Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.Panentheism is an unsettling and controversial notionin modern Orthodox Christianity. Some Orthodox explicitly identify themselvesas panentheists, while others reject panentheism as incompatible with Orthodox tradition. Sergius Bulgakovpresents his theology of Divine Wisdom (sophiology) as panentheist,distinguishing it from pantheism. Orthodox theologians such as Kallistos Wareand Andrew Louth, associate with panentheism. Whereas Orthodox critics (notablyGeorges Florovsky and Nicolas Lossky) see panentheism as a sub-species ofpantheism (hence unacceptable), Bulgakov and others regard it as a sub-speciesof theism (hence acceptable). The issue revolves around divergent theologies ofcreation and how God relates to creation. Earlier, the issue was entwined inthe controversy over Bulgakov's theology of Divine Wisdom. By the twenty-firstcentury, the focus is on looking for compatibilities in patristic theology,especially the logoi of creation inMaximus the Confessor and the divine energies in Gregory Palamas. Thetransition in Orthodox thought from a mostly aggressive stance towardspanentheism to an irenic one is promising, but Orthodox have yet to engagemeaningfully in the ongoing dialogues on panentheism.
A Fri, study studied this question.