GOD'S REVELATION IN THE TEACHING AND LIFE OF SOPHRONY OF ESSEX
GOD'S REVELATION IN THE TEACHING AND LIFE OF SOPHRONY OF ESSEX

Summary/Abstract: Sophrony of Essex speaks about the revelation of God through scholar theology and through the life of each man who is crucified with Christ. So that God is revealed to human beings in the hiding places of his heart. Saint Sophrony's life and his writings speak about the ways that God becomes known to people. The latter as another Moses can accept this acknowledgement of Him in their hearts or can deny it. In this paper, it will be examined how the theology of Saint Sophrony stems from a focus on the idea of these, understood as the ontological meeting ‘ground’ between God and Man. Sophrony of Essex supports that theology cannot be and is not a philosophical science, but “it is a living penetration into divine eternity”. For the believer, this revelation about the Triune God is an inexhaustible source of wisdom, joy and light pouring out on all manifestations of human existence, resolving all the perplexities of the mind and heart, leading to the endless expanses of eternal life. A theology which doesn t have any connection with the revelation of God is useless. By this way Saint Sophrony opposes the logic of many modern theologians who view God as a thing and seek to legitimize heretical views that have already been condemned by the Ecumenical Councils. Sophrony of Essex speaks about the revelation of God through scholar theology and through the life of each man who is crucified with Christ. So that God is revealed to human beings in the hiding places of his heart. Saint Sophrony’s life and his writings speak about the ways that God becomes known to people. The latter as another Moses can accept this acknowledgement of Him in their hearts or can deny it. In this paper, it will be examined how the theology of Saint Sophrony stems from a focus on the idea of these, understood as the ontological meeting ‘ground’ between God and Man. Sophrony of Essex supports that theology cannot be and is not a philosophical science, but “it is a living penetration into divine eternity”. For the believer, this revelation about the Triune God is an inexhaustible source of wisdom, joy and light pouring out on all manifestations of human existence, resolving all the perplexities of the mind and heart, leading to the endless expanses of eternal life. A theology which doesn’t have any connection with the revelation of God is useless. By this way Saint Sophrony opposes the logic of many modern theologians who view God as a thing and seek to legitimize heretical views that have already been condemned by the Ecumenical Councils.

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