Anatole Negruta

This article proposes a comparative study between two major figures of Christian spirituality: Father Sophrony Sakharov, a twentieth-century Orthodox monk, and Saint John of the Cross, a sixteenth-century Catholic mystic. The author examines in parallel the concept of "abandonment by God" as it appears in Father Sophrony's theology and that of the "dark night" developed by John of the Cross. Through an analytical and theological approach, the study highlights the deep convergences between these two distinct spiritual traditions. The central idea is that engagement with the work of John of the Cross led Father Sophrony to better articulate the intrinsic unity of the spiritual life, linking asceticism, dogmatics, and liturgical life. The contribution of this article lies in the light it sheds on the possible dialogue between Orthodox and Catholic spiritualities around the mystical experience of divine trial.