Symbolism of Priest Pavel Florensky in the Context of His Biography

The article examines the metaphysical doctrine of priest Pavel Florensky concerning symbols as the foundation of his religious-philosophical worldview. The author investigates Florensky’s symbolism through analysis of his memoirs and several philosophical works from 1918–1922 (Philosophy of Cult and At the Watersheds of Thought). Florensky’s “concrete metaphysics” and original understanding of Platonism emerged from his personal experience and spiritual quest for truth. The article discusses Florensky’s ideological and personal connections with Symbolists, his points of convergence and divergence with Andrei Bely during Florensky’s early intellectual development (1904–1905), his unsuccessful attempt at dialogue with Dmitry Merezhkovsky, and his rapprochement and communication with Vyacheslav Ivanov. His fascination with literary symbolism became the impetus for Florensky’s further investigations into religious symbols. In his later period, he studied symbols as an essential component of cult, culture, metaphysics, and philosophy – as universal ideas directly influencing humanity, human life, and consciousness. According to Florensky, symbols in their highest and purest form are presented in religious cult and sacraments, the system of which is elaborated in Philosophy of Cult. He maintained that sacraments constitute a process of interaction between higher reality and earthly actuality, a connection between life phenomena and their “absolute root”: the “natural” transitions into the “supernatural.” The author argues that in Philosophy of Cult, by developing the “deduction of the seven sacraments,” Florensky presented his final version of symbolism based on a metaphysical interpretation of religious symbols.

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