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Home , Friends of God, Gregory Palamas

SL 38 (2009) 242-60

The Life in Christ by Nicholas Cabasilas: A Mystagogical Work

by

Nicholas Denysenko*

A glimpse into 14th century Byzantine reveals a world centered on the hesychast controversy, unleashed by a battle between Barlaam the Calabrian, a Greek from South Italy, and Gregory Palamas, a from .1 Hesy- chasm had evolved over a period of centuries, and the had refined the so-called ‘‘’’wherein one assumes a low, seated posture, controls breathing, and repeats the words, ‘‘Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.’’ Within the context of the prayer setting, Gregory Palamas (d. 1359) taught that one could have a transformative spiritual encounter with God by beholding the very light that radiated from Jesus at his transfiguration on . In this experience, one receives the gift of theosis by partaking in God’s energies.2 In his introductory article on the hesychasts, Kallistos Ware includes Palamas’s contemporary, Nicolas Cabasilas (d. c.1397/1398), as a hesychast alongside Gregory of Sinai and Pala- mas, two of the most prominent hesychastic teachers. Yet Ware’s treatment of Cabasi- las in the text is marked by brevity, aligning him with the others because Cabasilas ‘‘sees continual prayer as the vocation of all.’’3 These introductory remarks are germane to an evaluation of Nicholas Cabasi- las’s theology because some historians of Byzantine theology have attempted to

* Dr. Nicholas Denysenko received his Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies/Sacramental Theology from The Catholic University of America in May 2008. A member of the Orthodox Theological Society of America and an ordained of the Orthodox in America, he is adjunct faculty in the Religion Department of George Washington University in Washington, DC. He may be contacted at [email protected]. 1 For a brief and concise summary of the dispute, see Kallistos Ware, ‘‘The Hesychasts: Gregory of Sinai, Gregory Palamas, Nicolas Cabasilas,’’ in The Study of Spirituality, eds. C. Jones, G. Wain- wright, E. Yarnold (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986) 242-55. Ware emphatically asserts that this controversy ‘‘was not a dispute between the Latin West and the Greek East, but essen- tially a conflict within the Greek tradition, involving two different ways of interpreting Dionysius the Areapogite’’ (249). See also ’s A Study of Gregory Palamas (trans. George Lawrence [Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998]), which still stands as the classical work out- lining the background to the controversy and the intricacies of Gregory Palamas’s doctrine. 2 See Ware, 248-53. While commonly refers to the practice of saying the ‘‘Jesus Prayer,’’ ¹suc…a translates into ‘‘quiet, still,’’ the prevailing atmosphere during the uttering of the prayer. 3 Ibid., 255.

242 identify hesychast leanings and concepts in his works, especially his treatise The Life in Christ.4 While such endeavors to situate Cabasilas within his immediate milieu might appear appropriate, the search for hesychasm in The Life in Christ conditions its evaluation, and obscures the original contribution he makes to medieval Byzantine theology. The pattern of imposing hesychasm on Cabasilas is perhaps best exemplified by Boris Bobrinskoy: No less than by his Christocentric sacramental doctrine, Nicholas Cabasilas is close to the hesychastic tradition by all his teaching on ceaseless vigilance, awareness, and contemplation of the love of God....Theascetic doctrine of hesychasm concerning the invisible warfare, the guard of the heart and cease- less prayer, is praised and given particular stress by Cabasilas.5

This article evaluates Cabasilas’s themes in The Life in Christ without pre- supposing possible connections to hesychasm. This analysis attempts to illuminate the treatise’s unique qualities and contributions by explicating select themes from The Life in Christ, which provides a general exposition on the way participation in the results in humanity’s . Corollary commentary will focus on Cabasilas’s methodology, how lex orandi and lex credendi interrelate in his work, and how his own objective was to define a spiritual life for a lay audience that is grounded in their sacramental participation.

