Studia Patristica. Vol. CI – Gregory of Nyssa’s Mystical Eschatology
Edited by G. Maspero Edited by M. Brugarolas Edited by I. Vigorelli
This volume investigates the point of view of eschatology itself, seeking to indicate the importance of mysticism in its development, focusing on Gregory’s Commentary on the Song of Songs, where the eschatological dimension is clearly highlighted and illuminates the concept of apokatastasis.
Studies on Gregory of Nyssa are flourishing. In this highly valuable bibliography, two areas stand out: mysticism and eschatology. The former has also been at the centre of a lively controversy, concerning the possibility that Gregory could be described as the actual initiator of mysticism. Eschatology, on its part, has received particular attention, especially in the areas of epektasis and apokatastasis. But these dimensions are connected, as shown by Gregory’s Commentary on the Song of Songs, a mystical text par excellence, which offers numerous eschatological insights, which this volume tries to present. The issue is all the more interesting in that Gregory’s eschatology is marked by a hermeneutical tension which is reflected in a dichotomy present in the studies devoted to it. Clearly, Gregory has been inspired by the apokatastasis of Origen, but for him, as for the Alexandrian, is it possible to speak of a universal salvation? If the human being is simply a soul which has to be restored to its initial state, what is the value of its history? And the body? And freedom? These questions seem to be linked to the tension between the “circular” dimension of apokatastasis and the “linear” dynamic of epektasis. This is approached through the lens of Christology and ontology, two areas which, in the context of Nyssa studies as a whole, are among the least studied. Therefore, the chapters of the book are aimed at covering the themes in such a way as to reveal the profound relationships between the two foci of theological reflection on the mystery of Christ: on the one hand, the Christological focus proper, on the other, the ontology which emerges from Christological and Trinitarian considerations. Thus, we shall be able to identify the influences and relations, intrinsic and systematic, between the thought about being, the protology and the eschatology, of classical origin, and the thought about Christ in which the divine and the human are united in and through history. This volume, therefore, is arranged in three main parts. The first, most fundamental, approximates to the question of the point of view of eschatology itself, seeking to indicate the importance of mysticism in its development. The second part of the volume is devoted precisely to Gregory’s Commentary on the Song of Songs, where the eschatological dimension is clearly highlighted. The third and last part of the volume is devoted to the apokatastasis. Here the different, even contrasting positions, are presented, providing, simultaneously, some tools which could assist a deeper penetration into the tensions of eschatology through the mystical perspective which is characteristic of the Commentary on the Song of Songs. In particular, the Christological and ontological elements linked to epektasis seem to promise a greater immersion into Gregory’s eschatology and appreciation of its theological significance, not despite its tensions but precisely by means of them.
- Edited by G. Maspero
- Edited by M. Brugarolas
- Edited by I. Vigorelli
Other Titles in this Series
Studia Patristica. Vol. LXVI – Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2011
Volume 14: Clement of Alexandria; The Fourth-Century Debates
Volume 66
Studia Patristica. Vol. LXXXII – Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015
Volume 8: Demons
Volume 82
Studia Patristica. Vol. XCIV – Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015
Volume 20: From Tertullian to Tyconius
Volume 94
Studia Patristica. Vol. LVI – Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2011
Volume 4: Rediscovering Origen
Volume 56
Studia Patristica. Vol. LXVII – Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2011
Volume 15: Cappadocian Writers; The Second Half of the Fourth Century
Volume 67
Studia Patristica. Vol. LXXXIII – Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015
Volume 9: Emotions
Volume 83
Studia Patristica. Vol. XCV – Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015
Volume 21: The Fourth Century; Cappadocian Writers
Volume 95
Studia Patristica. Vol. LVII – Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2011
Volume 5: Evagrius Ponticus on Contemplation
Volume 57
Studia Patristica. Vol. LXVIII – Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2011
Volume 16: From the Fifth Century Onwards (Greek Writers)
Volume 68
Studia Patristica. Vol. LXXXIV – Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015
Volume 10: Evagrius between Origen, the Cappadocians, and Neoplatonism
Volume 84
Studia Patristica. Vol. XLVIII – From the Fifth Century: Greek Writers, Latin Writers, Nachleben
Volume 48
Studia Patristica. Vol. XCVII – Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015
Volume 23: From the Fourth Century Onwards (Latin Writers); Nachleben
Volume 97
Studia Patristica. Vol. LVIII – Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2011
Volume 6: Neoplatonism and Patristics
Volume 58
Studia Patristica. Vol. LXIX – Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2011
Volume 17: Latin Writers; Nachleben
Volume 69
Studia Patristica. Vol. LXXXV – Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015
Volume 11: Ambrose of Milan
Volume 85
Studia Patristica. Vol. XCVIII – Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015
Volume 24: St. Augustine and his Opponents
Volume 98
Studia Patristica. Vol. LIX – Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2011
Volume 7: Early Christian Iconographies
Volume 59
Studia Patristica. Vol. LXX – Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2011
Volume 18: St Augustine and his Opponents
Volume 70
Studia Patristica. Vol. LXXXVI – Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015
Volume 12: Augustine on conscientia
Volume 86
Studia Patristica. Vol. XCVI – Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015
Volume 22: The Second Half of the Fourth Century; From the Fifth Century Onwards(Greek Writers); Gregory Palamas' Epistula III
Volume 96
Studia Patristica. Vol. LX – Papers presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2011
Volume 8: New Perspectives on Late Antique spectacula
Volume 60
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