gregory nanzianzas-apophatic concepts

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Numen 57 (2010) 129 brill.nl/nu

Te Divine Essence, that Inaccessible KabodEnthroned in Heaven: Nazianzens Oratio 28,3 and the

radition of Apophatic Teology from Symbols toPhilosophical Concepts

Drago A. GiuleaMarquette University,

Coughlin Hall 100, Milwaukee, WI 53201, [email protected]

AbstractIn his second theological oration (Oratio 28,3), Gregory Nazianzen equates the divineglory (kabod) of the Holy of Holies with the divine essence and asserts their inacces-sible character. An investigation into the meaning of these two terms unveils their

origins in two distinct traditions, the former tracing its roots back to the ancientSemitic symbolisms of the forbidden divine glory and throne, the latter to the Helle-nistic philosophical conception of an immaterial and incomprehensible divinity. Tethesis advanced in this study is that these two different languages represent two semi-otic forms of apophaticism, one expressed through the mysterium tremendum inspiringsymbols and images of fire, dazzling glory and enigmatic heavenly creatures, guardiansof the enthroned kabod, the other through negative philosophical terminologies. Teidentity of the two semiotic forms is established at the end of an investigation thatconcludes with the observation that Hellenistic theologians developed their apophaticdiscourses mostly in the context of interpreting biblical reports on the theophaniesof the divine and unapproachable enthroned kabod. It was in this hermeneuticalcontext that they translated the symbols of interdiction into philosophical negativeconcepts.

Keywordsapophaticism, kabod, divine essence, symbols, concepts


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Introduction: Nazianzens ext and Its wofold Background

In his second theological discourse, Oratio 28,3, a passage incorporat-ing a theorization about the incomprehensibility of the divine essence,Gregory Nazianzen identifies the divine essence with the biblical kabod:

What experience of this have I had, you friends of truth, her initiates (mystai), herlovers (synerastai) as I am? I was running with a mind to see God and so it was thatI ascended the mount (anlthon epi to oros). I penetrated the cloud (ten nephelndieschon), became enclosed in it, detached from matter and material things andconcentrated, so far as might be, in myself (eis emauton hs hoion te systrapheis).But when I directed my gaze (proseblepsa) I scarcely saw (eidon) the averted figure(ta opisthia) of God, and this whilst sheltering in the rock (t petra), God the wordincarnate for us. Peering in (mikron diakypsas) I saw not the nature prime (ten

prtn te kai akraton physin), self-apprehended (heaut ginskomenn) (by self Imean the rinity), the nature as it abides within the first veil (tou prtou katapetas-matos eis menei) and is hidden by the Cherubim (hypo tn cheroubim sygkalyptetai),but as it reaches us (eis hemas phthanousa) at its furthest remove from God, being,so far as I can understand, the grandeur (megaleiots), or as divine David calls itthe majesty (megaloprepeia) inherent in the created things he has brought forthand governs. (Norris 1991:225; Gr. text: Gallay 1978)

wo ideas seem to be emblematic within the text. First, Gregorys expo-sition represents the account of a visionarys experience which followsthe features of the Jewish-Christian mystical tradition of the divineascent: a preliminary ascetical preparation for the encounter with Godis followed by ascension and the whole process reaches its fulfillment inthe vision of God, the theophany of the divine glory. Second, the vision-ary who is allowed to enter the divine temple does not experienceunlimited access to every element of the temple. A particular celestialitem still remains concealed in mystery and under the strictest exclu-sion to the visionarys access. It is the divine glory (kabod[M]/doxa[LXX]) which in its manifestation still remains enveloped in a mysteryof interdiction.1 On the one hand, the passage asserts a dimension of

1) Several scholars argue that the main theophanic traditions of ancient Israel took twoforms, depending on the nature of Gods manifestation either as glory or as name; seeryggve Mettingers classical distinction between shem (name) and kabod(glory) the-ologies (Mettinger 1982b) and Brueggemanns similar distinction between the Priestlytheology of glory and the Deuteronomic theology of name (Brueggemann 2005:670674).One may maintain that a certain apophaticism is intrinsic to the theology of the


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divine concealment echoing both Exod 25,20 and 37,9 (which affi rmthat the divine kabod/doxais situated beneath the wings of the cheru-

bim) and 1 Kgs 8,7, according to which the cherubs cover the ark inSolomons temple. On the other hand, the passage asserts a dimensionof divine manifestation and recalls the concept ofmegaloprepeiain con-nection with David.2

However, Gregorys discourse unveils further layers of complexity, asthe oration is usually read as expressing the Cappadocian doctrineregarding the incomprehensibility of the divine essence or substance.Gregory, therefore, instills the Greek philosophical idea of divine

incomprehensibility within the mystical and visionary context of atheophany. Tus, one of the main hypotheses I propose in this study isthat philosophical apophatic discourse emerged in the context oftheophanic hermeneutics and in connection with the Second empletradition of the forbidden element of mystical experiences. Nazianzenspassage offers a sound textual ground for this idea and shows as wellthat apophatic discourse undergoes a change from imagery and sym-bolic forms to concepts and Greek philosophical terminology.

On the one hand, therefore, Nazianzens text harks back to the oldJewish apocalyptic writings, whether biblical or extra-biblical, whichdevelop the theme of the inaccessible divine glory seated on the sacredthrone of the Holy of Holies.3 My article advances the idea that Jewishand Christian visionary traditions conceived of a forbidden sacredobject and usually identified it with the heavenly enthroned glory. Since

divine name, which presupposes, as Brueggemann points out, that Yahwehs name

(which in some sense is Yahwehs self ) is there [in the emple], but Yahwehs full self iselsewhere, in heaven, beyond the ideological arrangements of Israel (Brueggemann2005:672). However, glory theology is primarily important for the economy of thisarticle, as long as it reflects both a dimension of divine manifestation as heavenly lightand a dimension of divine concealment which leads from an apophatic theologyexpressed through symbols to an apophatic theology through philosophical concepts.2) Te book of Psalms employs this term for denoting the majesty above the heavens(Ps 8,3), its dwelling over Israel (Ps 68,34) or within the temple (Ps 96,6), and claimsthat this majesty characterizes Gods works (Ps 111,3) and his glory (doxa, Ps 145,5).3) For a general perspective on the image of the divine throne, see Metzger 1985(ancient Near East), Philonenko 1993 (from ancient Iran to rabbinic perspectives) andEskola 2001 (New estament and early Christianity).


