the kenotic theology of anthony bloom metropolitan of sourozh

444 Pages·2012·2.32 MB·English

by  Roman Rytsar

THE KENOTIC THEOLOGY
OF ANTHONY BLOOM
METROPOLITAN OF SOUROZH (1914-2003),
IN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Roman Rytsar

Thesis Submitted to the
Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the Ph.D. (Th) / D.Th. degree in
Eastern Christian Studies
Faculty of Theology
Saint Paul University

© Roman Rytsar, Ottawa, Canada, 2012
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

ABSTRACT ….. 5

ALA-LC TRANSLITERATION SCHEME FOR THE RUSSIAN SCRIPT ….. 9

INTRODUCTION ….. 10

Statement of the Problem ….. 10
Brief Historical Overview of Kenotic Theology ….. 13
Anthony Bloom’s Kenotic Theology ….. 18

State of the Question ….. 22
Previous Research ….. 24
International Conferences and Seminars on Anthony Bloom ….. 27

Research Hypothesis ….. 29

Methodology ….. 31

Structure of the Thesis ….. 37

I.1. KENOTIC THEOLOGY ….. 40

I.2. Brief History of Kenotic Theology
of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries ….. 41

I.3. Kenotic Theology in Russian Thought of the Nineteenth
and Twentieth Centuries ….. 49
I.3.1. Vladimir Soloviev (1853-1900) ….. 51
I.3.2. Mikhail Tareev (1866-1934) ….. 54
I.3.3. Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky (1863-1936) ….. 57
I.3.4. Fr. Sergius Bulgakov (1871-1944) ….. 67
I.3.5. Vladimir Lossky (1903-1958) ….. 83
I.3.6. Archimandrite Sophrony (Sergei Sakharov) (1896-1993) ….. 90

II.1. ANTHONY BLOOM’S KENOTIC THEOLOGY ….. 101
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II.1.1. God’s Kenosis in the Creation of the World ….. 102
II.1.2. God’s Kenosis in the Incarnation ….. 105
II.1.3. God’s Kenosis in the Baptism of Christ ….. 113
II.1.4. Temptations, Prayer to the Father and Miracles ….. 116
II.1.5. Transfiguration – the Greatness and the Tragedy of the Event ….. 119
II.1.6. The Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem – the Entrance to Holy Week ….. 122
II.1.7. God-forsakenness in the Kenotic Theology of Anthony Bloom ….. 127
II.1.8. The Descent into Hades ….. 135
II.1.9. Christ’s Resurrection ….. 140
II.1.10. Ascension ….. 145

II.2. Persons of the New Testament in the Context of God-forsakenness ….. 148
II.2.1. Kenotic Life of the Theotokos ….. 148
II.2.2. John the Baptist ….. 168
II.2.3. Apostles: Both Forsaken and Forsaking the Lord ….. 173

III.1. ANTHONY BLOOM’S ANTHROPOLOGY ….. 179

III.2. Dual Solidarity of Christ ….. 180

III.3. God’s Faith in the Human Person ….. 185

III.4. Creation of the World and the Human Being ….. 188
III.4.1. Adam – a “Total Human” ….. 193
III.4.2. The Fall ….. 200
III.4.2.1. Disharmony between Adam and the World ….. 202
III.4.2.2. Disharmony within Adam ….. 205
III.4.2.3. Disharmony between Adam and God ….. 211

III.5. Salvation in Jesus Christ – the Godman ….. 214
III.5.1. An “Atheistic” Christ ….. 220
III.5.2. Anthony Bloom’s Response to the Atheism in Russia
and in the West ….. 228
III.5.3. Encounter Between Christianity and Atheism ….. 238

IV.1. ANTHONY BLOOM’S KENOTIC THEOLOGY
IN CHURCH PRACTICE ….. 247
IV.1.1. Kenosis in the Encounter with God ….. 247
IV.1.2. Anthony Bloom’s Personal Encounter with Christ
as the Foundation for His Future Kenotic Theology ….. 249

IV.2. Church and Kenosis ….. 256
IV.2.1. God-forsakenness and the Church ….. 263
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IV.2.2. Sacraments as an Encounter ….. 268
IV.2.3. Sacraments and Matter ….. 270
IV.2.4. The Sacrament of Baptism and Kenosis ….. 274
IV.2.5. The Sacrament of Chrismation ….. 277
IV.2.6. The Sacrament of the Eucharist ….. 282
IV.2.7. Sacrament of Repentance and Confession ….. 290
IV.2.8. Sacrament of Unction ….. 298
IV.2.9. Kenosis in the Sacrament of Marriage and in Monasticism ….. 300
IV.2.10. Kenosis in the Life of a Priest’s Wife ….. 312
IV.2.11. Kenosis in the Priesthood ….. 319

