One of the most prominent Orthodox theologians in the West, Father Boris Bobrinskoy, passed away yesterday, August 6, 2020.
He was born in Paris on February 25, 1925, to Russian parents who immigrated to France after the 1917 Russian Revolution.
He studied in an orthodox environment in Paris, but also in Catholic and Protestant Theological Departments. His theological thought was influenced by Father George Florovsky, Father Nikolay Afanasiev, Father Alexander Smeman, Father Cyprian Kern and Vladimir Losky.
For over 50 years, from 1954 to 2006, he was Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, member of “Faith and Constitution” of the World Council of Churches, and member of the Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
Father Boris was priest at the Holy Trinity Cathedral–Crypt of St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris and protopresbyter of the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
He has been broadcasting on French Radio since the 1970s, making the Orthodox voice known to the French-speaking world. Boris Bobrinskoy is married to Hélène Disterlo, father of three children and several times a grandfather.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Friborg, Switzerland, and by the St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York.
He had a rich theological work in French.
