Lessons from the Afterlife: Eschatology in Gregory of Nyssa’S Oratio Catechetica

Martin Wenzel University of Gött ingen [email protected]

LESSONS FROM THE AFTERLIFE: ESCHATOLOGY IN GREGORY OF NYSSA’S ORATIO CATECHETICA

This article1 deals with the Oratio Catechetica2 of Gregory of Nyssa (ca. 335–394),3 a work writt en for catechists4 in the latt er half of the

(1) The article is based on the paper presented at the Asia-Paciﬁ c Early Christian Studies Society (APECSS) Conference in Seoul in July 2012. An ear- lier version of this paper was given in May 2012 at the Annual Meeting of the North American Patristics Society (NAPS) in Chicago. I would like to thank the participants of both conferences for their helpful comments, which have been taken into consideration while preparing this article, as well as the edito- rial committ ee of Scrinium. For the publication the style of the presentation has mostly been maintained. Furthermore, I am grateful to my PhD supervisor and co-supervisor, Prof. Dr. Peter Gemeinhardt and Dr. Katharina Heyden, for inspiring and fruitful discussions and for their support. I would also like to thank my fellow students Gabriela Ryser and Yorick Schulz-Wackerbarth for patient revisions of my phrasing and translation. (2) The Greek text follows the edition by E. MÜhlenberg (Gregorii Nys- seni Opera [GNO] III/4), Leiden, 1996. As it is not given by this edition, I will additionally refer to the commonly used subdivision into 40 chapters to fa- cilitate comparison with other editions and translations; cf. PG 45, pp. 9–105; The Catechetical Oration of Gregory of Nyssa, ed. by J. H. Srawley, Cambridge, 1903; Gregor von Nyssa, Die große katechetische Rede. Oratio catechetica magna, hrsg. J. Barbel, Stutt gart, 1971; Grégoire de Nysse, Discours Catéchétique, ed. by R. Winling (SC, 453), Paris, 2000. All translations in this paper are taken from Gregory of Nyssa, Dogmatic Treatises: Select Writings and Lett ers, ed. by P. Schaff, H. Wace, transl. by W. Moore, H. A. Wilson (NPNF II/5), Grand Rapids/MI, 1893, pp. 471–512; all biblical quotations are taken from the King James Version. (3) Cf. F. Mann, “Gregor von Nyssa”, in Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart 4, Bd. 3, hrsg. H. D. Betz et al., Tübingen, 2000, Sp. 1265–1266. (4) Gregory begins the Oratio with the following words (GNO III/4, 5, 1–5): Ὁ τῆς κατηχήσεως λόγος ἀναγκαῖος μέν ἐστι τοῖς προεστηκόσι τοῦ μυστηρίου τῆς εὐσεβείας, ὡς ἂν πληθύνοιτο τῇ προσθήκῃ τῶν σωζομένων

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380s.5 The Oratio represents the Nyssen’s att empt to compile Christian belief in its entirety and with utmost clarity for catechetical instruc- tion.6 Simultaneously Gregory aims at enabling catechists to display and defend their faith against objections.7 Thus catechetical, apologeti- cal, and systematic goals are interwoven in the Oratio.8 This very aspi- ration makes it a unique endeavor for its time.9 To give an overview of the work I would like to summarize it in a few words: Having expounded the question of God’s existence (ch. 1–4), Gregory turns to the explanation of the creation and fall of humankind (ch. 5–8). This is followed by the longest section on the salvatory work of Christ, his incarnation and deeds, as well as his death and resurrection (ch. 9–32). Finally, Gregory deals with the religious life, especially with baptism, the eucharist, the creed, ethics and last but not least, in a kind of epilogue, with eschatological expectations (ch. 33–40). Thus, for someone interested in eschatology this concluding chapter obviously calls for special att ention. Starting from the end — in a double sense — I will in the following analyse selected passages of the Oratio Catechetica regarding their use

ἡ ἐκκλησία, τοῦ κατὰ τὴν διδαχὴν πιστοῦ λόγου τῇ ἀκοῇ τῶν ἀπίστων προ- σαγομένου· (“The presiding ministers of the ‘mystery of godliness’ [1 Tim 3:16] have need of a system in their instructions, in order that the Church may be replenished by the accession of such as should be saved, through the teaching of the word of Faith being brought home to the hearing of unbelievers.”) Cf. R. Winling, “Oratio Catechetica”, in The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa, ed. by L. F. Mateo-Seco, G. Maspero, transl. by S. Cherney, Leiden, 2010, pp. 546–549. (5) For an overview of the chronology and dating of the Nyssen’s works, cf. P. Maraval, “Chronology of Works”, in The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa (cf. note 4), pp. 153–169 (156). A diﬀ erent dating is presented by R. Win- ling, Discours Catéchétique, pp. 125–130. (6) Regarding the catechetical intention and sett ing, cf. R. J. Kees, Die Lehre von der Oikonomia Gott es in der Oratio Catechetica Gregors von Nyssa, Lei- den, 1995, pp. 5–13. (7) Cf. Kees, Oikonomia, S. 7. (8) Cf. Ibid., S. 9. (9) Cf. A. Grillmeier, “Vom Symbolum zur Summa: Zum theologiege- schichtlichen Verhältnis von Patristik und Scholastik”, in Idem, Mit ihm und in ihm: Christologische Forschungen und Perspektiven, Freiburg, 1975, S. 585–636 (618–620).

