Sophia in Changing Times

The concept of sophia, or wisdom, is deeply embedded in the religious and cultural history of European civilization, linked to intelligence, philosophy, and the religious notion of divine wisdom. This volume brings together papers that examine sophia from various perspectives — philosophical, theosophical, and sophiological — across three disciplines: art, theology, and philosophy. The chapters gathered here explore topics including Byzantine genealogies, Serbian sainthood, and Kantian philosophy, with a focus on case-studies from Eastern Europe. Through this multidisciplinary approach, the volume seeks to explore the complexity and significance of sophia within Christianity and Judaism and, by integrating artistic, theological, and historical-philosophical analyses, to create a space for a deeper understanding of sophia in both historical and contemporary contexts.

Preface

Acknowledgements

Sophia’s Conceptual Shades in Helladic Time: From Craftsmanship to Deification
Kostas Theologou

Sophia (Σοφία) and Palamas: Relations and Problems in Ancient, Medieval, Byzantine and Contemporary Philosophy and Theology
Constantinos Athanasopoulos

Sophia and Iconicity: A Byzantine Genealogy
Georgios Arabatzis

The Concept of the Holy Wisdom in Byzantine Christian Orthodox Art: Some Remarks on the Shape of the Nimbuses
Petr Balcárek

The Concept of Sophia in Constantinople in the Epoch of Constantine the Great
Vlastimil Drbal

Old Testament Models and Notions of Wisdom in the Life of St Stefan Nemanja by St Sava of Serbia
Dragoljub Marjanovic

Jewish Sources in Pico´s Conception of Sapientia Patris: An Outline of the Problem
Jan Herůfek

Leone Ebreo on Two Faces of Wisdom
Jozef Matula

The Wisdom of the Ancients and the Conquest of Knowledge: Gerasimos Vlachos’ Harmonia Definitiva Entium de Mente Græcorum Doctorum (1661)
Dimitris Paradoulakis

The Noble Virgin of Divine Wisdom. A Few Notes on Jakob Böhme’s Sophiology as Expressed in the Three Principles of the Divine Essence
Tommaso Manzon

Crisis, Critique, Wisdom: Is Kantian Understanding of Wisdom still Relevant Today?
Dominika Jacyk

Sophia´s Memory and Esotheric Cosmology
Róbert Sarka

Sophia’s Aspects in Vladimir Soloviev (1853-1900): The case of Smysl’ Ljubvi  (The Meaning of Love)
Evi Zacharia

Sophia — ‘All-Unity’ of Vladimir Solovyov’s Philosophy
Ivan Moďoroši

Sophiological Controversy of The Russian Emigration and Serbian Orthodox Church in the Interwar perior
Radovan Pilipovic

Sapientia Scientia Metafisica. The Methodological Approach of Stanisław Kamiński
Maciej Manikowski

Visual Culture as a Challenge for the Church
Marian Gavenda