Valentin Tomberg and the Ecclesia Universalis: A Biography

In his teens and twenties, Russian-born Valentin Tomberg (1900–1973) was already exploring not only the Orthodox influences in his home city of St. Petersburg, but also such currents as those of Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Kabbalism, and Hermeticism. In his thirties, he emerged as a leading anthroposophical researcher. As an emigré from revolutionary Russia, he went first to Estonia, then to Holland, where his work bore increasingly the imprint of the stream of Platonism. During the years 1940–1943, Tomberg worked with a small group unveiling ever deeper layers of the Our Father prayer. When the Nazi occupation brought this work to an end, he turned increasingly to the subjects of jurisprudence and the Hermetic tradition. During this period, he joined the Catholic Church. There followed his intense work on “Christian Hermeticism,” displayed in his masterwork, Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. Tomberg’s works raised controversies: in particular, fundamental questions regarding the relationship between Anthroposophy and the Catholic Church. This long overdue biography finally illuminates thematically and historically Tomberg’s pivotal significance in a developing Christian culture—an Ecclesia universalis—in which he discerned the guiding impulses of the Archangel Michael and the Divine Sophia.\n“Harrie Salman has here united the ‘gold’ of his loving respect for Valentin Tomberg with the ‘silver’ of a truly objective overview of his life story.”— Joel M. Park, Sophia Foundation\n“Valentin Tomberg’s writings leave the impression of a towering figure in the landscape of 20th-century spirituality. Who was this man, so profound a thinker and mystic yet so ordinary and unassuming; and why so beset by controversy? We need wonder no longer, with Harrie Salman’s rich biography of Tomberg in hand.”— Sam Guzman, The Way of the Heart (substack blog)\n“Here is unveiled the fascinating story of Valentin Tomberg, a man of deep contemplation and immense erudition, whose writings bring his readers endless wisdom and inspiration.”— Karen L. Rivers, Love and the Evolution of Consciousness: a Study of the Transformation of the Human Soul, the Double, and the Spirit\n“At last, a comprehensive biography of Valentin Tomberg, one of the most important Christian thinkers in the history of Sophiology.”— Michael Martin, Sophia in Exile, etc.\n“As so little is known about his outstanding capacity as a teacher of humanity, it is a great gift to the world that Harrie Salman has written a comprehensive biography of Valentin Tomberg, now published in English translation.”— Robert Powell, translator of Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism; author of many works.