Sophia, Androgyny and the Feminine in Franz von Baader's Christian Theosophy

Baader was keenly interest- ed in ecumenical dialogue among Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox branches of Christianity. The ideas of Sophia (Wisdom) and androgyny, as expressed in Baader's Christian theosophy, were important influences in Romanticism, and helped to focus attention on the importance of the feminine in Western religious thought. The purpose of marriage is for each partner to help the other to re-attain this original androgyny and to regain the lost connection to Wisdom or Sophia.