The cult of Sophia—the Wisdom of God—developed in Byzantine theology based on Biblical texts about God’s Wisdom. In the Old Testament, Wisdom is personified in Proverbs 8:22-23:
“The Lord created me, the beginning of His ways, the first of His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.”

This text associates Sophia with the wisdom that existed alongside God from the very beginning of creation.

In the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 1:30, the name of Wisdom is identified with the incarnate Word—Christ: “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”

Here, Sophia is directly connected to Christ, who became the embodiment of God’s wisdom. Origen, an influential theologian, emphasized that the name of Wisdom is the most fitting and primary name of the Son of God.

As a result, the first great churches in Kyivian Rus were dedicated to Sophia. There are two main iconographic types of Sophia in Ukrainian iconography:

1. Novgorod Type: This style, though not exclusive to Novgorod, gets its name from a 15th-century icon. It represents Sophia as a fiery angel, symbolizing the Word of God. Accompanying figures include the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, or the Apostles John the Theologian and John the Baptist. Above them, Christ is surrounded by angels, and God the Father (the Lord Sabaoth) is depicted.
2. Kyiv Type: The most famous example of this is the image from the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Kyiv. This icon, typical of Cossack baroque, shows the Virgin Mary standing in an arch with seven columns, symbolizing the seven pillars of wisdom (Proverbs 9:1). These seven columns represent Christian virtues. The Old Testament prophets approach the Virgin, and at the top, God the Father is surrounded by seven archangels.

These two iconographic traditions symbolize the Wisdom of God as both divine and incarnate, emphasizing Christ’s role as the ultimate Wisdom.

Mykhailo Skop

Icons of Sophia, the Wisdom of God of Kyiv

Icons of Sophia, the Wisdom of God of Novgorod