The relation of the concepts of “sophia” and “kenosis” in the theological thought of archpriest Sergius Bulgakov

The article illustrates the relation between the two most important concepts of the theological-philosophical system of Archpriest Sergius Bulgakov: “Sophia” and “kenosis.” The historical-analytical excursion of the development of the idea of “Sophia” with the emergence of the theme of Divine kenosis in later works shows the inner interdependence of these large-scale teachings in the work of Fr. S. Bulgakov in such a way that the idea of “kenosis”, applied first of all to the life of the Holy Trinity in the act of God’s creation of the world, means some infinite Divine “effort” connected with the “necessity of love”, as a result of which the Divine Sophia is transferred into a state of becoming, into the modus of created being. The Divine world is, as it were, duplicated, “reflected,” while maintaining sophianic continuity. As a result, the kenotic theme, as a kind of “explanation” of the creation of the world by God, takes on at least two functions: on the one hand, ensuring the relation of Divine being and the created world, on the other, some weakening of the obviously pantheistic deviation of the whole system of Fr. Sergius.