«О блаженствах»

Gregory's early works, in addition to the treatise On Virginity, include the homilies On Prayer (Εἰς τὸ πάτερ ὴμῶν) and On the Beatitudes (Εἰς τοὺς μακαρισμούς 267). Both works use the same method. In a series of sermons, Gregory examines both New Testament texts verse by verse, reflecting on their significance for spiritual life. In both texts, Gregory traces a spiritual ascent, a New Testament parallel to the ascent of Moses to Sinai, where the leader of the Old Testament people received a certain defining revelation (Gregory will return to this topic in detail in his treatise On the Life of Moses the Lawgiver). Gregory's second conversation on prayer begins with the establishment of parallels: between Jesus the Lawgiver and His Old Testament prototype, between the Sinai theophany and the new appeal to God given by Jesus in the prayer Our Father. When Moses prepared the Israelites for the Sinai “occult knowledge” (μυσταγωγία 268), argues Gregory, “he did not consider them worthy to receive divine revelation (θεοφανεία 269) until they were cleansed by abstinence and ablution. But the Israelites were still so stunned by the manifestation of God's power in fire, darkness (ὁ γνόφος 270), smoke and trumpet blast that they asked Moses himself to be their messenger, who would find out from God and tell them His will 271. On the contrary, Gregory continues, our lawgiver, Jesus Christ, leading us to Divine grace 272, does not terrify us with the sight of Mount Sinai, covered with darkness and smoke, does not require the Old Testament three-day cleansing, does not leave the entire host (πᾶσαν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν 273) waiting for the foot of the mountain, until one and only one has the path to its top, covered with darkness, obscuring God's glory 274. Instead of a mountain, He leads us to heaven, which is opened to people by their virtues 275. In addition, He reveals to the people not only a vision of Divine power, but also a kinship with the Divine nature - direct participation in it 276. ... And not with darkness (γνόφῳ) does he cover the all-surpassing glory, so that it is hard to see for those who seek, but, illuminating the darkness with the clear light of teaching (τῷ τηλαυγεῖ φωτὶ τῆς διδασκαλίας), made that the pure in heart contemplate in complete clarity the ineffable glory 277. He does not take water for ablution from external sources, but reveals cleansing streams within us (tears of repentance and a clear conscience). He does not prescribe marital abstinence, but abstinence from everything earthly and from passions in general, which allows one to approach God in prayer. He teaches us to pray not so that we shake the air with memorized words, but so that we know how to ascend to God 278. Gregory's conversations indicate the path of ascension to certain beatitudes listed in the Sermon on the Mount, which, in connection with our topic, requires special attention 279. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus delivered His sermon on the beatitudes on the mountain where He ascended with His disciples (see Matthew 5:1). In Gregory’s interpretation, this mountain is an ascent “from empty and low concepts to the spiritual mountain of sublime contemplation” 280. It is removed from all the shadows that are cast by the hills of evil, it is illuminated by the true light of the clear skies, which allows us to see with our own eyes everything that is not visible from below. Jesus, the divine Logos, blesses here those who ascend with Him, and here, above, from the peak reached, “as if with a finger” 281 points to the Kingdom of Heaven, to individual manifestations of bliss and to the main fruit of all labors: to become a close friend of God, literally, “a co-dweller with God” 282 . Elsewhere, Gregory represents Matthew's eight beatitudes as Jacob's ladder, ascending from earth to heaven, with God Himself at the top (see Gen. 28:12 ff). According to Gregory, the ladder means “life according to virtue” (τὸν κατ’ ἀρετὴν βιόν 283), which consists of constant ascent: ... there is no other way to rise to God than by always looking at what is above and having an incessant desire for the highest, and therefore [Jacob] did not like to dwell on what he had already succeeded in, but considered it a loss for himself if he did not touch what was even higher 284. So the chain of eight beatitudes appears for Gregory as an ascent (ἄνοδος 285) to God in separate steps, as if on a ladder (κλῖμαξ 286), where the first step leads us to the second, the