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Epilogue: Eschatological Expectations

Quite obviously, Gregory’s main focus in this chapter (ch. 40) is meth- odology, not the content of afterlife expectations. The things to come are of undescribable nature. And indeed, how could that possibly be described in words, of which it is writt en, that, as Gregory puts it — quoting 1 Cor 2:9 — “eye hath not seen, neither ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man”?11 Gregory applies this unspeakability in a positive as well as a negative sense: both the goods to come for those who led a good life, and for those who did not undergo puriﬁ - cation in this life, that is to say baptism, are not to be compared with earthly matt ers.

(10) For a general overview, cf. L. F. Mateo-Seco, “Eschatology”, in The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa (cf. note 4), pp. 274–288; B. E. Daley, The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic Eschatology, Grand Rapids/MI, 1991, pp. 85–89. (11) GNO III/4, 105,10–106,1 [ch. 40]: ἀναγκαῖον ἂν εἴη τούτοις προσθεῖναι καὶ τὸ λειπόμενον ὅτι οὔτε τὰ ἀγαθὰ τὰ ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις τοῖς εὖ βεβιωκόσι προκείμενα τοιαῦτά ἐστιν ὡς εἰς ὑπογραφὴν λόγου ἐλθεῖν (πῶς γὰρ Ἃ οὔτε ὀφθαλμὸς εἶδεν οὔτε οὖς ἤκουσεν οὔτε ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου ἀνέβη;), οὔτε μὴν ἡ ἀλγεινὴ τῶν πεπλημμεληκότων ζωὴ πρός τι τῶν τῇδε λυπούντων τὴν αἴσθησιν ὁμοτίμως ἔχει, ἀλλὰ κἂν ἐπονομασθῇ τι τῶν ἐκεῖ κολαστηρίων τοῖς ὧδε γνωριζομένοις ὀνόμασιν, οὐκ ἐν ὀλίγῳ τὴν παραλλαγὴν ἔχει· (“It will be necessary to add to what has been said this remaining statement also; viz. that those good things which are held out in the Gospels to those who have led a godly life, are not such as can be precisely described. For how is that possible with things which ‘eye hath not seen, neither ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man’ [1 Cor 2:9]? Indeed, the sinner’s life of torment presents no equivalent to anything that pains the sense here. Even if some one of the punishments in that other world be named in terms that are well known here, the distinction is still not small.”)

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Although Gregory mentions the concepts of fi re12 and the worm,13 probably referring to Mark 9:4314 and Isa 66:24,15 he only highlights the diff erences between otherwordly and earthly events. For exam- ple, he speaks of an “endless” (ἀτελεύτητος) worm, and a “non-ex- tinguishable” (τὸ μὴ παραδεχόμενον σβέσιν) fi re, as opposed to the fi res of this world that perish in many ways. In my opinion, this does not refer to the eternity of punishment, but illustrates the distance between earthly and otherworldy ideas, and therefore points to the un- imaginability of any eschatological process. Gregory does not share in speculations on what will happen after death, where we are heading, whether there are diff erent places for diff erent groups of people. These issues are within the realm of unspeakability. They are “set before us

(12) GNO III/4, 106,1–6: πῦρ γὰρ ἀκούων ἄλλο τι παρὰ τοῦτο νοεῖν ἐδιδάχθης ἐκ τοῦ προσκεῖσθαί τι τῷ πυρὶ ἐκείνῳ ὃ ἐν τούτῳ οὐκ ἔστιν· τὸ μὲν γὰρ οὐ σβέννυται, τούτου δὲ πολλὰ παρὰ τῆς πείρας ἐξεύρηται τὰ σβεστήρια· πολλὴ δὲ τοῦ σβεννυμένου πρὸς τὸ μὴ παραδεχόμενον σβέσιν ἡ διαφορά· οὐκοῦν ἄλλο τι καὶ οὐχὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν. (“When you hear the word fi re, you have been taught to think of a fi re other than the fi re we see, owing to something being added to that fi re which in this there is not; for that fi re is never quenched, whereas experience has discovered many ways of quenching this; and there is a great diff erence between a fi re which can be extinguished, and one that does not admit of extinction. That fi re, therefore, is something other than this.”) (13) GNO III/4, 106,7–10: πάλιν σκώληκά τις ἀκούσας μὴ διὰ τῆς ὁμωνυμίας πρὸς τὸ ἐπίγειον τοῦτο θηρίον ἀποφερέσθω τῇ διανοίᾳ· ἡ γὰρ προσθήκη τοῦ ἀτελεύτητον εἶναι ἄλλην τινὰ φύσιν παρὰ τὴν γινωσκομένην νοεῖν ὑποτίθεται. (“If, again, a person hears the word ‘worm’, let not his thoughts, from the similarity of the term, be carried to the creature here that crawls upon the ground; for the addition that it ‘dieth not’ suggests the thought of another reptile than that known here.”) (14) Mark 9:43: Καὶ ἐὰν σκανδαλίζῃ σε ἡ χείρ σου, ἀπόκοψον αὐτήν· καλόν ἐστίν σε κυλλὸν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ζωὴν ἢ τὰς δύο χεῖρας ἔχοντα ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὴν γέενναν, εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἄσβεστον. (“And if thy hand off end thee, cut it off : it is bett er for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fi re that never shall be quenched”) (15) Isa 66:24 LXX: καὶ ἐξελεύσονται καὶ ὄψονται τὰ κῶλα τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῶν παραβεβηκότων ἐν ἐμοί· ὁ γὰρ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτήσει, καὶ τὸ πῦρ αὐτῶν οὐ σβεσθήσεται, καὶ ἔσονται εἰς ὅρασιν πάσῃ σαρκί. (“And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fi re be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all fl esh.”)

Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 01:57:44PM via free access Martin Wenzel 93 as to be expected in the life that follows this one,”16 and they will be att ributed to each, according to the choices made, enabled by the delib- erate choice (προαίρεσις). Therin lies the righteous judgement of God. Thus Gregory focuses on earthly life and in particular on the προαίρεσις of human beings, and therefore concludes these deliberations with a threefold exhortation:17 fi rstly, the present should not be regarded but what is to come, because, secondly, the foundations of blessedness need to be laid during this fl eeting earthly life, and thirdly, we should free ourselves from the temptations of evil, either in this life, or in the life to come. In a word, instead of eschatological speculations about the hereafter, Gregory concentrates on ethical behaviour in the here and now. He uses eschatological hopes to motivate a good conduct in this life. Whether eschatology has a signifi cant impact on the whole of Gregory’s thought and theology shall be briefl y examined with respect to a few central theological loci.

God

Concerning his understanding of God18, Gregory implies that the benefactor can only be recognized through the benefactions: “If you take away from life the beneﬁ ts that come to us from God, you would not be able to tell me what means you have of arriv- ing at any knowledge of Deity. In the kindly treatment of us we recognize the benefactor; that is, from observation of that which

(16) GNO III/4, 106,10–13: ἐπεὶ οὖν ταῦτα πρόκειται τῇ ἐλπίδι τοῦ μετὰ ταῦτα βίου καταλλήλως ἐκ τῆς ἑκάστου προαιρέσεως κατὰ τὴν δικαίαν τοῦ θεοῦ κρίσιν ἀναφυόμενα τῷ βίῳ (“Since, then, these things are set before us as to be expected in the life that follows this, being the natural outgrowth according to the righteous judgment of God, in the life of each, of his particular disposition.“) (17) GNO III/4, 106,13–18: σωφρονούντων ἂν εἴη μὴ πρὸς τὸ παρὸν ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο βλέπειν καὶ τῆς ἀφράστου μακαριότητος ἐν τῇ ὀλίγῃ ταύτῃ καὶ προσκαίρῳ ζωῇ τὰς ἀφορμὰς καταβάλλεσθαι καὶ τῆς τῶν κακῶν πείρας δι’ ἀγαθῆς προαιρέσεως ἀλλοτριοῦσθαι, νῦν μὲν κατὰ τὸν βίον, μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ κατὰ τὴν αἰωνίαν ἀντίδοσιν. (“it must be the part of the wise not to regard the present, but that which follows after, and to lay down the foundations for that unspeakable blessedness during this short and ﬂ eeting life, and by a good choice to wean themselves from all experience of evil, now in their lifetime here, hereafter in their eternal recompense.”) (18) For a general overview, cf. S. ZaÑartu, “El Dios razonable de la gran catequesis de Gregorio de Nisa,” Teología y Vida, 45 (2004), pp. 564–604.

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happens to us, we conjecture the disposition of the person who operates it.”19 These benefactions reveal God’s nature, which necessarily leads God to desire communication and also communion with mankind.20 God wants to establish a relationship with creation, by lett ing it partake in God’s goods21 and by endowing humankind with a desire for divine eternity: “Thus, then, it was needful for man, born for the enjoyment of Di- vine good, to have something in his nature akin to that in which he is to participate. For this end he has been furnished with life, with thought, with skill, and with all the excellences that we att ribute to God, in order that by each of them he might have his desire set upon that which is not strange to him. Since, then, one of the excellences connected with the Divine nature is also eternal existence, it was altogether needful that the equipment of our nature should not be without the further gift of this att ribute, but should have in itself the immortal, that by its inherent faculty it might both recog-

(19) GNO III/4, 43,11–15 [ch. 15]: ἐὰν ἀφέλῃς τοῦ βίου τὰς θεόθεν γινομένας εὐεργεσίας, ἐκ ποίων ἐπιγνώσῃ τὸ θεῖον οὐκ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοις. ἀφ’ ὧν γὰρ εὖ πάσχομεν, ἀπὸ τούτων τὸν εὐεργέτην ἐπιγινώσκομεν· πρὸς γὰρ τὰ γινόμενα βλέποντες διὰ τούτων τὴν τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος ἀναλογιζόμεθα φύσιν. (20) GNO III/4, 16,22–17,7 [ch. 5]: οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ θεὸς λόγος, ἡ σοφία, ἡ δύναμις ἀπεδείχθη κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ποιητής, οὐκ ἀνάγκῃ τινὶ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου κατασκευὴν ἐναχθείς, ἀλλ’ ἀγάπης περιουσίᾳ τοῦ τοιούτου ζῴου δημιουργήσας τὴν γένεσιν· ἔδει γὰρ μήτε τὸ φῶς ἀθέατον, μήτε τὴν δόξαν ἀμάρτυρον μήτε ἀναπόλαυστον εἶναι τὴν ἀγαθότητα μήτε τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ὅσα περὶ τὴν θείαν καθορᾶται φύσιν ἀργὰ κεῖσθαι μὴ ὄντος τοῦ μετέχοντός τε καὶ ἀπολαύοντος. (“This, then, whether it be God, or Word, or Skill, or Power, has been shown by infer- ence to be the Maker of the nature of man, not urged to framing him by any necessity, but in the superabundance of love operating the production of such a creature. For needful it was that neither His light should be unseen, nor His glory without witness, nor His goodness unenjoyed, nor that any other quality observed in the Divine nature should in any case lie idle, with none to share it or enjoy it.”) (21) GNO III/4, 17,7–11 [ch. 5]: εἰ τοίνυν ἐπὶ τούτοις ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς γένεσιν ἔρχεται, ἐφ’ ᾧτε μέτοχος τῶν θείων ἀγαθῶν γενέσθαι, ἀναγκαίως τοιοῦτος κατασκευάζεται, ὡς ἐπιτηδείως πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν μετουσίαν ἔχειν· (“If, therefore, man comes to his birth upon these conditions, namely to be a partaker of the good things in God, necessarily he is framed of such a kind as to be adapted to the participation of such good.”)