I. An Analysis of The Life in Christ Those who have studied Cabasilas generally agree that he was a layman through- out the entirety of his life, and was never ordained a nor tonsured to the monastic ranks. The arguments asserting his as metropolitan of Thes- salonica at the very end of his life have been dismissed as a case of mistaken identity with his famous uncle Nilus.6 The exact date of Cabasilas’s death is unknown,

4 When quoting, I will refer to the English translation, The Life in Christ, trans. Carmino J. deCatanzaro, intro. Boris Bobrinskoy (Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1974). The critical edition is in two volumes: La vie en Christ, Livres I–IV, ed. Marie-He´le`ne Congourdeau, Sources chre´tiennes 355 (Paris: Cerf, 1989). Congourdeau has also provided the introduction with critical text, translation, annotation and index in La vie en Christ, Livres V–VII, Sources chre´tiennes 361 (Paris: Cerf, 1990). Carmino deCatanzaro’s chapter numbers differ from Congourdeau’s; I will cite deCatanzaro’s throughout. 5 Bobrinskoy, introduction to Cabasilas, The Life in Christ, 28-29. Bobrinskoy’s introduction to deCatanzaro’s translation was originally published as ‘‘Nicolas Cabasilas: Theology and Spirituality,’’ in Sobornost 7 (1968) 483-505. Also see Ware (n. 1 above), Myrrha Lot-Borodine, Nicolas Cabasilas: Un maître de la spiritualite´ byzantine (Paris: E´ ditions de l’Orante, 1958), and John Meyendorff, Byzan- tine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes (New York: Fordham University Press, 1974) 108. 6 See Congourdeau, introduction to La vie en Christ, Livres I–IV, 17-22.

243 though it certainly occurred after 1391, and probably around 1397/1398.7 The ques- tion concerning his ecclesiastical rank is unusual, as treatises on the Christian life that are not directed towards a monastic audience are unusual in the corpus of Byzantine spiritual literature.8 Cabasilas displayed considerable intellectual dexter- ity in his own literary output, also producing a mystagogical commentary on the eucharistic (On the Divine Liturgy), several homilies and eulogies, brief liturgical works, secular writings, and letters.9 The exact date for both The Life in Christ and On the Divine Liturgy is unknown, on account of the complexity of their textual transmission in the manuscript tradition.10 The Life in Christ exem- plifies perhaps his most masterful output as he walks his audience through the sacraments of initiation, and expresses a consistently christocentric spiritual life. The Life in Christ is divided into seven books.11 In the first book, Cabasilas states that the life in Christ begins in the present life, and establishes the soteriological presuppositions in Christ’s Pascha and incarnation: We were justified, first by being set free from bonds and condemnation, in that He who had done no evil pleaded for us by dying on the cross. By this he paid the penalty for the sins which we had audaciously committed; then, because of that death, we were made and righteous. By his death, the Savior not only released us and reconciled us to the Father, but also ‘‘gave us power to become children of God,’’ in that He both united our nature to Him- self through the flesh which He assumed, and also united each one of us to His own flesh by the power of the mysteries.12

In this statement, Cabasilas establishes the primacy of the sacraments as the means of encountering God and living the life in Christ, demonstrating that they provide

7 Ibid., 16. Congourdeau mentions that Cabasilas’s friend, , died in 1397 or 1398, and neither he nor Cabasilas makes reference to the other’s passing. 8 Ibid., 17. 9 See the critical edition of his commentary on the Divine Liturgy, Nicolas Cabasilas, Explica- tion de la divine liturgie, ed. Se´ve´rien Salaville, Sources chre´tiennes 4 bis (Paris: Cerf, 1967). From this point forward, I shall refer to the title of this treatise as On the Divine Liturgy and use the English translation in Nicholas Cabasilas, A Commentary on the Divine Liturgy, trans. J. M. Hussey and P. M. McNulty (London: SPCK, 1966). Congourdeau provides a conveniently categorized bibli- ography of Cabasilas’s works (26-27). 10 On the dating of On the Divine Liturgy, see Salaville, introduction, 52. On the dating of The Life in Christ, see Congourdeau, 66-67. Both Salaville and Congourdeau rely on Paris Gr. 1213, a monastic manuscript dating to the first half of the 15th century, for much of the text in the critical editions. 11 See Congourdeau, 28-41, for an outline of the structure of the work. 12 Cabasilas, The Life in Christ 1.7 (53-54). DeCatanzaro literally translates ‘‘musthr…wn’’ as ‘‘mys- teries,’’ and I will retain that within the quoted portions, but will use ‘‘sacraments’’ liberally within the main text. See La vie en Christ 1.32 (104-7).

