four volumes in the English translation) and the Ways of Russian Theology, along with some of his most important essays, come from this period. During the mid-1930s

Florovsky also became increasingly involved with the ecumenical movement, especially through the Anglican-Orthodox Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius. A lifelong member of Faith and Order, Florovsky was a founding member of the World Council of Churches since its First Assembly in Amster­dam in 1948. He was a pivotal figure in the involvement of the Orthodox Church in the ecumenical movement.

Florovsky’s next academic appointment was as Professor of Dogmatic Theology and Patristics at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York. In 1949 Florovsky was appointed as Dean of St. Vladimir’s while simultaneously teach­ing courses at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary as adjunct professor. In 1956 Florovsky was appointed Professor of Eastern Church History at Harvard University, a post he held until 1964. From 1964 to 1972 he was Visiting Professor in the Departments of Slavic Studies and Religion at Princeton Univer­sity. His academic career was concluded at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he held the post of Visiting Lecturer in Church History until his death.

Florovsky’s contributions to Orthodox theology are a reflection of his character as a scholar that overcame the temptation of over-specialization. Thus, his first and primary achievement was his call for a neo-patristic synthesis, meaning “a deeper search of the existential meaning of patristic theology and a synthesis that requires rare creative abilities and a synthetic charisma” (Zizioulas 1997: 15). The key for all Christian theology, according to Florovsky, is the person of Christ, and his insistence on that matter is probably an outcome of his opposition to the Sophiology of Florensky and Bulgakov.

SEE ALSO: Bulgakov, Sergius (Sergei) (1871–1944); Contemporary Orthodox Theology; Ecumenism, Orthodoxy and; Florensky, Pavel Alexandrovich (1882–1937); Sophiology

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Blane, A. (ed.) (1993) Georges Florovsky: Russian Intellectual and Orthodox Churchman. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. Florovsky, G. (1972–9) The Collected Works, vols. 1–5 of 14 vols. Belmont, MA: Nordland.

Florovsky, G. (1987–9) The Collected Works, vols.

6–14. Vaduz, Liech: Buchervertriebsanstalt. Gudziak, B. (2000–1) “Towards an Analysis of the Neo-Patristic Synthesis of Georges Florovsky,” Logos 41–2: 197–238.

Klimoff, A. (2005) “Georges Florovsky and the Sophiological Controversy,” St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 49: 67–100.

Kunkel, C. (1991) Totus Christus: die Theologie Georges V Florovskys. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht.

Nichols, A. (1999) “George Florovsky and the Idea of Tradition,” in Light from the East: Authors and Themes in Orthodox Theology. London: Sheed and Ward, pp. 129–224.

Shaw, L. (1990) An Introduction to the Study of Georges Florovsky. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.

Zizioulas, J. (1997) “Fr. Georges Florovsky: The Ecumenical Teacher (in Greek),” Synaxi 64: 13–26.