The image of Christ: prototype as an object of representation in iconodulism (based on texts of representatives of the Paris School of orthodox theology)

Abstract

The problem of Iconodulism has long been resolved in Orthodox theology. In the early twentieth century, however, in the writings of religious philosophers of Russian modernism it was raised again in the context of a "sophiological                  interpretation" of the image. Priest Pavel Florensky and Archpriest Sergei Bulgakov attempted to interpret the Patristic view of the image and the representability of the prototype in a Platonic spirit. After the October Coup, the discussion moved abroad, particularly to Paris, where the so-called "Paris School of Orthodox Theology" was formed. One of the leading authors of the "theology of the icon" was Leonid A. Uspenski, whose views have had a significant influence on contemporary theologians, philosophers, and art historians engaged in the study of the icon.

The purpose of this study is to reveal the specificity of the theology of the "Paris School" in the field of iconology. The aim of the study is to analyze the views of     Leonid A. Uspenski and his followers and to compare them with the Patristic teaching of the image.

In the work were used the comparative historical method, the method of hermeneutic interpretation (historical recognizing interpretation).

The analysis reveals a discrepancy between the views of the "Parisians" on the object of representation and the teachings of the defenders of Iconodulism, who believed that it was impossible to represent the supersensibly contemplated, it could only be pointed to by iconographic symbolism.