Does Pope Benedict XVI endorse apokatastasis?
Gregory of Nyssa - An introduction (Pt 1)
Part 1: An introduction
Over the next few weeks, I will be posting and
discussing translations of certain passages of St
Gregory of Nyssa’s writings, that develop and explain
the themes mentioned in this introduction. So stay
tuned!
For now, let me introduce this extraordinary Father,
and some of the main axes of his teaching.
His life
Saint Gregory of Nyssa, was born circa 335 into a pious
and saintly family – his grandmother, mother, father,
brothers and sisters have all been recognised as
saints. Although he set off to become a teacher, he
accepted to be appointed Bishop of Nyssa (a small town
in Cappadocia, in modern day Turkey) in 372, at the
demand of his brother, Basil the Great. He had an
influential role in the Early Church, notably during
the Second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople in 381,
and in fighting various heresies such as Arianism.
However, along the way he met much opposition to his
ministry, which resulted in a period of exile. The
death of the main supporter of his ministry his brother
Basil and of his sister Macrina came as profound
setbacks to his vocation as well. However, his
influence was such that he was given the title “Father
of the Fathers” at the Seventh Ecumenical Council in
787.
His main influences
Saint Gregory’s own influences are of course to be
found in the Judaeo-Christian scriptures, in
illustrious predecessors such as Origen (regarding the
final restoration of all things in Christ,
apokatastasis), and his brother Basil. Basil, along
with Gregory of Nazianzus, shaped Gregory’s view of the
Holy Trinity, in that he considered each hypostasis to
inherently imply the other two. Other influences can be
found in Neoplatonism (Plotinus in particular,
regarding the infinity of God). Thus, although his
primary source, the Bible, was Semitic, he was fully
immersed in the Hellenistic culture.
Differences with Origen
One of the main differences between St
Gregory and Origen is in the unknowability of God.
Unlike Origen (who in this was closer to Platonism), St
Gregory held the view that God is infinite, and
therefore cannot be defined. Indeed, he considered that
if God was not limitless, he would therefore be limited
by something greater than him, which is impossible. The
direct corollary of God’s infinity is that He cannot be
fully comprehended nor defined, and thus, cannot be
reached. As we shall see, this has major implications
when considering reintegration of all things in God.
Building upon Origen’s teachings, St Gregory provided a
conceptual framework for bodily matter by placing its
ontological transformation under the responsibility of
the soul’s migration towards and away from God: the
further we are from God, the denser the walls of our
material prison.
St Gregory also went further than Origen regarding
evil: since evil has no real existence, its “relative”
existence will be annihilated at the end of time,
through the purifying action of hell. Actually, in St
Gregory’s mind, evil and Satan are not adversaries of
God but of man. He compared purification by the fire of
hell to the chemical purification of gold by fire, and
to a muddy rope that is cleaned when passed through a
small hole.
Preliminary doctrinal elements
St Gregory’s theosophy can be better
understood in the light of three major notions: (i) the
realisation that our immersion in the physical world
requires us to work relentlessly at our reconciliation
with God, thereby migrating from our current state
towards God; (ii) God being infinite, he is eternally
out of reach, thus our divinisation, i.e. the process
through which one progresses on the path to God, is
perpetual by nature; (iii) following Origen, all things
are to be restored in Christ (apokatastasis), however
only with their own accord.
Origen of Alexandria, reintegration and inferences on evolution
Read More...