V.1. ANTHONY BLOOM’S KENOTIC THEOLOGY
IN PERSONAL PRACTICE ….. 330

V.2. Kenosis in the Encounter with God in Prayer ….. 331
V.2.1. Absence of God in Prayer ….. 333
V.2.2. Sin as an Obstacle to Encountering God ….. 334
V.2.3. An Opportunity for Spiritual Growth ….. 338
V.2.4. A False Vision of Oneself ….. 340

V.3. Practical Advice Regarding the Experience of God’s Absence ….. 343

V.4. Experience of God in an Encounter Leads to Faith ….. 349

V.5. Kenosis in a Relation with the Other Person ….. 357
V.5.1. Love of Oneself as a Way to Love God and Others ….. 358
V.5.2. Faith in Oneself as Kenosis ….. 362
V.5.3. Faith in the Human Being and Kenosis
in Encounter with the Other ….. 369
V.5.4. Vocation of Christians to the Kenotic Way of Life ….. 374
V.5.5. Kenosis in Death as the Final Encounter with God ….. 384

V.6. Kenotic Theology of Anthony Bloom and Fr. Sophrony Sakharov ….. 390

CONCLUSION ….. 399

Anthony Bloom and Kenotic Theology .…. 399
Anthony Bloom and God-forsakenness ….. 404
Contribution of Anthony Bloom ….. 415

APPENDIX ….. 423

BIBLIOGRAPHY ….. 429
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ABSTRACT

Statement of the Problem
Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh (1914-2003; henceforth: AB) was
one of the leading Russian Orthodox voices of the 20th century and was widely known
for his vast output of talks and sermons on the scriptures, spiritual life and contemporary
issues. Some of this material was published during his lifetime but the majority has only
become available after his death. Much of it remains to be translated from Russian. The
inheritance of AB has not yet been properly studied and this doctoral dissertation is an
initial attempt to sort through this huge body of material and begin to examine key
themes. This thesis addresses the kenotic theology of Metropolitan Anthony. His unique
insights in this one area are used as a lens through which to present his larger corpus of
writings and their implications for Eastern Christian anthropology in our time.
Kenotic theology was a particular focus of 19th and 20th century Russian
theology. The consistent focus of AB’s kenotic theology is Christ’s God-forsakenness
on the cross: “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Mk 15:34). These words
became a motto for Metropolitan Anthony’s life and preaching. In my research, I
demonstrate that he developed a unique understanding of Christ’s God-forsakenness that
was fundamental to his understanding of 1) kenotic theology and 2) what it means to be
a human being.
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Because death, according to AB, is a “Godless” place, God entered precisely
there, where He is not, in order to show true and deep solidarity with human beings and
thus to bring salvation. Christ’s experience of God-forsakenness is, therefore, the
deepest expression of God’s love and the key revelation of God’s faith in the human
person. This is the central, creative, and original contribution that I believe AB makes to
Eastern Christian theology today.
Methodology
There are a number of recurring topics in AB’s many talks: faith and atheism;
spiritual life; marriage and family; priesthood and pastoral aspects; and sacraments and
the Church. In this dissertation AB’s two central ideas are used as the keys to reading
and analyzing this diverse material, namely the God-forsakenness of Christ (kenotic
theology) and God’s faith in the human person (anthropology). As this appears to be the
first doctoral research on the legacy of AB, the dissertation concentrates on a clear and
full presentation of his kenotic thought, and leaves to others (or to later study) a more
comparative, discursive analysis and evaluation of his theology. Here, the multiple
threads of AB’s thought are gathered into a coherent tapestry (a project which has not
yet, to my knowledge, been undertaken) using a synchronic, thematic mode of analysis.
By employing AB’s characteristic notion of kenoticism as a hermeneutic lens, I present
the underlying unity of his thought as seen throughout the discourses, which are
currently available.
Having first established what kenoticism denotes, both within the Orthodox
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tradition and in the wider Christian theological tradition, the distinctive features of AB’s
kenotic theology as they emerge throughout his work are examined to answer the
following two questions: what did AB say in his kenotic theology and how did he apply
kenotic theology in practice?
The dissertation is divided into two broad sections: theoretical and practical. In
the first three chapters (theoretical) I compile and describe the background and possible
roots of AB’s kenotic approach. Here AB’s kenotic theology is classed into two major
themes: the God-forsakenness of Christ (kenosis) and God’s faith in the human person
(anthropology). In the last two chapters (practical), using AB’s argumentation, I present
the application of his kenotic theology and show how it is linked to the theoretical part
of the thesis. In this practical section I first search AB’s work for “places” where a
human being might experience abandonment by God and how AB applies God’s faith in
the human person to address these circumstances. Second, I examine how the kenotic
way of life, in AB’s understanding, brings a person to genuine encounter with another
human being, with oneself and with God.
Main Points and General Conclusions
As noted above, Bloom’s original contribution is his conviction that Christ’s
experience of God-forsakenness is the deepest expression of God’s love and the key
revelation of God’s faith in the human person. But this dissertation also shows that AB’s
kenotic theology has something practical and pastoral to offer contemporary people.
First, AB underlines the need of every human being to rediscover authentic self-love.
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Here he made a clear distinction between selfish egoism and the true understanding of
love for oneself that is the foundation for love of God and others. Secondly, AB’s
kenotic theology offers Christians a practical tool for life with God and other people that
is based on faith in the other person. As AB puts it: “If God believes in me, then I can
believe in the other person. And if I believe in the other person, then the other person
can believe in himself and in God.” AB was not naïve and realized that being fully
trustful in all circumstances is impossible. But he was convinced that despite the sins of
a human being there remains within him the indestructible image of God. And only by
experiencing that full conviction from someone else could they learn about God’s faith
and begin to love themselves and others.
According to AB, relationships with God and with other people have some
elements in common, such as moments of dryness, absence, abandonment and, as a
result, loneliness. What does a human being have to do in these moments when he
personally experiences or sees these moments being experienced by other people? In
both cases AB teaches that he or she has to follow the example of Christ. In the first
case, in his own despair, he has to remain faithful to the promises made to Christ in the
past. In the second case, one must be ready to descend together with Christ into Hades
with the other person who is suffering these difficult moments. Christians are called to
be present in solidarity with others in their most difficult moments because Christ gave
the ultimate example of being in solidarity with God and with people.
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ALA – LC
The American Library Association and the Library of Congress
Romanization Table
Transliteration Scheme for the Russian Script