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nize what is above it, and be possessed with a desire for the divine and eternal life.”22 Therefore, God implanted seeds (ἀφορμαί) of these goods into human beings, which ﬁ nd their highest expression in human free will: “For He who made man for the participation of His own peculiar good, and incorporated in him the instincts for all that was excellent, in order that his desire might be carried forward by a corre- sponding movement in each case to its like, would never have de- prived him of that most excellent and precious of all goods; I mean the gift implied in being his own master, and having a free will.”23 According to God’s characteristics, it is because of God’s love for humankind (φιλανθρωπία) that God decides to become human in the person of Jesus Christ.24 God seeks to live in communion, freely chosen by human beings,25 and until the end perseveres in his salviﬁ c plan.

(22) GNO III/4, 17,20–18,4 [ch. 5]: οὕτως οὖν καὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν θείων ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύσει γενόμενον ἔδει τι συγγενὲς ἐν τῇ φύσει πρὸς τὸ μετεχόμενον ἔχειν. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ζωῇ καὶ λόγῳ καὶ σοφίᾳ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς θεοπρεπέσιν ἀγαθοῖς κατεκοσμήθη, ὡς ἂν δι’ ἑκάστου τούτων πρὸς τὸ οἰκεῖον τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἔχοι. ἐπεὶ οὖν ἓν τῶν περὶ τὴν θείαν φύσιν ἀγαθῶν καὶ ἡ ἀιδιότης ἐστίν, ἔδει πάντως μηδὲ τούτου τὴν κατασκευὴν εἶναι τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἀπόκληρον, ἀλλ’ ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὸ ἀθάνατον, ὡς ἂν διὰ τῆς ἐγκειμένης δυνάμεως γνωρίζοι τε τὸ ὑπερκείμενον καὶ ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῆς θείας ἀιδιότητος εἴη. (23) GNO III/4, 19,15–21 [ch. 5]: ὁ γὰρ ἐπὶ μετουσίᾳ τῶν ἰδίων ἀγαθῶν ποιήσας τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ πάντων αὐτῷ τῶν καλῶν τὰς ἀφορμὰς ἐγκατασκευάσας τῇ φύσει, ὡς ἂν δι’ ἑκάστου καταλλήλως πρὸς τὸ ὅμοιον ἡ ὄρεξις φέροιτο, οὐκ ἂν τοῦ καλλίστου τε καὶ τιμιωτάτου τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστέρησε, λέγω δὴ τῆς κατὰ τὸ ἀδέσποτον καὶ αὐτεξούσιον χάριτος· (24) GNO III/4, 43,15–18 [ch. 15]: εἰ οὖν ἴδιον γνώρισμα τῆς θείας φύσεως ἡ φιλανθρωπία, ἔχεις ὃν ἐπεζήτησας λόγον, ἔχεις τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις τοῦ θεοῦ παρουσίας. (“If, then, love of man be a special char- acteristic of the Divine nature, here is the reason for which you are in search, here is the cause of the presence of God among men.”) (25) Human free will is preserved even after the Fall, cf. Gregory’s re- sponse in chapter 31 to the objection that God could simply force faith upon human beings (GNO III/4, 76,6–21): Ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἀποροῦσιν οὐδὲ πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα τῆς ἐριστικῆς ἀντιλογίας. λέγουσι γὰρ δύνασθαι τὸν θεόν, εἴπερ ἐβούλετο, καὶ τοὺς ἀντιτύπως ἔχοντας ἀναγκαστικῶς ἐφελκύσασθαι πρὸς τὴν παραδοχὴν τοῦ κηρύγματος. ποῦ τοίνυν ἐν τούτοις τὸ αὐτεξούσιον; ποῦ δὲ ἡ ἀρετή; ποῦ δὲ τῶν κατορθούντων ὁ ἔπαινος; μόνων γὰρ τῶν ἀψύχων ἢ τῶν ἀλόγων ἐστὶ τῷ ἀλλοτρίῳ βουλήματι πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν περιάγεσθαι,

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Mirrored in this notion of God, we have thus found a ﬁ rst hint that the eschatological communion and its att ainment is a fundamental key to Gregory’s theological thought.

