Liviu Petcu, Experienţa extatică a sufletului în Dumnezeu după Sfântul Grigorie al Nyssei (II)
St. Gregory of Nyssa on the ecstatic experience of the soul in God: sober intoxication, sleep awake, wound and flight of the soul (II)
St. Gregory of Nyssa is the first Christian author who has developed a theological theory about ecstasy, defined as a continuous output from the limitations of this world and a continuous penetration in the impenetrable darkness of God. He called the spiritual life an ‘ecstasy towards Divinity’.
St. Gregory lists several reasons that cause ecstasy: sober intoxication, sleep awake, wound and flight of the soul. The phrase „sober intoxication” is an oxymoron that is based upon the distinction between the state of intoxication brought on by wine and a state of Christian perfection available through grace.
Keywords: Gregory of Nyssa, spiritual life, theological theory, ecstasy, sober intoxication, drunkenness.
- Grigorie de Nyssa – J. P. Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca (P. G.), vol. XLIV-XLVI;
- *** col. Părinţi şi Scriitori bisericeşti (Fathers and Church Writers), vol. 29, traducere de Pr. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae şi Preot Ioan Buga, Bucureşti, Editura Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, 1982, 493 p.;
- *** col. Părinţi şi Scriitori bisericeşti (Fathers and Church Writers), vol. 30, traducere de Pr. Prof. Dr. Teodor Bodogae, Bucureşti, Editura Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, 1998, 477 p.;
Works, studies, articles
- Burns, Stuart, Divine Ecstasy in Gregory of Nyssa and Pseudo-Macarius: Flight and Intoxication, în The Greek Orthodox Theological Review, vol. 44, Nos. 1-4, 1999, p. 309-327;
- Daniélou, Jean, Mystique de la ténèbre chez Grégoire de Nysse, în La contemplation chez les Orientaux chrétiens, Dictionnaire de spiritualité. Ascétique et mystique. Doctrine et histoire, 2, 2, Paris, 1953, col. 1872-1883 ;
- Daniélou, Jean, Platonisme et Théologie Mystique. Essai sur la doctrine spirituelle de Saint Grégoire de Nysse, Paris, Aubier, 1944, 339 p.;
- Florea, Pr. Dr. Ştefan, Spiritualitate şi desăvârşire la Sfântul Grigorie de Nyssa / Spirituality and perfection in St. Gregory of Nyssa, Bucureşti, Editura Asa, 2004, 349 p.;
- Heine, R. E., Perfection in the Virtuous Life, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1975, 142 p.
- Lewy, Hans, Sobria Ebrietas. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der antiken Mystik, Vol. 9, Geissen, 1929, 174 p. ;
- Macleod, C. W., Allegory and Mysticism in Origen and Gregory of Nyssa, în Journal of Theological Studies, 22, 1971, p. 362-379;
- Thunberg, Lars, Antropologia teologică a Sfântului Maxim Mărturisitorul. Microcosmos şi Mediator / Microcosm and Mediator: The Theological Anthropology of Maximus the Confessor, trad. Anca Popescu, Bucureşti, Editura Sofia, 2005, 517 p. ;
- Völker, W., Gregor von Nyssa als Mystiker, Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1955, p. 274-282.
