Palamism and Sophiology

This article by Joost van Rossum examines the convergences and divergences between Gregory Palamas's theology of divine energies and the sophiology of Father Sergius Bulgakov, taking the problem of creation as its starting point. Proceeding through comparative study, the author shows that both theologians share several fundamental intuitions: the link between God and the created world, the eternity of divine prototypes, and the cosmic dimension of salvation. However, van Rossum establishes that sophiology, by positing a divine Sophia ontologically identical to the nature of God, tends toward pantheism and abandons the experiential apophaticism that characterizes Palamas. The Palamite distinction between divine essence and energies thus emerges as the only theological framework capable of simultaneously affirming the real deification of man, the sanctification of the cosmos, and the absolute transcendence of God, without lapsing into philosophical speculation.