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interpretation is the precise relationship between the realms of the angels and
the natural world. For example, the relationship between the angels and time
and rationality in the world we experience is left unclear.
If Men is to be successful in rejecting the kind of metaphysical,
meta-historical entity presupposed by Bulgakov, then he must do more than
simply assert a close relation between the natural world and angels. The answer
to this problem is in the distinction between Men and Bulgakov in their
conceptions of spiritual metaphysics: Men denies the metaphysical world of
the angels ontological priority over the natural world as we experience it. The
natural world does not develop out of a pre- or super-temporal world, but
rather the ‘metaphysical’ world of the angels, the transphysical world and the
natural world occupy the same ontological status together, created together by
the Creator God. Any cosmic Fall is not prior to the Creation of the physical
world, but it must nonetheless permeate it completely as it is precipitated in
the metaphysical spiritual realms, potentially beyond time and rationality.
Just as it is for Solovyov, Berdyaev, and Bulgakov, freedom is for Men the
quality in creation that allows for the possibility of the Fall(s), bringing with it
the spiritual quality of being made in the ‘image and likeness of God’.
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Described as one of his ‘master themes’ by Evdokimov , it occupies a very
significant place in his lectures and conversations. In both these and his
writings, freedom is often described using analogies. For example, we are told
in chapter 9 of Origins of Religion, that ‘if the human were not in a position to
choose another path, apart from following the will of God, if he were forced to
follow the good, then he would appear as a strictly programmed mechanism or
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a puppet and not a God-like being’ .
In Magicism and Monotheism Human freedom is seen as the highest kind
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of created freedom , although the variance in creation itself, including the
possibility of destructive forces present from Gen 1:2 onwards, is seen as a
natural precursor to the full freedom found in humans . This variance or
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freedom primarily demonstrates the creativity and positivity of creation, rather
than its corruption. In Appendix 8 Part 11, Men sees the universal freedom of
created beings in terms of kenosis, a characteristic of the Godhead which is

34 Evdokimov, Michel. Fr. Alexander Men: Martyr of Atheism, p8. [Gracewing, Leominster. 2011]
35 Men: Origins of Religion, Part 2, Chapter 9. (Appendix.2:39)
36 Men: Magicism and Monotheism Appendix 8 Part 3
37 Men: Magicism and Monotheism Appendix 8 Part 9

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