Published in Art, Criticism and Mysticism

Keywords: Keywords: Agnoia, Canticum Canticorum, Gnofos, Gnosiology, Gregory of Nyssa, Ignorance, Knowledge, Moses.

This paper seeks to provide an exposition on Gregory of Nyssa’s work on how Moses could “know” and “see” God. Humanity and God stand on two very different planes of existence. Moses “knew” God, because he tried to leave with God’s order. Every time that Moses made a movement that included a kind of his sacrifice, God appeared to him. God presented Himself to Moses through the burning bush. Gregory underlined that that every person, included Moses, can know the essence of God – one cannot know what God is. However, one can know “that God is” – meaning that we can know that God exists. Moses had many “visions” of God and Gregory explained that it is not possible for any man to describe these God’s revelation to Moses, because “Humans are not capable of this knowledge because it is “other than” or “beyond” them”. Moses wanted to see God all the time. Gregory reminded his audience that erotic desire mirrors spiritual desire only in part; spiritual desire – and ultimately the divine nature – cannot be limited to erotic desire. Thus, Gregory of Nyssa highlighted both God’s imminence and God’s transcendence. Moses wanted to see the same face of God. His desire was expressed to God. He knew that Salvation is achieved through knowledge about God, but in Christian dimension. This knowledge determined both humans and the form and content of their life. The knowledge for God is no longer man’s work in Christian teaching. It is the work of faith to the revealed truth. For this high feat-conquest has as assistant only the faith of man to God and the grace of God to man.