second to the third, etc. 287, and at each of the steps our likeness to God is revealed more and more deeply. Since God Himself is completely blessed (see 1 Tim. 1:11; 6:15), ascending the ladder of beatitudes, we become more and more like the One who is at its top 288. Self-denial, mercy, purity, truth, etc., about which the beatitudes speak, are the qualities of the good God Himself; by assimilating them to ourselves, we become like Him 289. Through the stages of poverty (or self-denial and humility), meekness (or alienation from all evil), repentant crying, thirst for virtue, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking and enduring for the truth, Gregory leads his reader to bliss, to participation in the Divinity itself. In the context of our topic, the idea of ​​​​constant ascent, symbolized by Jacob's ladder, is interesting. However, Gregory does not indicate that it should be an ascent without end; on the contrary, judging by his words, participation in the bliss of God Himself is accessible to human powers. Therefore, the eighth beatitude - persecution for the truth - is understood as a certain culmination: “as a certain pinnacle of all beatitudes, it constitutes the very top of a good ascent” 290. (Gregory here, among other things, plays on the allegorical meaning of the number “eight” as the day of resurrection 291). The eighth beatitude evokes in Gregory associations with the arena of martyrdom, the battle for faith, and running in competitions 292. Here we are not talking about endless running, but about victory: to achieve the goal as quickly as possible, without allowing the opponents to win, and to receive the winner's crown. Meanwhile, a person living on the edge (ἐν μεθορίῳ 293) of good and evil can turn in both directions in his run. If he runs towards good, then, due to the duality of his position, he is often driven not only by the desire for good, but also by the desire to avoid evil, and sometimes he is pushed towards good by nothing other than evil - say, if he is persecuted, remaining unshakable. “And what is good and what is above all good” 294, the goal to which the persecuted one hastens, and the goal of the entire competition is, for Gregory, the Lord Himself. To win means to resist, to turn away from evil and destruction to goodness, truth and immortality, to receive participation in the bliss of God Himself 295. Gregory also needs the metaphor of competition or competition to explain that “meek” (πραΰς, Matt. 5:5) does not at all mean “timid” or “slow.” The saint turns to the image of the Apostle Paul, who not only bravely fought against hostile circumstances and the intrigues of his enemies “and was agile in hand-to-hand combat” (ἡ πυκτική 296), but also encouraged his listeners to run in this competition in order to receive the crown of victory (see 1 Cor. 9:24). In his own words, Paul, in an unstoppable and ever-accelerating flow, “pressed forward, consigning to oblivion what was behind” (cf. Phil. 3:13) 297. So here we find again Gregory's favorite New Testament verse, quoted as a description of brave combat. Elsewhere in his sermons on the beatitudes 298 Gregory connects the apostle’s thought about striving for the future, for what is set before us, with a constant thirst for truth, which is not quenched by saturation 299 . According to Gregory, this is a thirst for God. The Apostle Paul, who testifies that “Christ lives in him” (see Gal. 2:20), has definitely reached saturation, and still he is not satisfied with this, but, like one who is constantly hungry, strives further forward 300: “I say this not because I have already achieved or perfected; but I press on, lest I also attain” (Phil. 3:12). The unquenchable thirst for truth is for Gregory an image of a virtue with which we will never be satiated, which will never get boring: “Because all this [chastity, purity, exercise in every virtue, etc.] can always be put into action, and throughout the entire continuation of life there is no time that leads to satiety and good activity” 301. Here we obviously touch on one of the main nerves of Gregory's idea of ​​​​life as endless movement - a polemic with the (presumably Origenian) idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe satiety of the soul 302. For Gregory, “the acquisition of virtue, in which once it is firmly rooted, is neither measured by time nor limited by satiety” 303. However, the saint does not clearly indicate whether we are talking about a path without end. Rather, he considers the dialectic of satiety and the new thirst