Doctrine I, Unit IV Orthodox Gnosiology J.J. Blackstock Page 1

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“Orthodox Gnosiology is not merely an intellectual question, but is described as phenomenological, existential, personal and mystical ~ explain what this means. How can Orthodox Theology develop its methodology without reducing itself to a simpler philosophical system?”

INTRODUCTION

The term "gnosiology" is used more commonly in Greek than in English. As a philosophical concept, gnosiology broadly means the theory of knowledge, which in ancient

Greek philosophy was perceived as a combination of sensory perception and intellect and then made into memory (called the mnemonic system). When considered in the context of science, gnosiology takes on a different meaning: the study of knowledge, its origin, processes, and validity. Gnosiology is the study of different types of knowledge i.e. memory (abstract knowledge derived from experimentation being "episteme" or teachable knowledge), experience induction (or empiricism), deduction (or rationalism), scientific abductive reasoning, contemplation (theoria), metaphysical and instinctual or intuitive knowledge. Gnosiology is focused on the study of the noesis and noetic components of human ontology. Within gnosiology, gnosis is derived by noesis. Noesis refers to the experiences or activities of the nous.

This makes the study and origin of gnosis and gnosiology the study of the intuitive and or instinctual. Gnosis is knowledge of the divine, spiritual and also of the uncreated that requires an enlightened heart or mind (Greek: “nous").

GNOSIOLOGY

So, for the purpose of this essay, the use of Gnosiology will refer to the study of the divine from a gnosis that is gained on a mystical level, as opposed to a simple focus of Doctrine I, Unit IV Orthodox Gnosiology J.J. Blackstock Page 2 intellectual knowledge that one can acquire about the divine. This mystical gnosis can only be obtained through the use of Apophatic Theology. Apophatic Theology provides the means of knowing God by a process of ascending towards God’s Divine Incompressibility. Gnosis is acquired through a personal Theoria. Theoria is the process of deification where one receives illumination and the knowledge of God. In order to insure that Orthodox Theology does not lose sight of these different methods of acquiring the knowledge of God, it must be developed differently from other philosophical systems.

The use of Apophatic Theology provides a way to gain knowledge of God and is perfectly described in “Mystical Theology” [1.]MT, pg. 25] Dionysius makes it clear that even though we are in union with God we do not know everything about Him. Apophatic Theology seeks to describe God through negation and stands in contrast to Cataphatic Theology which uses positive affirmations to describe God. The reason why this theology leads us to a true understanding of God is because God is considered to be incomprehensible. In order to approach the incomprehensible we must first remove everything that we know and understand.

Once we have removed the knowledge of all things that are inferior to God, and are completely devoid of our human understanding of God, we can then begin to know God. Deification becomes the end of this process.

This will not lead to an intellectual understanding of God but a mystical knowledge of

God that is achieved through union with Him. The reason why absolute ignorance will bring us into union with God when intellectual knowledge won’t, is because intellectual knowledge is not just linked to what we have learned, but also to the object we learned it from. If perfect ignorance frees us from what we have learned, it also must free us from the object it was learned from. So, through perfect nescience we reject the knowledge that we have of God, which allows

God to be seen anew as something other than an object, one can then to come to know Him through a true union with Him. Doctrine I, Unit IV Orthodox Gnosiology J.J. Blackstock Page 3

The mystical aspect of this theology can also be seen by looking at what knowledge is not gained through the union with God. In Mystical Theology, Dionysius states that even though we are in union with God, we do not know everything about Him. Even in this state, we will know and understand His nature or essential being. God is unknowable and incomprehensible before the union, and He will remain so after the union. Mystically, God and man can be in union with one another, and yet, we are still infinitely set apart from Him.

Dionysius explains that: “even though we attain the highest peaks accessible to created beings, the only notion which we can have of God will stand in that of His incomprehensibility,” [1.]Ibid, Pg. 38 This separation allows us to be in perfect union with Him without being able to know His nature or understand His essential being.

One way that we can gain gnosis on a personal level is by having visions of God or

Theoria. Theoria is having a vision of God, through which we gain personal knowledge of God that will lead us down the path of theosis. Theoria can present itself in two-forms. It can be an illumination or a vision of God, or it can be a constant theoria of God that can last for hours, days or weeks. God can reveal Himself to anyone He wants, which includes His enemies. This can be seen in the case of the Apostle Paul. When Paul first had a vision of God and gained personal knowledge of Him, he was a persecutor of Christianity. Baptism is also not a requirement for theoria. Before the day of Pentecost, the three disciples witnessed the Glory of the Trinity on Mount Tabor. St Peter Damascene taught that that there are 8 different levels to theoria and at each new level we gain knowledge on different aspects of divinity.

