HAN S URS VON B ALTHASAR and the Critical Appropriation of Russian Religious Thought JENNIFER NEWSOME MARTIN HANS URS VON BALTHASAR and the Critical Appropriation of Russian Religious Thought HAN S URS VON B ALTHASAR and the Critical Appropriation of Russian Religious Thought JENNIFER NEWSOME MARTIN University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana Copyright © 2015 by the University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved Manufactured in the United States of America The Press gratefully acknowledges the support of the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, University of Notre Dame, in the publication of this book. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Martin, Jennifer Newsome. Hans Urs von Balthasar and the critical appropriation of Russian religious thought / Jennifer Newsome Martin. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-268-03536-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 0-268-03536-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-268-08701-2 (e-book) 1. Balthasar, Hans Urs von, 1905–1988. 2. Philosophy, Russian—20th century. I. Title. BX4705.B163M37 2015 230'.2092—dc23 2015031758 ∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. To Jay, sine qua non, and to the eternal memory of Douglas Michael Shippy (1978–2002), our dearest and most loyal friend. CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix CHAPTER 1 “Der Seelen wunderliches Bergwerk”: 1 On the Subterranean and the Speculative CHAPTER 2 “Denn da ist keine Stelle, die dich nicht sieht”: 39 Theological and Quasi-Theological Aesthetics CHAPTER 3 “Du Dunkelheit, aus der ich stamme”: 79 Ontology, Evil, and Myth at the Root CHAPTER 4 “Grün wirklicher Grüne, wirklicher 117 Sonnenschein, wirklicher Wald”: Anthropological Eschata and the Logic of Resurrection CHAPTER 5 “Denn Armut ist ein großer Glanz aus Innen”: 160 The Theocentric Horizon Conclusion 198 Notes 208 Selected Bibliography 280 Index 291