Sergei Bulgakov

Sergei Bulgakov (1871-1944) was a Russian Orthodox theologian and philosopher who became one of the most influential religious thinkers of the 20th century. Initially a Marxist economist, he underwent a spiritual conversion and was ordained as an Orthodox priest in 1918. Expelled from Soviet Russia in 1922, he settled in Paris where he helped establish the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute. Bulgakov developed a sophisticated theological system centered on Sophiology, the doctrine of Divine Wisdom as mediating between God and creation. His major works include The Unfading Light (1917), The Lamb of God (1933), and The Comforter (1936). Though controversial for his innovative interpretations of Orthodox doctrine, particularly regarding Sophia, Bulgakov's synthesis of Eastern patristic theology with modern philosophical insights profoundly shaped 20th-century Orthodox thought and contributed to ecumenical dialogue between Eastern and Western Christianity.