Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow (1782 – 1867)

Bio

The most eminent Russian religious figure of the nineteenth century, Metropolitan Philaret was a preacher and theologian, and wrote numerous theological texts on a variety of topics. He has left a particularly beloved collections of sermons and homilies.

Each Creature Exists in the Middle of Creation

All creatures are balanced upon the creative word of God, as if upon a bridge of diamond. Above them is the abyss of divine infinitude, while below them that of their own nothingness.

~ Quoted by Fr. Florovsky in The Ways of Russian Theology, Paris,1937, p. 180 (in Russian). In The Mystical theology of the Eastern Church, Vladimir Lossky. New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1976, p. 92.