ABSTRACT
Bulgakov’s The Burning Bush and systematic reflections on Mary is a significant contribution to the study of Mary. Bulgakov provides one of the only full-blooded, modern, and systematic Orthodox mariologies that is a noteworthy attempt to describe with theological acuity his experience of Mary in the divine liturgy and the life of the Orthodox Church. Mary is the beginning and end of his meditation of God’s relationship with humankind that encompasses the last two decades of Bulgakov’s life. His reflection on Mary reveals the role and meaning of human synergy with God’s grace, the basis of salvation history. Ultimately the goal and meaning of Christian discipleship are revealed in Mary: to give their fiat to God, to unite by grace with the Holy Spirit, and with Mary and the Holy Spirit proclaim, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20).
This chapter ends the discussion of Bulgakov’s Mariology and offers insights for future investigations on Bulgakov’s work.
