The Evolution of the Ideas about Deification in St. John Popov's Theological Legacy

Abstract

The idea of deification (theosis) is one of the most relevant topics for the Orthodox theology today, and not only in Russia: “The Oxford Handbook of Deification” is forthcoming in 2023. However, there are numerous gaps in the history of Russian theology, which, for various reasons, have not drawn the attention of researchers. One of those gaps is related to the name of an outstanding early twentieth century Russian patrologist, Ivan Vasilievich Popov. He was the first in Russian theology to provide a conceptualization of this topic. While returning to this topic a few times in different contexts, Popov did not repeat himself but made substantial changes to his conception. In particular, in his last work he formulated the thesis on two forms of deification in the ancient Church: “realistic” and “idealistic”. Of much interest is also the context of his work, which is associated with the names of Popov's elder contemporaries - Adolf von Harnack and Vladimir Solovyov. Without identifying himself entirely with other approaches, Popov ultimately tried to integrate the conception of deification into his own views on the ideal of Christian life.