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the language was predominantly, if not exclusively, symbolic, one mightcharacterize this discourse as apophatic theology through symbols.4

On the other hand, Nazianzens text belongs to the Hellenized Jew-ish-Christian tradition and construes an apophatic theological discoursethrough Greek philosophical concepts. My research hypothesizes thatsome of the most illustrious representatives of this tradition Philo,the Valentinians, Irenaeus, Clement, Origen and Gregory developed

4) In one of her studies, Janet Soskice brings forward the following insight about theinaccessible dimension of the divine expressed through symbols: Long before Hel-

lenization, the God of Israel was known as a Deity beyond human conceiving. Teproliferation of imagery used by Prophets and Psalmists to denote the God of Israel isevidence, surely, not of a failure to discriminate between language literally appropriateor inappropriate to God, but to the realization that no image could be adequate to I

AM WHO I AM (Exod 3,14; Soskice 1985:77). In his research on the meaning ofthe divine names, Mettinger concludes that the divine names are symbols and theinventory of symbols changed from time to time in a continuous dialogue with thechallenges of experience (1988:203). However, he adds: God is above and beyond;the images and symbols should remain what they are: not solid prison walls, but thefragile stained-glass windows of transcendence (1988:207). Cf. in sacredness God

will remain unfathomable (1988:11). However, my research investigates a differentaspect of the biblical apophatic discourse through symbols. While Soskice and Met-tinger pointed out the divine names, I will primarily emphasize the forbidden objectof the sacred realm, the divine kabod. Nevertheless, one should mention Silviu Buntasremarkable study according to which the kabod tradition manifested two oppositesub-traditions. While both of them accept the idea of human transformation into aglorious being, the first is more ancient (however still occurring in a few texts of thelate Second emple) and admits complete human transformation into a god, the sec-ond rejects human transformation into a god and leaves room only for human trans-formation into a godlike figure, the image of God (Bunta forthcoming). Obviously,

while the former was connected with polytheistic religious forms, the later was shapedwithin a monotheistic context and became the main stream of the Second emple. Isuppose that philosophical apophatic theology appeared in this second context, thoughapophatic theology emerged in primitive forms in the ancient Near East (and possiblyother areas of the world, e.g. India [Chethimattam 1981]). As one can further see inthis paper, apophatic theology in the ancient Near East took various shapes such asa rejection of access to immortality and divine wisdom (Mettinger 2007:6064), ter-rifying guardians impending the dethronement of the heavenly king, shem theology,interdiction to pronounce the divine Name or interdiction of any divine figuration and eventually evolved into refined philosophical forms regarding the impossibility tocomprehend or express the divine, therefore into positions professing divine incogno-scibility and ineffability.


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it within the exegetical context of the Old estament theophanies.Gregorys text is emblematic as long as it sets in connection and identi-

fies the central elements of the two traditions, namely their forbiddenobjects, the kabodand the divine essence.

Te Ancient radition of the Forbidden EnthronedKabod:Apophatic Teology through Symbols and Images

1. Te Ancient Near East: Forbidden Sacred Objects and Fearful

GuardiansPerhaps the most noticeable way in which the biblical reports of mysti-cal experiences convey the idea of inaccessibility is through the usage ofsuch motifs as terrifying guardian creatures or natural elements as fire,dazzling light, clouds and veils. Te image of the tree of life guarded bya serpent or monstrous being was widespread in the ancient Near East.Anthropomorphic figures, for example, sometimes winged men used tostand for the divine mediators of the Sumerian culture.5 On the other

hand, such divine creatures as the terrifying guardians of various for-bidden objects were portrayed as monsters in the form of human-headed animals such as goats, cows, bulls, lions, gryphons or eagles.6

5) Langdon mentions a bas-relief of Ur-Nammu of Ur that portrays a winged mes-senger holding a jar of overflowing water (Langdon 1964:96, fig. 49). See also rin-quet (1957), de Vaux (1961) and Metzger (1985).6) Item ND 11035 of the Iraq Museum represents two pharaoh figures facing a sacredtree as guardians (Oates 2001:171). Te Ninurta emple had two guardian figures

similar to the winged lions with human head that used to guard the palace of Ashur-nasirpal II (883859 BCE) at Kalhu (Oates 2001:7). Sometimes palaces are also pro-vided with guardian figures (McIntosh 2005:28). Tis is also similar to the two wingedbull colossi guarding the entrance to the palace of Sargon II (721705 BCE) at Khor-sabad. Behind the bull there is the representation of a winged protective deity with abucket and cone (Nemet-Nejat 1998:209). Te Metropolitan Museum of Art has alsoan alabaster relief from room S of the palace of Nimrud, representing two eagle-headedgenii facing a sacred tree (Oates 2001:55). Te motif seems to have been so popularthat even one of the gates at Dur-Sharukin, the capital of Assyria built by Sargon in717 BCE, has a winged god with a bucket and cone (Roaf 1990:184). Tere is also asolid bronze figurine of a winged bull centaur, most likely part of an ancient thronefrom the ancient kingdom of Urartu, 9th-7th c. BCE (Roaf 1990:170).


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For instance, the abletIII iii,1820 or III v,1617 from the epic ofGilgamesh and Huwawa (or Humbaba, for the Assyrian versions) nar-

rates how Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight and slay Huwawa, the guardianof the Cedar Forests, who was portrayed in these lines: his roaring isthe flood-storm, his mouth is fire, his breath is death (Speiser 1969:7980). In the Mesopotamian story of Etana, this legendary king of Kishreceives help from a miraculous eagle and ascends to heaven, where heundergoes the test of fighting a serpent in order to obtain the plant oflife from the god Anu (Pritchard 1969:114118). Likewise, the story ofAdapa narrates the episode of the heros encounter with two heavenly

guardians, ammuz and Gizzida, at the gate of Anu (Pritchard 1969:101). Yet, the motif of the divine guardians is not unknown to Greekmythology, since Hercules and Jason meet monstrous beings defendingthe forbidden gardens of Hesperides or the golden fleece of Kolchis.

Besides all these mythological examples, the kings of Egypt, Meso-potamia or other ancient cultures envisioned as gods on earth or atleast their images used to surround their thrones with sculptures orbas-reliefs with representations of mythical guardian creatures.7 As aresult, the image of the frightening guardians of the throne, a species ofinaccessible sacred object, was almost omnipresent in the ancient NearEast and Greece. Te focal point of this imagery consisted of the inac-cessible throne and the divine or terrestrial overlord who sits on thatthrone surrounded by glory. Te numinous element, part of a wide-spread solar imagery, always appears to be linked to amysterium tremen-

7) Te Mesopotamian king was considered the gods representative on earth. AnAkkadian proverb provided the metaphor:Man is the shadow of a god, and a slave is the

shadow of a man; but the king is the mirror of a god. . . . Unlike the Egyptian pharaohs,who were regarded as gods, the kings in Babylonia and Assyria were usually consideredmortals. In exceptional cases, certain kings had themselves divinized. Cultic structuressimilar to those of the traditional gods were built for some kings (Nemet-Nejat1998:217). Most likely, Nemet-Nejat makes reference to Shulgi, the second and great-est king of the Ur III dynasty, 20942047 BCE. See also McIntoshs opinion: Te UrIII rulers expressed their authority in traditional terms, the king controlling city-stateson behalf of the gods and standing between them and the people of the land theaccepted role of the city-states ruler writ large, the whole empire being the estateadministered by the king. Te relationship between the ruler and the gods becamecloser when Shulgi proclaimed himself a god. emples to his cult were maintained inevery city (McIntosh 2005:81). Cf. Metzger (1985).