Apocatastasis

With regard to eschatology, one of the most prominent and most dis- cussed passages in Gregory’s text is chapter 26. Dealing with the universal restoration of all things, the ἀποκατάστασις, Gregory explicitly states that Christ’s salvatory work includes even Satan. In this paper I do not want to go into depths concerning the parallels to Origen.26 Instead I would like to draw your att ention to the signiﬁ cance of this

ἡ δὲ λογική τε καὶ νοερὰ φύσις, ἐὰν τὸ κατ’ ἐξουσίαν ἀπόθηται, καὶ τὴν χάριν τοῦ νοεροῦ συναπώλεσεν. εἰς τί γὰρ χρήσεται τῇ διανοίᾳ τῆς τοῦ προαιρεῖσθαί τι τῶν κατὰ γνώμην ἐξουσίας ἐφ’ ἑτέρῳ κειμένης; εἰ δὲ ἄπρακτος ἡ προαίρεσις μείνειεν, ἠφάνισται κατ’ ἀνάγκην ἡ ἀρετή, τῇ ἀκινησίᾳ τῆς προαιρέσεως ἐμπεδηθεῖσα· ἀρετῆς δὲ μὴ οὔσης, ὁ βίος ἠτίμωται, ἀφῄρηται τῶν κατορθούντων ὁ ἔπαινος, ἀκίνδυνος ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἄκριτος ἡ κατὰ τὸν βίον διαφορά. (“Yet, even in their reply to this, or the like, they are not at a loss for a contentious rejoinder. For they assert that God, if He had been so pleased, might have forcibly drawn those, who were not inclined to yield, to accept the Gospel message. But where then would have been their free will? Where their virtuous merit? Where their meed of praise from their moral directors? It belongs only to inanimate or irrational creatures to be brought round by the will of another to his purpose; whereas the rea- soning and intelligent nature, if it lays aside its freedom of action, loses at the same time the gracious gift of intellect. For upon what is he to employ any faculty of thought, if his power of choosing anything according to his inclination lies in the will of another? But then, if the will remains without the capacity of action, virtue necessarily disappears, since it is shackled by the enforced quiescence of the will. Then, if virtue does not exist, life loses its value, reason moves in accordance with fatalism, the praise of moral guardians is gone, sin may be indulged in without risk, and the diﬀ erence between the courses of life is obliterated.”) (26) Cf. I. Ramelli, “La dott rina dell’ apocatastasi eredità origeniana nel pensiero escatologico del Nisseno”, in Eadem, Gregorio di Nissa. Sull’ anima e la resurrezione, Milano, 2008, pp. 735–958; Eadem, “Christian Soteriology and Christian Platonism: Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and the Biblical and Philo- sophical Basis of the Doctrine of Apokatastasis,” VC, 61 (2007), pp. 313–356. For a general overview, cf. K. Heyden, “Apocatastasis,” in Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, Vol. 2, ed. by H.-J. Klauck et al., Berlin, 2009, pp. 373– 375.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 01:57:44PM via free access Martin Wenzel 97 argumentation within the Oratio Catechetica, which in my opinion has to be taken into consideration for an adequate understanding. In the previous chapters 19–24, Gregory shows how Christ’s salvatory work demonstrates God’s qualities such as justice, wisdom, power and benevolence: Using the appearance of good as bait on the hook of evil, Satan himself acted as a fi sher of men.27 As mankind swal- lowed this bait voluntarily, Satan acquired mankind legitimately, and it would not be justifi ed for God to intervene by force.28 Therefore God chose to pay Satan back in kind by way of a deceit: In an “undercover mission” God clad his divinity in fl esh, and Satan, att racted by the fl awlessness of Christ, took the bait as a ransom for the incarcerated humanity.29 By this, life was brought into death and destroyed it, light

(27) GNO III/4, 56,19–57,3 [ch. 21]: ἐπεὶ οὖν τῆς πρὸς τὸ ὄντως ἀγαθὸν ἐπιθυμίας διαψευσθεὶς ὁ νοῦς πρὸς τὸ μὴ ὂν παρηνέχθη δι’ ἀπάτης τοῦ τῆς κακίας συμβούλου τε καὶ εὑρετοῦ καλὸν ἀναπεισθεὶς εἶναι τὸ τῷ καλῷ ἐναντίον (οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐνήργησεν ἡ ἀπάτη, μὴ δελέατος δίκην τῷ τῆς κακίας ἀγκίστρῳ τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ φαντασίας περιπλασθείσης)· ἐν ταύτῃ τοίνυν γεγονότος ἑκουσίως τῇ συμφορᾷ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τοῦ ἑαυτὸν δι’ ἡδονῆς τῷ ἐχθρῷ τῆς ζωῆς ὑποζεύξαντος (“Since, then, the mind has been disappoint- ed in its craving for the real good, and diverted to that which is not such, being persuaded, through the deception of the great advocate and inventor of vice, that that was beauty which was just the opposite (for this deception would never have succeeded, had not the glamour of beauty been spread over the hook of vice like a bait), — the man, I say, on the one hand, who had enslaved himself by indulgence to the enemy of his life, being of his own accord in this unfortunate condition.”) (28) GNO III/4, 57,23–58,2 [ch. 22]: κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, ἑκουσίως ἡμῶν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπεμπολησάντων, ἔδει παρὰ τοῦ δι’ ἀγαθότητα πάλιν ἡμᾶς εἰς ἐλευθερίαν ἐξαιρουμένου μὴ τὸν τυραννικόν ἀλλὰ τὸν δίκαιον τρόπον ἐπινοηθῆναι τῆς ἀνακλήσεως. (“on the same principle, now that we had voluntarily bartered away our freedom, it was requisite that no arbitrary method of recovery, but the one consonant with justice should be devised by Him Who in His goodness had undertaken our rescue.”) (29) GNO III/4, 60,1–13 [ch. 23]: ταύτην τοίνυν τὴν δύναμιν καθορῶν ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἐν ἐκείνῳ πλεῖον τοῦ κατεχομένου τὸ προκείμενον εἶδεν ἐν τῷ συναλλάγματι. τούτου χάριν αὐτὸν αἱρεῖται λύτρον τῶν ἐν τῇ τοῦ θανάτου φρουρᾷ καθειργμένων γενέσθαι. ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀμήχανον ἦν αὐτὸν γυμνῇ προσβλέψαι τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ φαντασίᾳ μὴ σαρκός τινα μοῖραν ἐν αὐτῷ θεωρήσαντα, ἣν ἤδη διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας κεχείρωτο. διὰ τοῦτο περικαλύπτεται τῇ σαρκὶ ἡ θεότης, ὡς ἂν πρὸς τὸ σύντροφόν τε καὶ συγγενὲς αὐτῷ βλέπων μὴ πτοηθείη τὸν προσεγγισμὸν τῆς ὑπερεχούσης δυνάμεως καὶ τὴν ἠρέμα διὰ τῶν θαυμάτων ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον διαλάμπουσαν δύναμιν κατανοήσας

Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 01:57:44PM via free access 98 Scrinium IX (2013). Patrologia Pacifica Tertia was brought into darkness and expelled it.30 Thus, there is a twofold fraud, yet with a signifi cant diff erence: Satan deceives for evil, but God deceives for good. Subsequently, at the beginning of chapter 26, Gregory asks how one can be sure that Christ’s deception, that stands for his redemptive work, does not deceive the believer in the same way as it did Satan: “Still, in his examination of the amount of justice and wisdom dis- coverable in this Dispensation a person is, perhaps, induced to en- tertain the thought that it was by means of a certain amount of deceit that God carried out this scheme on our behalf.”31 In this framework, Gregory goes on to evolve his concept of universal restoration and states explicitly that Christ brings forth salvation even for Satan, and Satan will agree that this is justifi ed: “But as regards the aim and purpose of what took place, a change in the direction of the nobler is involved; for whereas he, the enemy, eff ected his deception for the ruin of our nature, He Who is at once the just, and good, and wise one, used His device, in which

ἐπιθυμητὸν μᾶλλον ἢ φοβερὸν τὸ φανὲν εἶναι νομίσῃ. (“The Enemy, therefore, beholding in Him [sc. Jesus Christ] such power, saw also in Him an op- portunity for an advance, in the exchange, upon the value of what he held. For this reason he chooses Him as a ransom for those who were shut up in the prison of death. But it was out of his power to look on the unclouded aspect of God; he must see in Him some portion of that ﬂ eshly nature which through sin he had so long held in bondage. Therefore it was that the Deity was in- vested with the ﬂ esh, in order, that is, to secure that he, by looking upon something congenial and kindred to himself, might have no fears in approaching that supereminent power; and might yet by perceiving that power, showing as it did, yet only gradually, more and more splendour in the miracles, deem what was seen an object of desire rather than of fear.”) (30) GNO III/4, 62,10–14 [ch. 24]: καὶ οὕτω τῆς ζωῆς τῷ θανάτῳ εἰσοικισθείσης καὶ τῷ σκότῳ τοῦ φωτὸς ἐπιφανέντος ἐξαφανισθῇ τὸ τῷ φωτὶ καὶ τῇ ζωῇ κατὰ τὸ ἐναντίον νοούμενον· οὐ γὰρ ἔχει φύσιν οὔτε σκότος διαμένειν ἐν φωτὸς παρουσίᾳ οὔτε θάνατον εἶναι ζωῆς ἐνεργούσης. (“and thus, life being introduced into the house of death, and light shining in darkness, that which is diametrically opposed to light and life might vanish; for it is not in the nature of darkness to remain when light is present, or of death to exist when life is active.”) (31) GNO III/4, 64,13–16: Ἀλλ’ ἴσως τις ἐν τῇ τῆς δικαιοσύνης τε καὶ σοφίας ἐξετάσει τῆς κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν ταύτην θεωρουμένης ἐνάγεται πρὸς τὸ νομίσαι ἀπάτην τινὰ τὴν τοιαύτην μέθοδον ἐπινενοῆσθαι ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τῷ θεῷ.

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there was deception, for the salvation of him who had perished, and thus not only conferred benefi t on the lost one, but on him, too, who had wrought our ruin.”32 Thus Gregory underlines the good intention of Christ’s fraud, dis- pels any doubts the believer might have, regarding its success, and strenghthens the believer in his certainty. In this line of argument, Satan stands for the worst-case scenario, namely for how far one can fall from God. Even here God’s salvatory plan comes to its fulfi llment through the ἀποκατάστασις, the universal restoration. There is no state or place in human life that could possibly exclude us from God’s salvation: “In like manner, when, after long periods of time, the evil of our nature, which now is mixed up with it and has grown with its growth, has been expelled, and when there has been a restoration of those who are now lying in Sin to their primal state, a harmony of thanksgiving will arise from all creation, as well from those who in the process of the purgation have suff ered chastisement, as from those who needed not any purgation at all.”33 Remarkably, Gregory does not describe eschatology (which in this case refers to the universal restoration of all creation) for the sake of eschatology per se, like Origen does in separate deliberations dedicat- ed specifi cally to the consummation of the world.34 Instead, Gregory draws this eschatological process into this life, from the other world into this world. He uses eschatology as an argument in favour of the certainty of faith.