244 access to the paradigmatic salvific events that occurred within history. This is the key to his methodological approach, which he elaborates in the following text: He [Christ] entered into the Holy Place when he had offered himself to the Father, and he leads in those who are willing, as they share in His burial. This, however, does not consist in dying as He died, but in showing forth that death in the baptismal washing and proclaiming it upon the sacred table, when they, after being anointed, in an ineffable manner feast upon Him who was done to death and rose again.13

He then applies this interpretation of participation through sacramental symbols to the sacraments in general, crowning them as the means by which Christians participate in Christ’s life: The gates of the mysteries are far more august and beneficial than the gates of Paradise. The latter will not be opened to anyone who has not first entered through the gates of the mysteries, but these were opened when the gates of Paradise had been closed....This is the life which the Lord came to bring, that those who come through these mysteries should be partakers of His death and share in His passion. Apart from this it is impossible to escape death.14

Cabasilas does not specifically situate the sacraments in the church per se, but appears to apply an absolute quality to the necessity of sacramental initiation, which could certainly be interpreted as conditioning his comprehension of eccle- sial boundaries. That said, Cabasilas’s purpose was to establish the primacy of participation in the sacraments in receiving salvation from God. Cabasilas demonstrates the manner by which the sacraments endow Christians with new life in Christ. For him, there is no life outside of , as ‘‘baptism confers being and in short, existence according to Christ.’’15 Cabasilas does not equivocate, as he characterizes nuptial imagery as an inadequate analogy for the fullness of personal union that results from sacramental union with Christ.16 Instead, he focuses on the martyrs as more appropriate examples, since they ‘‘gave up their heads and limbs with pleasure, but could not even by word betray Christ.’’17 The person resulting from union with Christ in the sacraments is changed, endowed

13 Cabasilas, The Life in Christ 1.8 (56). 14 Cabasilas, The Life in Christ 1.9 (56-57); cf. La vie en Christ I.40, 42 (115-17). 15 Cabasilas, The Life in Christ 1.6 (49); cf. La vie en Christ 1.19 (94-95). 16 Cabasilas, The Life in Christ 1.3 (46-47): ‘‘It would appear that marriage and the concord between head and members especially indicate connection and unity, yet they fall far short of it and are far from manifesting the reality. Marriage does not so join together that those who are united exist and live in each other, as is the case with Christ and the Church.’’ 17 Cabasilas, The Life in Christ 2.3 (46). Cabasilas uses the verb ‘‘¢postÁnai’’ or ‘‘betray’’ to accentuate the martyrs’ union. Cf. La vie en Christ 2.10 (84).

245 with new faculties that engender knowledge of God and participation in the divine life.18 This infusion of new faculties holds tremendous importance for the entire purpose and destiny of humanity: This therefore becomes clear: the baptismal washing has instilled into men some knowledge and perception of God, so that they have clearly known Him who is good and have perceived His beauty and tasted of His goodness. This, I affirm, they are able to know more perfectly by experience than were they merely to learn it by being taught.19

Cabasilas synthesized multiple theological axioms within a sacramental con- text. He points to the notion of the human telos in Greek patristic theology, the goal of knowing, perceiving, and participating in the life of God for the purpose of being divinized. In this last passage, Cabasilas prioritizes the acquisition of knowledge through experience over learning. However, this experience is not isolated to a particular mode of prayer, but instead entails direct participation in the sacramental life, which begins with baptism. Cabasilas has adopted an incar- national approach to explicating the qualities of the new person who emerges from sacramental participation, as ‘‘it is Christ who bestows birth and we who are born; and as for him who is being born, it is quite clear that He who generates confers His own life on Him.’’20 Cabasilas identifies God as the telos for the human journey that begins with new birth. God has even implanted desire into human souls, which functions as one of the newly-bestowed faculties in differentiating between good and evil.21 Love and joy, fruits of the gifts received at new birth, are also weapons that lead to victory, as attested by the .22 The picture painted by Cabasilas is not inun- dated with a starkly dualistic battle between God and the devil over human souls.23