that arises from it: whoever strives for virtue, “God the Word promises the satisfaction of hunger (see Matt. 5:6), such a satisfaction that satiety inflames, and does not quench desire” 304. Although Gregory here indicates a certain endless path, he does not, however, mean any effort that never reaches the goal, or running towards a goal that is constantly moving away. The effort of virtue, according to Gregory, is not the futile running of “those trying to step on the top of their shadow,” where the pursued endlessly moves away from the overtaking 305. He who desires virtue makes good his acquisition, 306 since he can see in himself what he strives for. From saturation, desire only increases, these poles mutually multiply 307. In a conversation about the bliss of the “pure in heart,” Gregory again touches on the paradox of achievement, which means further striving, since the goal of striving can never be fully grasped. How can the “pure in heart” see God (see Matt. 5:8) if it is impossible to see God (see Ex. 33:22; John 1:18; 1 Tim. 6:16)? And does “seeing God” mean the same thing as “having eternal life” (after all, according to Gregory, in Scripture “seeing” means the same as “having”)? Why are we promised something unattainable, and called forth a hope that has nothing to rely on? 308 Gregory resolves this confusion (practically according to the method of the medieval scholastics), turning to the distinction between different ways of seeing or knowing something. The Divine nature itself, such as it is in its essence, 309 definitely exceeds the capabilities of human knowledge. God, Who by nature is “above all nature” 310, “invisible and indescribable” 311, however, can be visible and comprehended “in another respect” (ἄλλῳ λόγῳ 312) - say, based on what He created. Just as from the work of an artist we recognize not his nature, but his skill, so through the entire creation we can recognize not the nature of God, but only God’s wisdom, and by the creation of man free, not God’s essence, but God’s goodness. And in general, everything that is good and sublime, for example, strength or purity, can already give us some idea of ​​\u200b\u200bGod 313. “For He who is invisible by nature is made visible in actions, seen in something that is around Him” 314. This beatitude, continues Gregory, obviously also implies something else. It does not imply that one can know something about God, but it does imply that one can see Him, and even have Him in oneself 315. The one who has cleansed his heart from everything created and from all passions (thereby correcting the original human inclination towards the sensual), “in his own beauty sees the image of God’s nature” 316, although “the glory of God is inexplicable (ἀνερμήνευτον), and the beauty is ineffable (ἄφραστον), her nature is inconceivable" (ἀχώρητον) 317. This Neoplatonic teaching, which we already know from Gregory’s essay On Virginity, is also associated with reflection on the human ability to embrace the “heavenly”, the extent to which a person is able to know God. Gregory gives an example: everyone is able to inhale air only according to the capacity of their lungs (εὐρυχωρία 318), and it is impossible to absorb all the air. Likewise, the knowledge of God that Scripture gives us corresponds to our ability to comprehend, and even exceeds it, but God’s greatness remains far from comprehensible 319. How else would it be possible, Gregory asks in another place of his sermons, to give a name to the unprecedented (τὸ ἀθέατον), to describe the immaterial (τὸ ἄϋλον), to point out the formless (τὸ ἀειδές)? How could we embrace what does not have size (τό ἀμέγεθες), quantity (τὸ ἄποσον), quality (τὸ ἄποιον), outline (τὸ ἀσχημάτιστον), not bound by time and space, exceeding all limits (τὸ ἐξώτερον παντὸς περασμοῦ) and refuting any limited idea 320 ? Obviously, all sorts of high names can be applied to it - “Divinity, kingdom, power, ever-bearing, incorruptibility, joy”... But how can we open to our gaze this Good, “contemplated and invisible” 321, which imparts existence to everything that exists, but does not itself need to be brought into being, since it exists eternally (ἀεὶ ὄν 322)? Such “inquisitive research” will be in vain, however, it is precisely “by the very impossibility of seeing what we are looking for that will imprint on us a certain concept of the greatness of what we are looking for” 323. Harmony as a likeness to a simple God Although Gregory here describes the incomprehensibility of the supreme Good, he does not directly call