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dum et fascinans(e.g. Otto 1947). Socially, the whole imagery of theforbidden throne reflects a royal vocabulary and reveals a theological

development in a royal socio-cultural context. However, phenomeno-logically, the divinity makes itself manifest, invites to worship and com-munion and, at the same time, manifests an obvious element ofinaccessibility. Te dichotomy hidden-manifest traces its roots backhere, in the ancient times when it was expressed through a language ofsymbols. Yet, this dichotomy will remain an essential feature ofapophatic theology even in the Hellenistic era when Jewish and Chris-tian thinkers will dress it in philosophical garments.

2. Te Forbidden EnthronedKabod of the Hebrew Scripture

As the cherubim play the role of guardians in Gen 3,24 and Ezek 28,14and 16, the function may be also extended to the cherubs of the ark.8Several passages referring to the cherubs of the abernacle, the empleof Solomon (with their faces turned towards the emple entrance) orthe Second emple (facing each other) may leave suffi cient roomfor the interpretation according to which they represent the guardians

of the ark.9

One may associate the observation that secondary heavenlybeings usually perform a gesture of protection over divinities of pri-mary order or such sacred objects as the tree of life (Keel 1977:21) with

8) Immediately following the episode of the fall of Adam, Yahweh intends to guard thepath to the tree of life and sets a guardian at the gate of Paradise, a terrifying cherubwho bears a flaming sword that turns in every direction (lhthh rbh hmthhpkhth). Teidea of guardianship present in Genesis and Ezekiel (swkhkh) is suggested by the

skhkhym (protecting, overshadowing) wings of the cherubs in Exod 25,20. Further-more, as several biblical scholars have shown the strong connections between the imageof the garden of Paradise and that of the emple (Weinfeld 1981:50112; Levenson1985:11184), one may affi rm that the tree of life plays, in the Genesis narrative, afunction similar to that of the divine throne of the emple: it represents the inacces-sible object of the divine realm. Te connection between the tree of paradise and thethrone of Yahweh is also obvious in 1 En 24,34, 1 En 25,15,2 En 8,3 andApMos22,4. Te idea seems to be even more ancient as it occurs in other Semitic cultures.Te old descriptions of the temple built by Gudea in Lagash, for example, portray acosmic tree at its gate and a sacred garden inside (Largement 1960:568).9) E.g. Exod 25,1822 and 37,69; Num 7,88; 1 Sam 4,4; 1 Kgs 6 and 8; 1 Kgs10,1820; 2 Kgs 19,15; 1 Chr 13,6, 2 Chr 3,13.


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the fact that Exod 25,20 and 37,9 affi rm that the kabod is situatedbeneath the wings of the cherubim. Similarly, according to 1 Kgs 8,7,

the cherubim perform this gesture of protection over the ark in Solo-mons temple (Mettinger 1982b:116).10 Hence, in addition to suchfunctions as Gods vehicle (Metzger 1985:309367; an interpretationtaking its point of departure in Ps 18,11) or heavenly hosts of Sabaoth(Mettinger 1982a and 1990:397398, taking the point of departurefrom Ps 89,69, Isaiah 6 and the Canaanite ideas of the council of godsassembling at Els mountain dwelling), the cherubim of the two templesof Jerusalem may well be interpreted as guardians of the ark (Lands-

berger 1947:234; Parrot 1954:24; De Vaux 1961; Noth 1968; Cassuto1983:335; Metzger 1993:510512; Mettinger 1995:190). Tey areguardians and defenders of the sanctuary: Wchter und Schtzer desHeiligtums (Noth 1968:124). Te fact that heavenly creatures play therole of sacred guardians and most likely inspire fear (Landsberger1947:232) actually sheds light on the sacred forbidden object the cher-ubim and the seraphim protect, namely the divine kabodwhich has toremain unapproachable in its nature. Tis function essentially unveilsan apophatic discourse expressed through symbols.

A common feature of prophetic discourses, the inaccessible throne isthe place where the enormous, magnificent and glorious image of Yah-weh dwells guarded by heavenly creatures such as the cherubim and theseraphim.11 Te tension between the vision of the divine face and theidea of divine concealment represented a central feature, if not the mostimportant, of biblical theology. Te ancient Jewish polemics concern-ing divine concealment and revelation, hiddenness and manifestationprove it suffi ciently.12 Yahwehs manifestations are not complete, but

10) See note 8. It is noteworthy that several Christian authors preserved the remarkableexegetical tradition of Isa 6,2 according to which the two seraphim cover the body ofGod (see further the subchapter on Origen).11) E.g., Isa 6,2, Ps 47,8, Jer 14,21, Ezek 1,26 and 10,1 (ks) or Daniel 7 (krs); cf.Metzger (1985) or McCormick (2006:175186). Under the name of merkabah (thechariot-throne), the throne will become the main target of the later apocalyptic jour-neys and its location the heavenly emple (see, for instance, Gruenwald 1980).12) See Isa 6,5: Ten I said, Woe is me! I am doomed, for my own eyes have seen theKing, Lord of Hosts, I, a man of unclean lips, I, who dwell among a people of uncleanlips. Unless otherwise noted, all biblical citations are from the Oxford Study Bible.See also Exod 33,20 and Exod 3,6: Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at


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fractional and curtailed, camouflaged by cherubs and seraphs, clouds,smoke and flaming fire, and the realm beyond all these elements of

concealment remains intangible.13Te image of Yahwehs throne sur-rounded by seraphim as guarding creatures appears in Isa 6,12 in thefollowing manner:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne (ks), high andexalted, and the skirt of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim were in attendanceof him. Each had six wings: with one pair of wings they covered their faces andwith another their bodies, and with the third pair they flew.

