Prayer of Jesus and deification in Father Pavel Florensky and Father Sergius Bulgakov

This article by Andrew Louth examines the relationship between the Jesus Prayer and the theology of deification through the thought of two major figures of the Russian spiritual renaissance, Father Paul Florensky and Father Sergius Bulgakov. The study adopts an impressionistic rather than systematic approach, in keeping with the authors it draws upon. The central idea is that the Jesus Prayer and deification do not share a simple overlapping relationship, but rather a dynamic and transformative interaction. Louth develops this thesis around two fundamental themes: the Name of Jesus, as a bearer of real presence rather than arbitrary convention, and the Heart, understood as the meeting point between the physical and spiritual dimensions of the person. The theological contribution of the article lies in its demonstration that the Jesus Prayer constitutes the ascetic path par excellence leading to deification, understood in its full sense and not as a mere soteriological metaphor.