Abstract

Eschatology is one of the most interesting aspects of the thought of S.N. Bulgakov, not only for the originality, but also for the role it plays in all his intellectual work. His arguments against the eternity of hell and his theory of universal salvation are not optional features of his theology, but they rather represent a test-bed for some theoretical issues that not only cross all of his sophiology, but that were already at the origin of his shift from Marxism to Idealism and, later, to the Orthodox faith. By comparing early Bulgakov’s writings with his late works on Christian eschatology, this paper shows the lines of continuity of his thought, and especially his interest for the role of individual creativity and personal freedom against the tendency of Positivism and Marxism to reduce history to impersonal processes alone. A careful analysis of the whole development in the thought of Bulgakov shows that its soteriological universalism cannot be interpreted as a form of disguised historical determinism, nor does it imply a unilateral act of God that cancels the role of human historical choices. Rather, it emphasizes Bulgakov’s commitment to reconcile the moral inevitability of freedom with an ontological understanding of salvation in which God’s mercy cannot leave anyone out, not even Satan.