Monday, March 26, 2012

Bulgakov on Images and the Divine Name

I have noted on previous occasions the ongoing interest in Sergius Bulgakov, aided in no small measure by Eerdmans commendable willingness to continue publishing English translations of his work. Just last month, they brought out another one, translated (as many others have been) by Boris Jakim: Sergius Bulgakov, Icons and the Name of God, trans. Boris Jakim (Eerdmans, 2012), 208pp.

About this book the publisher tells us:
In Orthodox theology both the icon and the name of God transmit divine energies, theophanies, or revelations that imprint God's image within us. In Icons and the Name of God renowned Orthodox theologian Sergius Bulgakov explains the theology behind the Orthodox veneration of icons and the glorification of the name of God. In the process Bulgakov covers two major controversies — the iconoclastic controversy (sixth to eighth centuries) and the "Name of God" controversy (early twentieth century) — and explains his belief that an icon stops being merely a religious painting and becomes sacred when it is named. This translation of two essays "The Icon and Its Veneration" and "The Name of God" — available in English for the first time — makes Bulgakov's rich thinking on these key theological concepts available to a wider audience than ever before.
I look forward to seeing this reviewed in Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies.

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