B ulgakov's Account of Creation: Neglected Aspects, Critics and Contemporary Relevance

The article focuses on a central, yet neglected dimension of the ‘ S ophia D ebate’ in twentieth‐century R ussian O rthodox theology: B ulgakov's panentheistic account of creation and its critique by N ikolai L ossky. B ulgakov understood the doctrine of creation to be negatively defined as creatio ex nihilo and positively defined as creatio ex D eo . B ulgakov's sophiology seeks to relate G od and the world through the intermediate concept of S ophia, balancing an account of G od's being in the world with an account of the world's eternal foundation in G od. Lossky objected that B ulgakov's account underemphasizes novelty, contingency and the free character of creation. L ossky's objections notwithstanding, B ulgakov's version of panentheism – especially its trinitarian, antinomian and kenotic dimensions – finds significant points of contact with contemporary accounts of creation.