Vernacular Romanization Vernacular Romanization
Upper case letters Lower case letters
А A а a
Б B б b
В V в v
Г G г g
Д D д d
Е E е e
Ё Ë ё ë
Ж Zh ж zh
З Z з z
И I и i
Й Ĭ й ĭ
К K к k
Л L л l
М M м m
Н N н n
О O о o
П P п p
Р R р r
С S с s
Т T т t
У U у u
Ф F ф f
Х Kh х kh
Ц Ts ц ts
Ч Ch ч ch
Ш Sh ш sh
Щ Shch щ shch
Ъ ’’ (hard sign) ъ ’’ (hard sign)
Ы Y ы y
Ь ’ (soft sign) ь ’ (soft sign)
Э E э e
Ю Iu ю iu
Я Ia я ia
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INTRODUCTION

Statement of the Problem

Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh (henceforth: AB was one of the most
prominent Orthodox personalities of the twentieth century who influenced not only
Eastern Christians, but also many others, especially Anglicans and Roman Catholics in
Britain, Russia, North America, and beyond. His influence was enormous and yet his
theological work has not been widely studied, especially in a systematic way (for
reasons that will be addressed later). To my knowledge, this is the first doctoral
dissertation on AB.1 His influence and prominence alone make him worthy of serious
scholarly attention, but certain aspects of his theology are especially noteworthy and
need sustained scrutiny, in part because they seem so singular and even startling in their
argumentation and implications. There are also other reasons for studying Bloom’s
contribution at this moment: his recent death in 2003, the publication of a first
biography, and the enormous interest in his work among Slavic Christians today.
The proposed thesis will address AB’s kenotic theology, using his unique
insights as a lens through which to present his larger corpus of writings and their
implications for Christian anthropology in our time. Kenotic theology has been
discussed by Western theologians, but was also a particular focus of 19th and 20th

1 John Palmer is currently a doctoral candidate at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, writing on the work
of Metropolitan Anthony Bloom.