At the first level man learns how he can benefit from the presence of God during temptations. At the second level we gain the knowledge of God’s benefactions. At the third level we learn about the suffering that awaits us before and after death. At the fourth level we gain the knowledge to be able to understand the life and teachings of Christ before His Death and Resurrection. At The fifth level we learn about the nature and flux of things. At the sixth Doctrine I, Unit IV Orthodox Gnosiology J.J. Blackstock Page 4 level we gain the knowledge of God’s providential energy which maintains all things. At the seventh level we learn of the angels. When we finally reach the eighth level of theoria we gain the knowledge of God.Archimandrite Hierotheos, in his book “The Illness and Cure of the Soul in the Orthodox Tradition” says: “The more man progresses in his spiritual life, the more he ascends the stages of spiritual perfection, the more he obtains higher theoria of God and consequently, knowledge of

God.” [2.]IAC, Pg. 156] Even though there are only eight levels, our spiritual progress does not stop. Since God is absolutely incomprehensible there is no way that we can ever totally know

God. Even if we reach the eighth level we will always continue in the process of gaining knowledge of God even in the life to come.

When developing Orthodox Theology we first must understand gnosis. Genuine gnosis is a transforming of our intelligence by an illumination by grace. Since our personal existence and presence is the object of our contemplation, gnosis implies the personal presence of God.

Some believe that gnosis is given by God to those who have reached the peak of their life of prayer. Those who have reached the peak of their prayer life, or those who have found purity in prayer, have, in essence, reached the state of silence. Whether gnosis is an encounter or a gift from God, it has to be placed beyond the mind and requires that the mind’s thoughts be conquered. If theology must be expressed through language then this understanding of silent gnosis would not correspond to theological teaching. The Eastern Orthodox idea of gnosis is phenomenological in that it seeks to explain the root of what makes one a conscious human being made in the image of God. It attempts to grasp the nature of man in response to an assumed God who is the Creator of humanity. It starts with God and moves forward to explain who and what humanity is. From this we understand that the foundation of theology is the

Incarnation of Christ. Through the Incarnation it became possible to think and teach about

Christ. This is the same way that His incarnation allowed us to paint His image in iconography. Doctrine I, Unit IV Orthodox Gnosiology J.J. Blackstock Page 5

Of course, the goal of the Incarnation is to lead us to God. If this is true, then theology must contain an aspect of contemplation and silence.

The image of theology will always find itself using episteme, which is the intellectual knowledge of the natural and material world, but it must not limit itself to this. Theology must lead the spirit down a path of silence and contemplation. In “Orthodox Theology," Vladimir

Lossky writes that theology must be “Nourished with contemplation, it does not become established in silence but seeks to speak the silence, humbly, by a new use of thought and word.” [3.]OT, Pg. 14 So how do we make sure that theology maintains both gnosis and episteme? This can be accomplished through Sophia or wisdom. Through Sophia one could adapt their thoughts to revelation. This would allow theologians “to find skillful and inspired words which would bear witness in the language but not in the limits of human thought.” [3.]Ibid, pg. 17 Sophia can be obtained through the presence of the Holy Spirit within the theologian. So, in order to make sure that Orthodox

Theology does not become just a philosophical system we must make sure that the theologians developing the theology are lead by the Holy Spirit and are full of Sophia.

Another important concern with Orthodox Theology is to make sure that it does not become philosophy. One of the reasons for this is because Orthodox Theology has to be based on experience and Revelation. Theologians are people, that while possessing other gifts, were found worthy by God and experienced this Revelation. While philosophers have to approach philosophies rationally, Theologians cannot theologize rationally but based on experience.

