Apophatic Character of Christian Creatology According to Vladimir N. Lossky

Abstract

According to Vladimir N. Lossky, one of the most eminent Orthodox theologians of the twentieth century, the Christian doctrine of creation does not constitute something like a philosophical preambula fidei, but is a dogma of faith, since its subject is the God-Trinity, and the difference between the Creator and the creation is in its essence inaccessible outside the Revelation accepted in faith. This truth has a radically apophatic character, founded on the apophatic mystery of Trinitatis, presentation of which is the purpose of the present text. Therefore, issues such as creatio ex nihilo, the absolute freedom of the creative act, the Trinitarian character of creation, creation in the perspective of theosis will be examined in turn. The whole will be crowned with a synthetic recapitulation of the most relevant issues, exposing the profound apophatic nature of the Lossky’s creatology.