Man’s “knowledge” and “ignorance” for God in the teaching of Gregory of Nyssa and Nicholas of Cusa

Eirini ARTEMI

Original title: Man’s “knowledge” and “ignorance” for God in the teaching of Gregory of Nyssa and Nicholas of Cusa

Published in Nicholas of Cusa in Dialogue 

Keywords: Gregory of Nyssa, Knowledge of God, Nicholas of Cusa, Ousia, attributes.

The knowledge of God has been the main subject of the theological teaching since the expanding of the Christian doctrine and teaching. Ecclesiastical writers as Gregory of Nyssa and Nicholas of Cusa accept that the knowledge about God is conventional and symbolic (deliberately). His attributes are known, however His essence “ousia” is not known. God is in finite. He is unlimited in every kind of perfection or that every conceivable perfection belongs to Him in the highest conceivable way. God is self-existent and does not depend on any thing else for his existence. The biblical I am that I am. Related to divine immutability: God does not undergo any change. God is externally related to the world: no event in the world has any effect on God. God conforms to the substance metaphysics of Greek philosophy. A substance is independent, self- contained, and self - sufficient. Man knows only the God’s attributes and not His “ousia”. This happens, because the finite human mind cannot grasp the essence of the infinite God. Besides God is unknowledgeable and inconceivable to His “ousia” while He is knowledgeable and comprehendible to His energies. It is clear that it only is possible for man to acquire indistinct “amydros” and weak “asthenis” vision of God according to his attributes “ta kathautou”. In this article, we are going to examine this knowledge and vision of God through the writings of eastern and western ecclesiastical writers, Gregory of Nyssa and Nicholas of Cusa.

Moses and the gnosiology of God, according Gregory’s of Nyssa interpretation in Canticum Canticorum

Eirini ARTEMI

Original title: Moses and the gnosiology of God, according Gregory’s of Nyssa interpretation in Canticum Canticorum

Published in Art, Criticism and Mysticism

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.

The Kingdom of God in Church Fathers in the 4th century

Eirini ARTEMI

Original title: The Kingdom of God in Church Fathers in the 4th century

Published in

Keywords: Ambrose of Milan, Divine Beauty, Gregory of Nyssa, Jesus Christ, John Chrysostom, Kingdom of God, Lord’s Prayer.

The epektasis [ἐπέκτασις] and the exploits of the soul (ἡ ψυχή) in Gregory of Nyssa’s De anima et resurrectione

Elena Ene D-VASILESCU

Published in Mirabilia Journal 

Keywords: Gregory of Nyssa, Macrina, On the Soul and the Resurrection, Progress (epektasis), Resurrection.

The paper refers to a notion central to Gregory of Nyssa’s theology – that of epektasis (ἐπέkτασις), i.e. progression of the soul (ἡ ψυχή) towards its Creator, as presented in the dialogue De anima et resurrectione/On the Soul and the Resurrection. he conversation between Nyssen and his sister Macrina, employing concepts peculiar to the most advanced science of their time, emphasizes that in the afterlife the soul does not leave the body (and neither does human memory). The interesting consequences of this state of affairs for both the resurrection of people and that of Jesus Christ are also discussed.