Archimandrite Hierotheos, in his book “The Illness and Cure of the Soul in the Orthodox Tradition," says that: “Philosophy is an offering of man’s intellect —that is, intellect and reasoning define the expression and formulation of concepts; conversely, theology is a fruit of God’s Revelation to man’s pure heart.” [2.]IAC, pg. 40 For a theologian, the Revelation begins in his heart, and then he formulates it with reason. This difference can even be seen in the scriptures. “Behold the master

Lord Savaoth shall take away form Judea and from Jerusalem, him and her who is powerful…the judge Doctrine I, Unit IV Orthodox Gnosiology J.J. Blackstock Page 6 and the prophet and the thinker…” (Isaiah 3: 1-2) There is a clear distinction being made here between a prophet and a philosopher. St. John Chrysostom commented on this passage and further elaborated the difference between these two. He said that: “a thinker speculates on the future out of his great wisdom and personal experience.” [TIACOTS, pg. 41] On the other hand he says that:“The Prophet speaks in the Holy Spirit ‘contributing nothing of his own’; whereas the thinker employs his own understanding.” [2.]Ibid, Pg. 41 If Holy Scripture makes a difference between philosopher and profit or theologian, then there can be no doubt that a difference exists between philosophy and theology.

One way that this difference has played out through the history of the Church is through the conflicts between heretics and the Orthodox. Heretics routinely used philosophy and intellect to explain matters of faith while the Orthodox and Church Fathers used Revelation. An example of this conflict can be seen in the handling of the Trinity. The Trinity, where God is single and simultaneously three, always presented itself as a problem for philosophy. One philosopher attempted to solve the problem by speaking of one God who had three modes of manifestation (Modalism). The God that appears as God in the Old Testament, and the Christ in the New Testament, and the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church, is all the same God, just appearing in three different modes. What makes this a heresy is that it eradicates the existence of each Person of the Holy Trinity. On the other hand, the theologians had the experience and

Revelation that God is One but also Three. Church Fathers like St. Maximus the Confessor were able to describe the Trinity by saying that: “God is divided, but indivisibly…and He is united dividedly.” [2.]Ibid, Pg. 42 This statement cannot be understood intellectually. St. Gregory says that: “It is impossible to express God and even more impossible to conceive Him” [2.]Ibid, Pg. 42 So, theology must make sure that it does not use intellect to describe our knowledge of God, but instead Orthodox Theology has to be based on experience and Revelation. Doctrine I, Unit IV Orthodox Gnosiology J.J. Blackstock Page 7

For Orthodox Christians, Gnosiology, or the study of the divine, cannot just focus on the intellectual knowledge one can obtain about the divine. Gnosis that can be gained on a mystical and personal level are also very important, if not more important than intellectual knowledge.

Apophatic Theology, which allows us to know God by ascending towards God’s divine incomprehensibility, can be used to gain gnosis on a mystical level. Visions of God or Theoria can be used to obtain gnosis on a personal level. In order to make sure that Orthodox Theology does not lose all of these different methods for obtaining gnosis it has to be developed differently than other philosophical systems and it must be developed in a way where it utilizes experience and Revelation to describe God and not merely the intellect.

CONCLUSION

Orthodox theology must not become formulaic. It must not be a simple matter of actions, rubrics or prescriptions. It is a living, breathing relationship with God that is based on love, trust and mystery. If He is indeed the source of all being and the One who gives us life, knowledge of Him cannot, and must not, be reduced to principles of living and a simple set of rules by which to live. In conclusion, let me offer an example that I hope will help to explain what I mean. One can attend a martial arts school and embrace the martial arts being taught without embracing Buddhism, which is what is at the core of it. In the same light, one can attend Yoga classes without embracing Hinduism. This is not the case with the Orthodox

Theology. In order to enter into it that, one must, in love and trust, fully embrace the God who is at the center of it as well as the doctrines and practices of the Church. As Lossky stated, “There is no philosophy more or less Christian” [1.]MT, pg. 42 One must commit to Christ and ‘know’ His presence in one’s life through the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is, and must be, impossible to embrace Orthodox Theology without embracing the God of the Trinity. Doctrine I, Unit IV Orthodox Gnosiology J.J. Blackstock Page 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. “The Mystical Theology of The Eastern Church”. By: Vladimir Lossky, St. Vladimir’s

Seminary Press, Crestwood, New York 10707, 1976

2. “The Illness and Cure of the Soul in the Orthodox Tradition” By: Metropolitan of

Nafpaktos, Hierotheos, Birth of the Theotokos Monastery Press, 2004“

3. Orthodox Theology, An Introduction” Vladimir Lossky, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press,

Crestwood, New York 10707, 1989