Maternal image of divine wisdom in the bible and Christian tradition

The earliest female image of Divine Wisdom appears in the Bible. In early Christian theology, the biblical image of Divine Wisdom was interpreted christologically. Some early Christian authors used the Platonic myth of the androgyne in order to underline completeness of the human nature of Christ. This article considers the most important examples of this idea in Patristic theology, medieval mystical writings, and in Renaissance philosophy. Several theologians and mystics endow Christ with motherly characteristics. The author proposes that it was possible because of the Christological interpretation of the female image of Wisdom. The endurance of this tradition can be traced in Russian sophiology in the East and in some contemporary theological currents in the West. The author thereby discerns a particular direction in biblical theology and Christian thought connected to the tradition of Divine Wisdom from the Old Testament era to the 20th century. A special characteristic of this current in Christian thought is its orientation towards mystical experience.