A Path to Becoming like God: A Conversation with Dr Paul Gavrilyuk

Sorry for the lateness on this incredible episode! The busy-ness of preparing for the conference and working on a few academic papers led to a two day delay. But this is a long episode and Paul and I had a terrific conversation, so I hope that makes up for some of my tardiness!

 

This is episode fourteen of season three with Dr. Paul Gavrilyuk, Professor and Aquinas Chair in Theology and Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.  He has been published in nine languages, and his books include The Suffering of the Impassible God (Oxford, 2004), Histoire du catéchuménat dans l’église ancienne(Cerf, 2007), The Spiritual Senses: Perceiving God in Western Christianity (co-edited with Sarah Coakley, Cambridge, 2012) and Georges Florovsky and the Russian Religious Renaissance (Oxford, 2014). 

Paul is also a founder of IOTA, the International Orthodox Theological Association, and of Rebuild Ukraine, a humanitarian organization that raises money for Ukraine’s defenders, civilians, and refugees. 

Paul is a notable theologian, but as you will hear in this episode he was born in Kiev and educated in the Soviet Union, which was not in the habit of producing a lot of theologians in the 20^th century. Paul talks about his conversion experience, his move to the US to study theology, and the realities of authoritarian governments, that he grew up under and which are expanding today. We also discuss his remarkable new Oxford Handbook of Deification, of which he is one of three editors.   

Paul Gavrilyuk is an incredible theologian, prolific and learned, and a dear friend. We traveled together through Greece and Turkey teaching early Christianity to 25 undergraduate students many years ago and have shared so many hours at conferences, in classrooms, learning together and simply being together. What a delight to spend this time together again.

For me, the most impressive part of Paul’s story, though, is his incredible journey from the Soviet Union to the Church and to an internationally renowned theologian. His story of conversion and the acts of bravery necessary by him and by others to bring his vocation to fruition are humbling. We are in a time of creeping, perhaps moving faster than that now, authoritarianism, and acts of bravery might be essential for us to continue to build a world of concern for all, but especially for those in the most need of support.

Paul’s work with Rebuild Ukraine does just that – it cares for those impacted by the senseless war of Putin against t