Pavel Aleksandrovich Florensky

Pavel Aleksandrovich Florensky – a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, a theologian, a religious poet and philosopher. Pavel Aleksandrovich Florensky was born on 21 January 1882 in Yevlakh (now Azerbaijan). In 1904 he graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University, and in 1908 from the Moscow Theological Academy. In 1914 he received the degree of Master of Theology.

In 1911 Florensky became a priest at the Church of the Shelter of the Sisters of Mercy in Sergiyev Posad, where he served until May 1921. From 1912 to 1917 he lectured, engaged in philosophy and edited the "Theological Herald". After the Revolution, Florensky devoted himself to museum work and art history, actively defending monuments of church culture, including the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius. He worked on the Commission for the Protection of Monuments.

In the Soviet period Florensky again turned to physics and mathematics, took part in the country's electrification project and conducted research in the field of dielectrics. In 1928 he was exiled to Nizhny Novgorod, but was able to return thanks to the intercession of Ekaterina Peshkova. In 1933 Florensky was arrested and sentenced to ten years. He was transferred from camp to camp, where he continued to pursue scientific work. In the autumn of 1937 an NKVD special troika sentenced Florensky to execution by firing squad. The date of death is considered to be 8 December 1937. Pavel Florensky was buried at the "Levashovo wasteland" near Leningrad in a mass grave. He was posthumously rehabilitated.