In Ezek 1,410, the guardians are cherubim:

In my vision I saw a storm-wind (rwh srh) coming from the north, a vast cloud(nn) with flashes of fire () and brilliant light (ngh) about it; and within was aradiance like brass, glowing in the heart of the flames. In the fire was the likenessof four living creatures (h ywht) in human form.Each had four faces and each fourwings; their legs were straight, and their hoofs were like the hoofs of a calf, glisten-ing and gleaming like bronze.Under the wings on each of the four sides werehuman hands; all four creatures had faces and wings,andthe wings of one touched

those of another. Tey did not turn as they moved; each creature went straightforward. Tis is what their faces were like: all four had a human face and a lionsface on the right, on the left the face of an ox and the face of an eagle. . . . 2628:

Above the vault over their [the living creatures] heads there appeared, as it were,a sapphire in the shape of a throne (ks), and exalted on the throne (ks) a form inhuman likeness (dmwth kmrh dhm). From his waist upwards I saw what mighthave been brass glowing like fire () in a furnace; and from his waist downwardsI saw what looked like fire (). Radiance (ngh) encircled him. Like a rainbow in

God. Cf. Ezek 1,27. See Mettinger (1982b) for the idea that kabodtheologies empha-size Yahwehs manifestation as glory (kabod), and that it was primarily developed inpriestly milieus. In opposition to this maximalist position about Gods manifestation,name(shem)theology developed in scribal environments was more reserved andprimarily underlined Yahwehs non-visual manifestations. Balentine concludes in thisway his study on the hiddenness of Yahweh: What calls for chief mention here is thatfact that the experience of Gods hiddenness, just as the experience of his presence, isan integral part of Israelite faith. Both experiences derive from the nature of God him-self. He is both hidden and present, both near and far way (Balentine 1983:172;cf. 175).13) See, for example, some of the most ancient texts, Isa 4,5; 6,12; 14,1314.


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visionaries, the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel do not ascend to heaven inorder to attain their visio Dei. o the contrary, Enoch experiences an

ascension to heaven, is transported to the Garden of God now in agrandiose remake after the book of Genesis and contemplates boththe mouth of the rivers mentioned in Genesis (the water source of allrivers of the world) and the origins of the winds (1 En 17,418,5).Nevertheless, the forbidden object still remains the heavenly throne, asone can see in 1 En 14,1822, a passage explaining that Enoch and theangels cannot look at the glorious face of the divine figure encircled byflaming fire:18

And I was looking and I saw a lofty throne; and its appearance was like ice, andits wheels were like the shining sun, and the voice (or sound) of the cherubim,and from beneath the throne issued rivers of flaming fire. And I was unable to see.Te Great Glory sat upon it; his apparel was like the appearance of the sun andwhiter than much snow. No angel could enter into this house and look at his facebecause of the splendor and glory, and no human could look at him. Flaming fireencircled him and a great fire stood by him, and none of those about himapproached him. (Nickelsburg and Vanderkam 2004:35)

An interesting theological feature consists of the psychological statewhich the vision of the divine figure produces within the visionary. It isthe tremendum experienced at the vision of the celestial fire, whichsecures the impenetrability of the lofty throne of glory and generatesfear and awe. It may be observed in 1 En. 14,1314: And I went intothat house hot as fire and cold as snow, and no delight of life was init. Fear enveloped me, and trembling sized me, and I was quaking andtrembling, and I fell upon my face (Nickelsburg and Vanderkam

2004:35).19

erature appears in a third-century BCE apocalypse that has as its hero the biblicalpatriarch Enoch (Himmelfarb 1986:145). She also adds: But 1 Enoch 14 departsfrom the pattern ofEzekiel1 in one particularly significant way. Ezekiel is the only oneof all the classical prophets to record the experience of being physically transported bythe spirit of God (Ezek 3,12; 8,3; 11,24; 40,12), but even Ezekiel does not ascend toheaven. Te throne of God comes to him while he is standing by the river Kebar (Ezek1,3). Enochs is the first ascent in Jewish literature (Himmelfarb 1986: 150). See alsoCollins (1984), Collins and Fishbane (1995) and Carmignac (1989).18) Cf.2 En 22,14, 4 Ezra8,2122 or LadJac2,7.19) Another apocalyptic text, the famous passage from Dan 7,210, also displays the


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4. Te Forbidden Kabod of the New estament

Te theme of the forbidden object is also encountered in the New es-tament, for example in the episode of the ransfiguration. While climb-ing Mount abor, Jesus guides and initiates his disciples into a spiritualascension which ends with the vision of the Son of Man in glory.20 Tetext also mentions two perhaps frightening elements which accompanythe revelation event the cloud of light and the divine voice (Matt17,15). Te element which proves the existence of a tremendum andof a sacred forbidden object, an element usually encountered in biblicaltheophanies, is the disciples complete prostration on their faces (Matt

17,6). Tis act is an imitatio of the ancient prophetic gesture made atthe moment when the visionary undertakes the experience of a divinemanifestation, a theophany.21 Te same gesture of prostration alsooccurs in the book of Revelation and most likely it is the sign that thevisionary experiences a terrifying fear, a mysterium tremendum. Teaccount of the visionary is illustrative:

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though I were dead man (epesa pros tous podas

autou hs nekros). But he laid his right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid (Mphobou). I am the first and the last, I am the living One (Rev 1,17).

images of certain fearful creatures, four great beasts (h ywth), right before the appear-ance of God seated on a throne of flaming fire. For the idea that the vision of theheavenly throne represents amysterium tremendum et fascinans, see also 4 Ezra8,2122([Y]our throne is beyond imagining, your glory past conceiving; you are attended bythe host of angels, trembling as they turn themselves into wind or fire at your bid-

ding) and Adams vision in Vita25,23: After your mother and I had been drivenout of Paradise, while we were praying, Michael the archangel and messenger of Godcame to me. And I saw a chariot (currum) like the wind and its wheels (rotae) werefiery. I was carried off into the Paradise of righteousness, and I saw the LORD sittingand his appearance (aspectus) was unbearable flaming fire (ignis incendens intolerabilis)( Johnson 1983:2678).20) For the early Christian conceptions of Jesus as the Son of Man enthroned in gloryas the heavenly King, see Eskola (2001).21) Te same gesture occurs in the following theophanic moments: Gen 18,2 (Abra-ham in front of the three visitors at the oak of Mamvri), the Israelites in Exod 33,10;cf. Ezek 1,28 and 43,3; 1 En 14,14; Dan 8,18 and 10,15;ApZeph 6,47 and 1315;LAE26,1; and Rev 1,17.


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Among the many visions of the New estament, Rev 4,6 reports theepiphany of the four guardian creatures in a curious arrangement which

disguises the divine throne, namely in the center, round the throneitself.22 Again, the image of the guardian beasts appears connected to,covering and protecting the forbidden heavenly throne and the divinefigure seated on the throne. As a witness for the persistence of the bibli-cal image of the guarded throne in early Christian writings, the actsnarrating the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas, chapter 12, are oneof many examples of this kind. Tere, Saturus, one of the martyrs, hasthis vision of the martyrs ascent to the divine throne:

Ten we came to a place (locum) whose walls seemed to be constructed of light (deluce). And in front of the gate stood four angels (ante ostium loci illius angeli quat-tuor stabant), who entered in and put on white robes. We also entered and weheard the sound of voices in unison chanting endlessly: Holy, Holy, Holy!In thesame place we seemed to see an aged man (sedentem quasi hominem canum) withwhite hair and a youthful face (uultu iuuenili), though we did not see his feet(cuius pedes non uidemus). On his right and left were four elders (seniores), andbehind them stood other aged men (seniores complures stabant). Surprised (cumadmiratione), we entered (introeuntes) and stood (stetimus) before a throne (ante

thronum): four angels lifted us up and we kissed the aged man and he touched ourfaces with his hand. (Musurillo 2000:121)

From the Forbidden Kabodto the Incomprehensible DivineEssence: Apophatic Teology through Philosophical NegativeConcepts

Hellenistic culture gradually imposed a philosophical translation of the

idea of divine inaccessibility. In this way, apophatic theology changedits symbolic expression for philosophical concepts. Te fact that Hel-lenistic Jewish and Christian theologians articulated their apophatictheologies in the context of interpreting the theophanies of the biblicaland extra-biblical texts, especially the account of Moses vision on MountSinai, is a strong argument for this translation and an explanation ofthe way it took place.