18 Cabasilas, The Life in Christ 2.9 (80). ‘‘The birth in Baptism is the beginning of the life to come, and the provision of new members and faculties is the preparation for that manner of life.... Just as it is impossible to live this natural life without receiving the organs of Adam and the human faculties necessary for this life, so likewise no one can attain that blessed world alive without being prepared by the life of Christ and being formed according to His image.’’ 19 Cabasilas, The Life in Christ 2.15 (89); cf. La vie en Christ 2.74 (200). 20 Cabasilas, The Life in Christ 2.9 (81). 21 Ibid., 2.19 (95-98). ‘‘God has implanted the desire into our souls by which every need should lead to the attainment of that which is good, every thought to the attainment of truth....Forthose who have tasted of the Savior, the object of desire is present’’ (96). 22 Ibid., 2.21 (101). ‘‘Armed with these weapons of love and joy it was impossible for the saints to be overcome either by terrors or pleasures. Joy prevailed over miseries, pleasures were incapable of drawing aside or destroying those who were held together and bound to Him by so great a power of affection.’’ 23 Cabasilas does acknowledge the traditional renunciation of the evil one in his treatment of the exorcism, the insufflation, and the renunciation in baptism; cf. ibid., 2.3 (69-71).

246 Nevertheless, his language appears intentionally to engage the corollary life of virtue entailed by baptism. The newly baptized have the task of performing ‘‘great and virtuous deeds,’’ and accomplishing ‘‘wondrous works,’’ without being destroyed by miseries and pleasures.24 Cabasilas, however, is not a determinist. While Christ is the active agent in Cabasilas’s scheme, the one who infuses and endows, humans are not completely passive instruments who simply enact predetermined events from God’s plan. God respects humanity’s free will, which baptism does not remove. With regards to receiving the gift of salvation, humans have the power to exercise their free choice, though any variance with God’s will manifested by disorder in this life deprives them of this gift: Since he is infinite in goodness He will for us every good thing and bestows it on us, subject to the free exercise of our own will. Such, then, is the benefit of Baptism. It does not throttle or restrain the will. Since it is a faculty nothing prevents those who enjoy its use from living in wickedness if they so wish, just as the possession of a sound eye would not prevent those who desire it from living in darkness.25 Continuing the presentation in his third book, Cabasilas applies a mystagogical approach as he proceeds to demonstrate the way the sacraments enable a virtuous life. The brevity of this book does not diminish its contribution. Cabasilas engages a pithy discourse on the gifts received from the Holy Spirit in (literally, ‘‘tÒ qe‹on mÚron’’): So the effect of this sacred rite is the imparting of the energies of the Holy Spirit. The chrism brings in the Lord Jesus Himself, in whom is man’s whole salvation and all hope of benefits. From Him we receive the participation in the Holy Spirit and through Him we have access to the Father....thegifts which the chrism always procures for Christians and which are always timely are . . . godliness, prayer, love, and sobriety.26 Chrismation as a component of initiation brings the new Christian into the life of the Holy . In this pithy statement, Cabasilas explains how the gift of the Holy Spirit begins a life of personal union with Jesus Christ. The gifts of ‘‘godli- ness, love, prayer, and sobriety’’ constitute the realities of ongoing growth and conversion in the Christian life. Work is required to maintain a fruitful communion with Christ and the Father. Cabasilas presents God’s divine plan for humanity’s salvation in an incarnational paradigm. In chrismation Jesus himself is ushered

24 Ibid., 2.21 (100-101). 25 Ibid., 2.11 (85). This section includes an excursus on the resurrection and the impotence of apostasy. 26 Ibid., 3.4 (106-7).

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