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 2 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 3 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 4 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 5 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. 6 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 7 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. 8 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. 9 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 10 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.