22) See also Rev 4,6: In the center, round the throne (en mes tou thronou kai kykl touthronou), were four living creatures . . . Tis paradoxical image echoes Ezek 1,16 and10,10: like a wheel inside a wheel (hwphn bthwdh hwphn).


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1. Philo

While certain anti-anthropomorphic stances are already present inAristobulus, Philo is the real initiator of the apophatic theology in itsproper sense (Wolfson 1947:121158 and Mhlenberg 1966:5864).As eminent scholars such as Danilou and Starobinski-Safran observed,Philo developed his apophatic terminologies several times within theexegetical context of biblical theophanies, for example the apparition ofGod to Moses or to Abraham (Starobinski-Safran 1978:55; Danilou1961:298327). However, it is worth noting that Philo lives centuriesafter the shem vs. kabodpolemics and makes use of both traditions in

order to elaborate his apophatic discourse.23 In De SomniisI 230, forinstance, he makes the following statement:

Tus in another place, when he [Moses] had inquired whether He that is has anyname (ei esti ti tou ontos onoma), he came to know full well that He has no propername (kyrion men ouden), and that whatever name anyone may use of Him he willuse by licence of language (legesthai gar ou pephyken); for it is not the nature ofHim that is to be spoken of, but simply to be (monon einai to on). (Colson and

Whitaker, Philo V, LCL 275:419)24

Instead of describing the dazzling light of God or asserting the im-possibility of seeing the divine face, Philo affi rms, on the one hand,that any predication is improper to God as long as Gods essence (ousiaorphysis) is incomprehensible and no name can appropriately expressit. While speculating on the meaning of the divine Name, the Alexan-drian suggests that God cannot have names, but the Name, the sacredetragrammaton (YHWH) revealed in the theophany described in

23) In Conf146, for example, Philo calls the First-Born at the same time with shemvocabulary (onoma theou kai logos) and also with terminology particular to the kabodtradition: the Man after His Image (ho kat eikona anthrpos).24) Cf.Mut715 (e.g.Mut7,12: m mentoi nomiss to on, ho esti pros altheian on, hypanthrpou tinos katalambanesthai) andMos. I 75: there is no name that can properlybe assigned to me (ouden onoma to parapan ep emou) (Yonge 2002:466); cf. Colsonstranslation: no name at all can properly be used of Me (Colson, Philo VI, LCL289:315). It is worth noting that, in all these instances of negative theology, Philoexplains to his reader the meaning of Moses vision.


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Exodus 3.25 Philo also renders the ineffable YHWH through ho n, theOne Who Is, and identifies it with the being itself (to on),26 which is

ineffable: arrton gar to on (Her170; cf.Mut14). For Philo, I am thatI am is rather a matter of existence than predication. It is equivalentto saying, It is my nature to be, not to be described by names (eg eimiho n, ison t einai pephyka, ou legesthai[Mut11,34]).27 Unlike thisconcealed dimension of God, his external manifestation, his ek-stasis(hyparxis) or active power (dynamis), represents a knowable, accessibledimension.28 Philo translates in this way, through the distinction ousia-hyparxis, the ancient biblical dichotomy between the hidden and the

manifest dimensions of the divine.

2. Gnostics

Gnostic theologians as well have to be mentioned for their effort ofexpressing God through philosophical concepts. As in Philos case, theypractice a mixed discourse, at the same time symbolic and conceptual(Morray-Jones 2002: 13846, 170). A Valentinian Exposition 24,3625,39, for example, describes God as inconceivable and ineffable, and

construes an apophatic discourse in connection with emple theophanicimagery:

Tus it is he who revealed himself in Monogenes, and in him he revealed the Inef-fable One (patee araf) . . . the ruth. [Tey]saw him [dwelling] in the Monad[and]in the Dyad [and ] in the etrad. [He]first brought forth [Monogenes][andLimit(horos)]. And Limit (horos) [is the separator] of the All [and the confirma-tion of the All], since they are . . . the hundred. . . . He is the [Mind(nous)] . . . theSon. [He is] completely [ineffable (ouatee araf )] to the All, and he is the

25) Exodus 3 recounts the story of Moses ascent on the mount Horeb, his vision of theburning bush and his dialogue with God about his Name, the moment in which Godreveals his sacred Name, YHWH (Exod 3,14).26) For the translation of the etragrammaton through ho n, see e.g. Opif172; LegallIII 181; Det160,Mut11,MosI 75. Cf. LXX: Ego eimi ho n. In fact, ho n is apersonalization of to n, while preserving the ineffable character of to n; they areactually identical, as one can see inMut714, Som I 230 et al.27) Cf.MosI 7576: ouden onoma to parapan ep emou kyriologeitai, h mon prosesti toeinai.28) Cf. Post1689; Deus62; Fug165; SpecI 3240; Virt215;MosII 99100.


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confirmation and [the] hypostasis of the All, the [silent(sig) veil(katapetasma)],the [true] High Priest (archiereus), [the one who has] the authority (exousia) to

enter the Holies of Holies, revealing (+men) the glory of the Aeons and (de) bring-ing forth the abundance (chorgia)to . (urner 1990:1113)29

Te text seems to display two levels of apophaticism: one regarding theFather, the other regarding the Son. First, the Valentinians make use ofvarious symbols and concepts in order to underline the absoluteapophatic dimension of the Father from the perspective of a createdbeing. Tey primarily portray him as the Monad (monas: Val Exp22,24 and 23,20) and the Ineffable One (piatee araf) who dwells in

the Monad (Val Exp 22,201).Second, there is another level of apophaticism, the one regarding the

Son. Te idea might not be obvious at first sight, since the Son receivessuch positive attributes or names as the Monogenes, the Mind or theHigh Priest. Nevertheless, he is also called the Ineffable One (pateearaf), a title which rather regards his hidden, apophatic dimensionakin to the ineffable Father. Similarly, it is only the Son who can passover the Limit (horos), the Veil (katapetasma) or the Silence (sig).30

