Is Humanity King to Creation? The Thought of Vladimir Solov'ev in the Light of Ecological Crisis

Authors

  • Oliver Luke Smith UCL (SSEES)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v2i4.463

Keywords:

environmental theology, russian sophiology

Abstract

The Russian philosopher, poet and mystic Vladimir Solov'ev (1853-1900), the father of the sophiological movement in Russian thought, remains a little known figure in the West. This article considers Solov'ev’s credentials as an environmentalist before his time and develops a number of strands of his biblical theology from an ecological perspective. It goes on to explore his envisioning of the ‘kingship’ of humanity in God’s creation, which he understood as the ideal relationship between humanity and the world, and to unravel the complexities of his thought on the ‘coming’ of the Kingdom of God. The article suggests that Solov'ev has much to offer theologians and religious people in the articulation, and application, of an ecological theology of creation.

Author Biography

  • Oliver Luke Smith, UCL (SSEES)
    4th yr PhD Student; School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London.

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Published

2009-03-17

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Smith, O. L. (2009). Is Humanity King to Creation? The Thought of Vladimir Solov’ev in the Light of Ecological Crisis. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2(4), 463-482. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v2i4.463