04 — Mystical Ascent
Gregory of Nyssa is the founder of Christian apophatic mysticism, and these two works are its charter: the Life of Moses, with its doctrine of epektasis (the soul’s endless progress into the infinite God) and the luminous darkness of Sinai; and the Homilies on the Song of Songs, with their bridal mysticism of perpetual, never-satisfied desire. Together they translate the divine infinity of his Trinitarian theology into a spirituality of unceasing ascent.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Church Father)
Because God is infinite (the doctrine grounded against Eunomius), the soul that ascends toward him never arrives at a limit; perfection itself is redefined as the refusal ever to stop growing. This is epektasis (from Philippians 3:13), Gregory’s signature contribution to mystical theology. The Life of Moses maps the ascent through the three theophanies — light, cloud, and darkness — to the apophatic summit where the soul knows God by unknowing; the Homilies on the Song of Songs give the same ascent its affective form, as the bride forever wounded by love pursues the ever-fleeing Bridegroom. This stream feeds Pseudo-Dionysius, Maximus, and Palamas, and was recovered for the modern age by Daniélou.
Files in this Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Life of Moses | The flagship of Gregory’s mystical theology: epektasis and endless progress; the threefold ascent and the luminous darkness; the cleft of the rock and seeing God “from behind”; the influence on the whole apophatic tradition. |
| The Homilies on the Song of Songs | The bridal mysticism; the soul and Church as the bride; perpetual desire and the wound of love; the defense of spiritual exegesis. |
See Also
- Trinitarian Theology — the divine infinity that grounds the ascent
- On the Soul and the Resurrection — the soul that ascends, and its destiny
- The Modern Recovery — Daniélou and the twentieth-century rediscovery of the mystical Gregory
- St. Gregory Palamas — the heir to Gregory’s theology of the divine darkness
- Theosis — deification as the goal of the ascent
References
- Gregory of Nyssa. The Life of Moses (De vita Moysis) [PG 44:297–430]. Translated by Abraham J. Malherbe and Everett Ferguson. New York: Paulist Press, 1978.
- Gregory of Nyssa. Homilies on the Song of Songs (In Canticum Canticorum) [GNO VI; PG 44:755–1120]. Translated by Richard A. Norris Jr. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2012.
- Daniélou, Jean. Platonisme et théologie mystique: Essai sur la doctrine spirituelle de saint Grégoire de Nysse. Paris: Aubier, 1944.