While the horosseems to denote an element similar to the biblical fir-mament and a boundary which separates the multiplicity of creationfrom its creator,31 the Veil makes reference to the Jewish curtain of theemple, the katapetasmathat separates the Holy Chamber of the em-

29) See alsoTomassens and Meyers translation: Terefore, it was himself that herevealed in the Only One, and through him he revealed the ineffable . . . [Tey] sawhim residing in Oneness, in woness, and in Four, bringing forth the Only One andthe [Boundary]. And the Boundary . . . [separated] the All . . . is totally ineffable to the

All, and the confirmation and actualization [hypostasis] of the All, the veil of [silence].He is the [true] High Priest, the [one who has] the authority to enter the Holy ofHolies, revealing the glory to the aeons and bringing forth the abundant wealth to (Tomassen and Meyer 2007:668).30) Te text does not appear to profess an apophaticism of the Father from the perspec-tive of the Son, who seems to enjoy the full knowledge and vision of the Father. TeSons portrayal as High Priest, the only person allowed to enter the Holy of Holies,might also be viewed as a metaphor regarding the absolute apophaticism of the Fatherfrom the perspective of created beings, such as angels and humans.31) Apparently there are two limits, one above the Pleroma, separating it from theDepth (bythos, i.e., the Father) and one below the Pleroma, separating it from theexiled Sophia (Pagels 1990:99; Quispel 1947:44).


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ple from the Holy of Holies, now in a celestial-metaphorical version.32Te Son as High Priest and Monogenes is the only one able to cross the

limit or the border between the manifested and un-manifested realms.On the one hand, as Monogenes and Mind of all, he reveals the Fatherto all; as High Priest, on the other, he can proceed into the oppositedirection entering the Holy of Holies and knowing the unknowableFather.

3. Irenaeus of Lyons

Irenaeus undertakes a similar articulation of an apophatic discourse in

his commentaries on the visions of the prophets, especially the theoph-anies that Moses experienced. It is particularly worth noting that Ire-naeus observed the opposing theological positions regarding thepossibility of avisio Deiin Exodus 33 and Deuteronomy 5, both relatedto Moses.33 His interpretation, however, was not that the two passagescome from two different ancient theological milieus, most likely inpolemic with each other. Irenaeus interpretative solution, announcedin the first lines ofAdversus HaeresesIV 20,1, was that the two passages

were not contradictory, but reflected the hidden and manifestdimensions of the divine. God is neither comprehensible nor incom-prehensible, but he is both at the same time, comprehensible andincomprehensible, visible and invisible:

As regards His greatness, therefore, it is not possible to know God, for it is impos-sible that the Father can be measured (secundum magnitudinem non est cognoscereDeum; impossibile est enim mensurari Patrem); but as regards His love (dilectionem)(for this it is which leads us to God by His Word), when we obey Him, we do

always learn that there is so great a God (semper discimus quoniam est tantus Deus),

32) Its Hebrew name wasparokhet, as one may see in Exod 26,3135; 40,2126 (LXXhas katapetasma); cf. Matt 27,51, Mk 15,38; Lk 23,45; Heb 6,19 and 9,3 for the useof the Greek word in the New estament writings, and especially Heb 6,19 for the ideaof celestial veil and Jesus as High Priest.33) See Exod 33,20: My face you cannot see, for no mortal may see me and live. andDeut 5,24: Te Lord our God has indeed shown us his glory and his great power, andwe have heard his voice from the heart of the fire: today we have seen that people maystill live after God has spoken with them. Cf. Exod 24,911. In fact, Exod 33,11advances the opposite position: Te LORD used to speak with Moses face to face, asone man speaks to another . . .


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and that it is He who by Himself has established, and selected, and adorned, andcontains all things [. . .] (ANF 1:487).

Te same formulation comes out a few pages further, in IV 20,56,where Irenaeus displays the two opposing biblical passages and advancesthe theological rationales for his solution. He first maintains that theFather comprehends all and cannot be comprehended by anything,including the mind. According to his greatness (magnitudo [Lat] /megethos[Gr]), God is neither encapsulated nor confined (incapabilis /achrtos) by anything else, nor comprehended (incomprehensibilis /akatalptos); he is invisible (invisibilis / aoratos) and beyond investiga-tion, inscrutable (investigabilis/ anexichniastos).

But he also leaves room for the accessible divine dimension, whichdepends on the divine dispensation, namely on Gods love (dilectio),kindness (humanitas) and goodness (benignitas / agathots; Haer IV20,5). Nevertheless, Irenaeus adds that divine goodness itself, thoughaccessible as a dispensation through which human beings may see God,is ineffable (inenarrabilis /anexgtos;HaerIV 20,5).

4. Clement of AlexandriaClement develops a negative theology as well in connection with thetheophany which Moses experienced on Sinai, as the following passagefrom StromateisII 2,6,1 illustrates:

As a result, Moses, convinced that God will never be known (oupote gnsthsesthai)to human wisdom, says, Reveal yourself to me, and finds himself forced to enterinto the darkness where the voice of God was present; in other words, into the

unapproachable (adytous), imageless (aeideis), intellectual concepts (ennoias) relat-ing to ultimate reality (peri tou ontos). For God does not exist in darkness. He isnot in space at all (en gnoph top). He is beyond space and and time and any-thing belonging to created beings (hyperan kai topou kai chronou kai ts tn

gegonotn idiottos). Similarly, he is not found in any section (oud en merei). Hecontains nothing. He is contained by nothing (periechn ou periechomenos). He isnot subject to limit (horismon) or division (apotomn). (Ferguson 1991:1601)

However, Clement does not profess agnosticism in regard to God, buthe deems that while Gods essence (ousia) remains inaccessible, hiddenand ineffable, the human mind can access the divine manifested power(dynamis) and works (erga):


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For human speech (logos) is by nature feeble, and incapable of uttering God (ady-natos phrasai theon). . . . Nor (do I say) His essence (oude tn ousian); for this is

impossible (adynaton), but the power and the works of God (tn dynamin kai taerga tou theou) (Strom. VI 18,166; ANF 2: 519).34

5. Origen

For Origen, as for the aforementioned theologians, hermeneutical exer-cise on biblical theophanies represents an opportunity to speculatephilosophically about the possibility of knowing God. Polemicizingwith the defendants of the idea of divine corporeality, he starts his argu-

mentation in De principiiswith the biblical episode about the theoph-any Moses saw on Sinai. Te hermeneutical process offers to theAlexandrian the opportunity of displaying his philosophical assump-tions. According to him, nothing can be seen except by help of form,and size, and color, which are special properties of bodies (Non enimaliter videri quid potest nisi per habitum et magnitudinem et colorem,quae sunt specialia corporum; De prin II 4,3). Corporeality, therefore,refers to sensible and created material things. o the contrary, God isincomprehensible, immeasurable, uncreated, immaterial, and seeing

him represents pure impossibly (De prin I 1,5).One of the most interesting Origenian passages may be found in his