it infinite or unlimited. He had not yet arrived at the metaphor of a path without end. In interpreting the blessedness that is promised to the peacemakers, that they “will be called sons of God,” Gregory uses this comparison from a different perspective. The main qualities of God here are goodness and simplicity, but not infinity. If God is the Giver of good, man must become like Him by renouncing everything that opposes good 324. If God is simple and incomposite 325, then the one who overcomes the discord between spirit and body that exists in human nature will be like Him: whoever turns entirely to the good will bring the body to “peaceful harmony” 326 with the spirit and, thereby, bring the external and obvious into perfect harmony with the internal and secret. By such unification, man imitates God's unity and can in fact be called the son of God 327. Gregory says nothing here about how such unity and such harmony are achievable, about the fact that human perfection lies in the very search for it. In Gregory's sermons on the Gospel beatitudes, neither the idea of ​​an infinite God nor the idea of ​​human life as a path without end is developed. Nevertheless, here we already find the necessary material for creating this teaching: first of all, this is the thought of ascent, which is not satisfied by any acquisition, but, having reached the next step of Jacob’s ladder, the ascendant is already preparing for the next step. At the same time, based on the verses of Phil. 3:12–14, the motif of ascension is combined with the metaphor of running forward, constantly striving for what lies before us. “Thirst for virtue” addresses what is before us from another point of view - as the dialectic of this desire, its filling and increasing depth. Gregory distances himself both from the idea of ​​saturation and satiety of the soul, and from the attempt to “catch his own shadow,” i.e. from the idea of ​​constant spiritual effort that never reaches its goal. Finally, the motive of seeing the invisible God in one’s own purified soul, as well as the motive of becoming like a simple God in harmony of spirit and body, represent an attempt to combine the idea of ​​​​God’s transcendence and otherness with the biblical concept of man as the image of God. We will see that in Gregory's further writings the concept of God's infinity and the teaching of human life as a path without end will be only complementary variations of one theme. Although J. Daniélou initially assumed that the sermon on the beatitudes was delivered at the end of Gregory's life (see J. Daniélou, Platonisme, p. 12), he later changed his mind, see above, ch. Life and works of Gregory, approx. 2. De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2,20,3. De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2,20,4. De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2, 20, 8. ... αὐτοῖς μεσίτην γενέσθαι το θείου βουλήματος (De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2, 20, 10). ... προσάγειν ἡμᾶς τῇ θείᾳ χάριτι μέλλων (De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2, 20.13 ff). De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2, 20, 18. ... τὴν ἄνοδον ἐπὶ τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ ὅρούς χαρίζεται, τὴν (De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2, 20.19 ff.). … ἐπ’ α ὐτὸν ἀνάγει τὸν οὐρανόν, βατὸν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις αὐτὸν διὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς καταστήσας (De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2, 20, 21 ff). ... καὶ κοινωνοὺς ἀπεργάζεται, καὶ εἰς συγγένειαν τρόπον τινὰ (De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2, 20,23 ff). De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2, 20, 25–21, 4; rus. lane - With. 401 (hereinafter translation of homilies On prayer - according to the edition: Works of St. Gregory of Nissk, Moscow, 1861, vol. 1). In his treatise On the Life of Moses, Gregory will attribute another meaning to the darkness of Sinai, see below, chap. About the life of Moses, section Sinai Epiphany. ... ἐπίνοιαν τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀναβάσεως ... κατωρθωμένην (De or. Dom. 2: GNO VII/2,21,13 ff). On Gregory's interpretation of the beatitudes, probably the first attempt in history to interpret this text consistently, see M. Girardi, “Annotazioni alla esegesi di Gregorio Nisseno nel “De beatitudinibus”,” Augustinianum, 35, 1995, p. 161–182 (M. Girardi reproduces his interpretation almost verbatim in the comparative study “Basilio