Commentary on Isaiah I 13, where he offers a rinitarian interpreta-tion of the Isaian vision of Yahweh inside the temple. Te two seraphimprotect mortal eyes from the astounding light of the character sittingon the throne. It is noteworthy that the Hebrew and Greek versions ofIsa 6,2 are vague enough not to clarify whether the seraphim covertheir own faces or the face of God. However, some ancient rabbinic

documents support the former idea,35

while Origen and other authors34) See also Hgg (2006:15479, for the idea of apophaticism developed in the Mid-dle-Platonist intellectual milieu, and page 161 for the context of interpreting Mosesvision on Sinai; see pages 23851, for the distinction between ousiaand dynamis).35) Te interpretation goes back to the rabbinic traditions of Midrash ascribed toR. Jacob b. Zadbi as one can see, for instance, inMidrash Rabbah-Lev 27,3: It is writ-ten,Above Him stood the seraphim; each one had six wings: with twain he covered his face,and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly(Isa 6,2). With twain he did

flyfor the purpose of offering praise, And with twain he covered his facein order not tolook at the Shechinah, And with twain he covered his feet that they might not beexposed to the view of the Shechinah, for it is written,And the sole of their feet was like


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maintain the latter.36 Origen not only sustains that the seraphim con-ceal the face of God, but he also makes known to us the meaning of

their gesture. As God is not corporeal one of Origens main theo-logical tenets covering the face of God actually signifies that ourknowledge of Gods beginning is pure impossibility: Operiebant faciemDei.Exordium enim Dei ignotum est. Moreover, as the seraphim coverGods feet as well, Gods end is also beyond human understanding: Sedet pedes. Novissimum enim quod in Deo nostro est, non comprehenditur(Hom IsaI 2; PL 24, 904A).37 In conclusion, no one can comprehendthe origins of the uncreated, no one can comprehend God, and neither

Moses, nor Isaiah was able to see the divine Face.

6. Gregory Nazianzens Mysticism as Apophatic Teology

Before analyzing Nazianzens text, I would first underline his predeces-sors accomplishments. Te examples analyzed above may lead to thehypothesis of the existence of two types of language one symbolicand one conceptual having an almost identical purpose, namely toexpress the idea that Gods core is inaccessible and no one can know

what it is. While the old symbolic texts made use of the imagery of fire,dazzling light, clouds, human-headed lions, bulls, eagles, cherubim andseraphim in order to express the impossibility of accessing the divinekabod, Philo, the Valentinians, Irenaeus, Clement, Origen and Nazian-zen construed an apophatic theology through philosophical terminol-

the sole of a calfs foot(Ezek 1,7) (Freedman and Simon 1961:345). See also argumJohnathan on Isa 6,2: Holy ministers stoodin the height before him: each one had sixwings; with twain he was covering his face that he might not see, and with twain he

was covering his body that it might not be seen, and with twain he was ministering(Stenning 1953:20). Cf.Te Oxford Study Bible 1992:708, n.2.36) Origen offers the same rinitarian interpretation of Isa 6,2 in De prin I 3,4 and IV3,14. While he expressly points out that this idea belongs to his Hebrew teacher, inI 3,4 he mentions the interpretation in connection with the book of the Ascensionof Isaiah, a Christian document of the second century. It is interesting to see thatGregorys passage cited at the beginning of this article (i.e., Or28,3, although basedon Exod 25,20; 37,9 and 1 Kgs 8,7) mentions the cherubim who hide the kabod.37) See also the same interpretation of Isa 6,2 in Hom IsaIV 1 (PL 24, 912D-913C) inwhich he advances the idea that humans can know only the middle i.e., the worldand its history but not the beginning and the end (i.e. the face and feet) of God,which only the Son and the Holy Spirit know.


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ogy. Moreover, the aforementioned theologians elaborated the apo-phatic philosophical language predominantly within the exegetical

context of the Old estament theophanies of the kabod, therefore as asort of translation of the apophatic theology through symbols.

With Nazianzen, we encounter not only the two apophatic languagesand traditions the symbolic and the conceptual linked togetheras in Philo, the Valentinians, Irenaeus, Clement and Origen, but healso equates the central elements of the two languages, namely theheavenlykabodand the divine essence. According to him, the realitydwelling beyond the heavenlykatapetasma, on the one hand, and the

concept of the divine essence, on the other, are the same item. It isnoteworthy that the passage from Oratio 28,3 given in the introductionof this article is not ahapax legomenon of the Cappadocian. o the con-trary, Gregory expresses the same thought in Oratio 38,8 (PG 36,320BC), a passage where he comments on the oracles God gave toMoses on the Mount (38,7), and affi rms that the divine nature (physis)or the Godhead (theotta) is the Holy of Holies which remains hiddeneven from the seraphim and is glorified with a trice repeated Holy(ta Agia tn agin, ha kai tois seraphim sygkalyptetai, kai doxazetai trisinagiasmois).38 Te fragment obviously recalls Isa 6,23 and, through theexpression the Holy of Holies, actually denotes the divine kabodIsa-iah contemplated in the temple rather than the holiest room of thetemple.

Nazianzens passage from Oratio 28,3 may be seen, on the one hand,as a Jewish or Christian ascent, in which the visionary undertakes aprior preparation and then has the vision of the heavenly temple. o acertain extent, it may be seen as proto-Hekhalot mysticism. However,

Gregorys discourse may rather be seen as part of a Moses/kabodtradi-tion, which plays a central role in Philos and Gregory of Nyssas mysti-cal theologies and also in those of the aforementioned authors.39 Tefact is suggestive, since Moses tradition is mostly a priestly and kabodtradition and Christian theologians appear to be strong supporters of akabod-type theology, a theology about the glory and light of God.Nazianzen himself follows Moses paradigm: I was running with a

38) Te same formulation can be found in Or45,4 (PG 36, 628D-629A).39) See Philos De Vita Mosisand Gregory of Nyssas treatise with the same title, De Vita

Mosis. Nazianzen himself mentions Moses by name a few lines later.


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mind to see God and so it was that I ascended the mount. In additionto this, Neoplatonic echoes are also present in the text. Gregory sepa-

rates himself from matter and material things and this process is accom-panied by introspection and withdrawal into himself (eis emauton hshoion te systrapheis).40

Te step which follows these preparatory ascetical stages of ascensionand introspection is vision: I directed my gaze (proseblepsa) I scarcelysaw (eidon). Once again he recalls the biblical terminology of the Sinaitheophany. Te divine disclosure is identical with that of Sinai, whereMoses saw not the face of God, but the averted figure, the back parts

of God (ta opisthia).41

Furthermore, the presence of glory entails anobvious element of danger: Moses had to protect himself in the cleft ofa rock, which Nazianzen identifies in his case with the Logos madeflesh. In fact, the partes posteriores Deiand the rock are elements ofdivine concealment and Gregorys next gesture bending a little(mikron diakypsas) from his shelter towards the source of glory uncov-ers at the same time an element offascinansand the fact that he realizesthat thepartes posterioresare not the ultimate purpose of the vision. Andat that very moment he sees the grandeur (megaleiots), or as divineDavid calls it the majesty (megaloprepeia).42

Some Isaianic echoes may be heard at this stage as well, since Gregorysees the divine majesty filling the whole earth, as in Isaiahs vision,though now re-interpreted as the majesty inherent in the created thingshe [God] has brought forth and governs. In addition, Gregory makes

40) See also Plotinus similar separation from all external things, interiorization, sojournin the divine and vision of a marvelous beauty in EnneadsIV 8, 1.41) Cf. LXX, Exod 33,23: ta opis mou, which OSB and NRSV render through myback. In fact a metaphor of concealment strongly connected with the theology of thedivine face and glory, it will be later used in Christian visionary documents as Fossumhas shown (Fossum 1995:95108).42) Aristobulus, the famous Alexandrian Jew of the second century BCE, used thesame term, majesty (megaleiots), in order to designate the immense, un-consumingdivine fire that Moses saw on Sinai (Eus. PEVIII 10,17). One may suppose that theterm became quasi-technical and denoted the biblical terms kabodand doxa. 2 Pet1,1617, while describing the light which the disciples saw in the theophanic episodeof Jesus transfiguration on Mount abor, employs similar terms as Gregory, namelymegaleiotsand megalopreps doxa. For a scholarly discussion on this theme, see Fossum1999:351.


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the semiotic turn to Greek philosophical terminology into which hetranslates the biblical symbolic account. Tus, the reality which abides

within the first veil and is hidden by the Cherubim is nothing else thanthe first and unmitigated nature (tn prtn te kai akraton physin).From an epistemological perspective, Gods nature is incomprehensibleto the human mind and, of course, known solely by the divine personsof the rinity: self-apprehended (heaut ginskomenn) (by self I meanthe rinity). While Gregory experiences the vision of the majesty ofGod (the light which God makes manifest to the human mind), thenature of God remains unmitigated and concealed by the heavenly veil

and the wings of the cherubim.Gregory continues in the next lines by affi rming that even if a vision-ary were holier than Moses and Paul (Gregorys visionary models, Paulbeing recalled because of his ascension to the third heaven), it wouldstill be impossible to have more knowledge of God:

For were a thing all heavenly, all super-celestial even, far more sublime in nature(physin) than ourselves, far nearer God, its remoteness from him and from hisperfect apprehension (teleias katalpses) is much greater than its superiority to

our low, heavy compound. (Norris 1991:226)

He defends therefore the strict transcendence of the divine nature.More than that, the next chapter of the oration, Oratio 28,4, is evenmore philosophical, since Nazianzen becomes interested in the ques-tions regarding Gods definition and apprehension, as well as regardingthe capacity of language to express such an abstract subject:

So we must begin again with this in mind. o know (nosai) God is hard, to

describe him impossible (phrasai de adynaton), as a pagan philosopher taught subtly suggesting, I think, by the word diffi cult his own apprehension, yetavoiding our test of it by claiming it was impossible to describe. No to tell ofGod is not possible (phrasai men adynaton), so my argument runs, but to knowhim is even less possible (nosai de adynatteron). For language may show theknown (to men gar nothen tacha an logos dlseien) if not adequately, at leastfaintly, to a person not totally deaf and dull of mind. But mentally to grasp sogreat a matter (to de tosouton pragma t dianoia perilabein) is utterly beyond realpossibility (pants adynaton kai amchanon) even so far as the very elevated anddevout are concerned, never mind slack and sinking souls. . . . Whether higher,incorporeal natures can grasp it, I do not know (ouk oida de, ei m kai tais anterkai noerais physesin). (Norris 1991:226)


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24 D. A. Giulea / Numen 57 (2010) 129

Gregory therefore re-articulates his apophatic position through Greekphilosophical terminology. It is not only impossible to express God, as

Plato affi rmed in imaeus28c, but also to apprehend or to know himis even less possible, because it is beyond the real possibility of mortalsto grasp so great a matter.43 In regard to the epistemic capacities of thenatures more spiritual than human, most likely the angels, Gregoryproclaims his ignorance.

Conclusion

From a socio-cultural perspective, my paper evinces the process of Hel-lenization of the conception of divine inaccessibility. Teologically, myinvestigation points out the existence of two languages able to expressthis conception, namely biblical imagery and the Greek philosophicalidiom. While Philo, Irenaeus, the Valentinians, Clement and Origenstart and develop the translation from one idiom into the other, Greg-ory equates their focal points, namely the inaccessible kabodwith thedivine essence. Most likely, philosophical apophatic discourse emergeswithin the hermeneutical context of interpreting the theophanies of theOld estament and in connection with the tradition of the forbiddenelement of mystical experiences. Conceptual apophatic language anew garment for the ancient idea of divine inaccessibility becomes

43) I am much indebted to one of the anonymous reviewers for two reasons. First, healerted me to Oration 30,17, where Gregory re-affi rms his thesis about the impossibil-ity of the human mind to apprehend Gods nature and that of human language toexpress it: Our starting-point must be the fact that God cannot be named (to theionakatonomaston). . . . no mind has yet contained or language embraced Gods essence inits fullness (oute ousian theou pantels, e nous kechrken, e fn perielaben) (Norris1991:273274). Second, he suggested that Gregory, in his poetry written later in hislife, tends to use more symbolic rather than philosophical language. Symbolic lan-guage is therefore potentialized again in poetry. Undoubtedly, symbolic language wasemployed in the centuries that followed Gregory in liturgical and mystical poetry fromRomanos the Melodist and Symeon the New Teologian to John of the Cross, Ange-lus Silesius and many other inspired authors, and it is still highly appreciatednowadays. Consequently, the two languages the symbolic and the philoso-phical represent two modalities in which the human mind has been expressing,

since the end of Antiquity, both its glimpses of the divine and the impossibility tocomprehend it.


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D. A. Giulea / Numen 57 (2010) 129 25

an important tool for the articulation of the ontology of the divinesubstance. Consequently, apophatic discourse in general represents an

immemorial theological feature which clothed both symbolic and con-ceptual garments.

Another feature intimately connected with apophatic discourse isthe dichotomy hidden-manifest, which in its turn clothed both sym-bolic and conceptual garments. While biblical theophanic accountsexpressed this dichotomy particularly through various symbols andimages, Hellenistic theologians re-expressed it through a discourseabout the inaccessible divine nature and its accessible ek-stasis, the

divine hyparxis, dynamis, dilectio, erga, operationesor energeiai.

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