e Gregorio Nisseno sullebeatitudini” // Vetera Christianorum, 32, 1995, pp. 91–129; even earlier, a similar comparison was made by G. E. Gould, “Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa on the Beatitudes” // Studia patristica, 22, 1989, pp. 14–22; both authors indicate that Vasily’s interpretations are situational, predominantly instructive, while Gregory’s is a thoughtful, systematic study addressed to a philosophically educated public). Other interesting interpretations of this work are presented in the acts of the Eighth International Colloquium dedicated to Gregory, held in August 1998 in Paderborn. ... συναναβῆναι αὐτῷ [τῷ λόγῳ] χαμόθεν ἀπὸ τῶν κοίλων τε καὶ ? (De beat. 1: GNO VII/2, 77, 5 ff; Russian translation - p. 359. Hereinafter translation of the homilies On the Beatitudes - according to the edition: Works of St. Gregory of Nissk, Moscow, 1861, vol. 2). ... οἷον δακτύλῳ τινί (De beat. 1: GNO VII/2, 78.4). … τὸν ἐκ τῶν διωγμῶν καρπόν, ὅ ἐστι τὸ σύνοικον θεοῦ γενέσθαι (De beat. 1: GNO VII/2, 78.7 ff. – p. 360). Debeat. 5: GNO VII/2,123,25 ff. ... τὰ ἄνω βλέποντα καὶ τὴν τῶν ὑψηλῶν ἐπιθυμίαν ἄληκτον ἔχοντα, ὡς μὴ ἀγαπᾷν ἐπὶ τῶν ἤδη κατορθωθέντων μένειν ἀλλὰ ζημίαν ποιεῖσθαι, εἰ τοῦ ὑπερκειμένου μὴ ἅψαιτο (De beat. 5: GNO VII/2,124,1 – 5; Russian translation – p. 419). Debeat. 2: GNO VII/2.90.4. Debeat. 2: GNO VII/2,89,22. Cm. Debeat. 2: GNO VII/2.89.22 – 90.4. Cm. Debeat. 5: GNO VII/2,124, 5 – 15. Cm. Debeat. 1; 5; 1; 6: GNO VII/2, 82, 22 – 84, 28; 124, 16 – 125, 3; 141.18–27. ... κεῖται τῆς ἀγαθῆς ἀναβάσεως (De beat. 8: GNO VII/2, 161, 16 ff; Russian translation - p. 467). See Debeat. 8: GNO VII/2,161, 11 – 162, 3. See Debeat. 8: GNO VII/2,163, 23 – 164, 1. See Debeat. 8: GNO VII/2, 164.16. … ἀγαθὸν δὲ καὶ παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ ἐπέκεινα (De beat. 8: GNO VII/2, 164.13; Russian translation - p. 470). See Debeat. 8: GNO VII/2,164, 13 – 23. Debeat. 2: GNO VII/2, 93, 24; rus. lane – c. 379–80. Cm. Debeat. 2: GNO VII/2, 93.15 – 19. Cm. Debeat. 4: GNO VII/2.122, 25 – 123.4. P. Meloni compared Gregory's interpretation of this beatitude in detail with other patristic commentaries, but he does not pay much attention to Gregory's typical motif of epectasis, see P. Meloni, “Beati gli affamati e assetati di giustizia.” L’interpretazione patristica” // Sandalion, 2, 1979, p. 143–219, especially c. 179–185. ... ὡς πεινῶν ἀεὶ τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτείνεται (De beat. 4: GNO VII/2,123,1). Ὅτι ταῦτα μὲν ἔξεστι διαπαντός ἐνεργεῖν καὶ οὐδείς ἐστι καιρὸς ἐν παντὶ τῷ τῆς ζωῆς διαστήματι τῆς ἀγaθῆς κόρον ἐμποιῶν ἐνεργείας (De beat. 4: GNO VII/2,120,11–4; Russian translation – p. 414). See above, ch. Review of research, section Controversy with Origen?, ff, ch. The infinity of God and the endless path of man, section Controversy with the idea of ​​satiety. Ἥ δὲ τῆς ἀρετῆς κτῆσις οἶς ἂν ἅπαξ βεβαίως ἐνιδρυθῇ οὐ ? 415). ... πλησμονὴν ἐξάπτουσαν κόρῳ τὴν ὄρεξιν, οὐκ ἀμβλύνουσαν (De beat. 4: GNO VII/2,121.4 ff; rus. … καθάπερ τοῖς τῇ κορυφῇ τῆς ἑαυτῶν σκιᾶς ἐπιτρέχουσιν (De beat. 4: GNO VII/2,121.9 ff; rus. … κτῆμα ἴδιον ποιεῖται τὸ ἀγαθόν (De beat. 4: GNO VII/2,121,14 ff). ... ἡ δὲ πλησμονὴ ... οὐκ ἀποστροφὴν, ἀλλ’ ἐπίτασιν ποιεῖ τῆς (De beat. 4: GNO VII/2, 121.16–19). See Debeat. 6: GNO VII/2,137.11 – 139.6. ... αὐτὴ καθ' ἑαυτὴν ὅ τι ποτὲ κατ’ οὐσίαν ἐστί (De beat. 6: GNO VII/2,140,15 ff). … κατὰ τὴν φύσιν ὁ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν φύσιν (De beat. 6: GNO VII/2,140, … ὁ ἀόρατός τε καὶ ἀκατάληπτος (De beat. 6: GNO VII/2, 140, 27 – 141.1). Debeat. 6: GNO VII/2,140,27; rus. lane – c. 441. Cm. Debeat. 6: GNO VII/2,141,1 – 21. ? τοῖς περὶ αὐτὸν ἰδιώμασι καθορώμενος (De beat. 6: GNO VII/2,141,25 ff; Russian translation - p. 442). ... τὸ ἐν ἑαυτῷ σχεῖν τὸν Θεόν (De beat. 6: GNO VII/2,142,14 ff). … ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ κάλλει τῆς θείας φύσεως καθορᾷ τὴν εἰκόνα (De beat. 6: GNO VII/2,142,22). Debeat. 6: GNO VII/2,143,1 ff; pyc. lane – c. 443. Debeat. 7: GNO VII/2,150,13. Cm. Debeat. 7: GNO VII/2,150,12 – 20. Cm. Debeat. 3: GNO VII/2,104,15 – 19. ... τὸ θεώμενον καὶ μὴ βλεπόμενον (De beat. 3: GNO VII/2,104,24 ff). Debeat. 3: GNO VII/2,104,26. … δι’ αὐτοῦ τοῦ μὴ δυνηθῆναι κατιδεῖν τὸ ζητούμενον ἔννοιάν (De beat. 3: GNO VII/2, 105, 3 ff; Russian translation - p. 394–5). See Debeat. 7: GNO VII/2,159,16 – 160, 7. … ἁπλοῦν τὸ θεῖον καὶ ἀσύνθετον (De beat. 7: GNO VII/2,160,21). ... εἰς εἰρηνικὴν συμφωνίαν (De beat 7: GNO VII/2,160,13 ff). Cm. Debeat. 7; GNO VII/2,160,11 – 161, 3.