(32) GNO III/4, 65,25–66,6 [ch. 26]: ὁ δὲ σκοπὸς τῶν γινομένων ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον τὴν παραλλαγὴν ἔχει· ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ διαφθορᾷ τῆς φύσεως τὴν ἀπάτην ἐνήργησεν, ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἅμα καὶ ἀγαθὸς καὶ σοφὸς ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τοῦ καταφθαρέντος τῇ ἐπινοίᾳ τῆς ἀπάτης ἐχρήσατο, οὐ μόνον τὸν ἀπολωλότα διὰ τούτων εὐεργετῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν τὴν ἀπώλειαν καθ’ ἡμῶν ἐνεργήσαντα. (33) GNO III/4, 67,7–13 [ch. 26]: κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ταῖς μακραῖς περιόδοις ἐξαιρεθέντος τοῦ κακοῦ τῆς φύσεως, τοῦ νῦν αὐτῇ καταμιχθέντος καὶ συμφυέντος, ἐπειδὰν ἡ εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀποκατάστασις τῶν νῦν ἐν κακίᾳ κειμένων γένηται, ὁμόφωνος ἡ εὐχαριστία παρὰ πάσης ἔσται τῆς κτίσεως καὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ καθάρσει κεκολασμένων καὶ τῶν μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐπιδεηθέντων καθάρσεως. (34) Cf. Origenes, De principiis, I, 6,1–4; III, 6,1–9 (ed. by H. GÖrgemanns, H. Karpp, Darmstadt, 1976).

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Baptism

As a last point, I turn to Gregory’s notion of baptism in the Oratio Cat- echetica.35 In baptism the relationship between God and the believer is expressed and renewed, as the believer is purifi ed and empowered to respond actively to the prevenient love of God. At the same time baptism anticipates eschatological cleansing, so that for one who has been baptised on earth, there is no need for further postmortal purifi cation: “For those in whose life-time here the purifi cation by the laver has preceded, there is a restoration to a kindred state. Now, to the pure, freedom from passion is that kindred state, and that in this freedom from passion blessedness consists, admits of no dispute. […] Since, then, there is a cleansing virtue in fi re and water, they who by the mystic water have washed away the defi lement of their sin have no further need of the other form of purifi cation, while they who have not been admitt ed to that form of purgation must needs be purifi ed by fi re.”36 Yet, for this to be the case, the eff ect of baptism needs to show in the life of the baptised, as Gregory emphasizes. He stresses that the life following baptism acts as the criterion for baptism itself.37 If the baptised

(35) Cf. I. Ramelli, “Baptism in Gregory of Nyssa’s Theology and Its Ori- entation to Eschatology,” in Ablution, Initiation, and Baptism: Late Antiquity, Early Judaism, and Early Christianity (Vol. II), ed. by D. Hellholm et al., Ber- lin, 2011, pp. 1205–1231; Ramelli argues “that Nyssen’s notion of baptism is strongly eschatologically oriented” (p. 1205). Cf. also E. Ferguson, Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries, Grand Rapids/MI, 2009, pp. 603–616; G. Maspero, “Baptism,” in The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa (cf. note 4), pp. 90–92. (36) GNO III/4, 91,15–19.92,3–8 [ch. 35]: ἐφ’ ὧν γὰρ κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον ἡ διὰ τοῦ λουτροῦ προκαθηγήσατο κάθαρσις, πρὸς τὸ συγγενὲς τούτοις ἡ ἀναχώρησις ἔσται· τῷ δὲ καθαρῷ τὸ ἀπαθὲς προσῳκείωται, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀπαθείᾳ τὸ μακάριον εἶναι οὐκ ἀμφιβάλλεται. […] ἐπεὶ οὖν ῥυπτική τίς ἐστι δύναμις ἐν τῷ πυρὶ καὶ τῷ ὕδατι, οἱ διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος τοῦ μυστικοῦ τὸν τῆς κακίας ῥύπον ἀποκλυσάμενοι τοῦ ἑτέρου τῶν καθαρσίων εἴδους οὐκ ἐπιδέονται, οἱ δὲ ταύτης ἀμύητοι τῆς καθάρσεως ἀναγκαίως τῷ πυρὶ καθαρίζονται. (37) GNO III/4, 102,8–15 [ch. 40]: ἡ γὰρ διὰ τῆς ἀναγεννήσεως γινομένη τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν μεταποίησις οὐκ ἂν εἴη μεταποίησις, εἰ ἐν ᾧ ἐσμεν διαμένοιμεν· τὸν γὰρ ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὄντα οὐκ οἶδα πῶς ἔστιν ἄλλον τινὰ γεγενῆσθαι νομίσαι, ἐφ’ οὗ μηδὲν τῶν γνωρισμάτων μετεποιήθη· τὸ γὰρ ἐπὶ ἀνακαινισμῷ καὶ μεταβολῇ τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν τὴν σωτήριον

Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 01:57:44PM via free access Martin Wenzel 101 shows the same att itude in his daily behaviour as before, then baptism has not taken place at all, and “water was just water”: “But if, when the bath has been applied to the body, the soul has not cleansed itself from the stains of its passions and aﬀ ections, but the life after initiation keeps on a level with the uninitiate life, then, though it may be a bold thing to say, yet I will say it and will not shrink; in these cases the water is but water, for the gift of the Holy Ghost in no ways appears in him who is thus baptismally born; whenever, that is, not only the deformity of anger, or the passion of greed, or the unbridled and unseemly thought, with pride, envy, and arrogance, disﬁ gures the Divine image, but the gains, too, of injustice abide with him, and the woman he has procured by adul- tery still even after that ministers to his pleasures.”38 For Gregory bad conduct constitutes a desecration of the divine image. With their free choice, the προαίρεσις, the baptised are to show outwardly that God is in fact an inherent God: “If, then, you have received God, if you have become a child of God, make manifest in your disposition the God that is in you, manifest in yourself Him that begot you. By the same marks whereby we recognize God, must this relationship to God of the son so born be exhibited.”39

παραλαμβάνεσθαι γέννησιν παντὶ δῆλόν ἐστιν. (“For that change in our life which takes place through regeneration will not be change, if we continue in the state in which we were. I do not see how it is possible to deem one who is still in the same condition, and in whom there has been no change in the distinguishing features of his nature, to be any other than he was, it being palpable to every one that it is for a renovation and change of our nature that the saving birth is received.”) (38) GNO III/4, 103,5–16 [ch. 40]: εἰ δὲ τὸ μὲν λουτρὸν ἐπαχθείη τῷ σώματι, ἡ δὲ ψυχὴ τὰς ἐμπαθεῖς κηλῖδας μὴ ἀπορρύψαιτο ἀλλ’ ὁ μετὰ τὴν μύησιν βίος συμβαίνοι τῷ ἀμυήτῳ βίῳ, κἂν τολμηρὸν εἰπεῖν ᾖ, λέξω καὶ οὐκ ἀποτραπήσομαι ὅτι ἐπὶ τούτων τὸ ὕδωρ ὕδωρ ἐστίν, οὐδαμοῦ τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐπιφανείσης τῷ γιγνομένῳ, ὅταν μὴ μόνον τὸ κατὰ τὸν θυμὸν αἶσχος ὑβρίζῃ τὴν θείαν μορφὴν ἢ τὸ κατὰ πλεονεξίαν πάθος καὶ ἡ ἀκόλαστος καὶ ἀσχήμων διάνοια καὶ τῦφος καὶ φθόνος καὶ ὑπερηφανία, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐξ ἀδικίας κέρδη παραμένῃ αὐτῷ καὶ ἡ ἐκ μοιχείας αὐτῷ κτηθεῖσα γυνὴ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο ὑπηρετῆται. (39) GNO III/4, 104,13–18 [ch. 40]: εἰ οὖν ἔλαβες τὸν θεὸν καὶ τέκνον ἐγένου θεοῦ, δεῖξον διὰ τῆς προαιρέσεως καὶ τὸν ἐν σοὶ ὄντα θεόν, δεῖξον ἐν

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With baptism the eschatological puriﬁ cation is drawn into life, so that life is charged with eschatological meaning: If the baptised do not live up to their previous cleansing, baptism itself has never taken place. Or in short: The baptised’s life on earth receives its signiﬁ cance from the afterlife.

Conclusion

Finally, I would like to draw some conclusions: Which lessons can be learned from the afterlife according to Gregory? In the Oratio Cat- echetica, Gregory does not provide us with a concrete description of eschatological events. Rather his theological thinking is informed by eschatology, as was shown by the examples of Gregory’s understanding of God, universal restoration and baptism. Instead of eschatological speculations about the hereafter, Gregory concentrates on ethical behaviour in the here and now. He does not paint a lively picture of eschatological hopes, which in his view is beyond human reckoning in any case, but rather uses eschatology in order to motivate Christians to lead a good life. Furthermore, it be- came obvious that Gregory’s concept of eschatological communion and its att ainment is mirrored in his notion of God and fi nds its theological foundation and expression in it. This eschatological communion in Gregory’s view will most certainly come to its fulfi llment with the restoration of all things (ἀποκατάστασις). Gregory does not deal with this aspect as a speculative topos for its own sake. Instead, he draws the eschatological process into this life, from the other world into this world. By way of this, eschatology also becomes an argument for the certainty of faith. In similar fashion, eschatology functions as a theological structure for Gregory’s notion of baptism. In that baptism is the anticipation of eschatological purifi cation, the eschaton is again drawn back into this life, as it were. Since for Gregory the life following the act of baptism is the decisive factor in determining the eff ect and authenticity of baptism, the baptised’s earthly life is again charged with eschatological meaning and recieves its signifi cance from the afterlife. In sum, it can be said that eschatology in the Oratio Catechetica is not a speculative system of thought. Instead, for Gregory, it is an un- derlying theological, guiding and inspiring principle for his theology

σεαυτῷ τὸν γεννήσαντα. ἐξ ὧν τὸν θεὸν γνωρίζομεν, δι’ ἐκείνων προσήκει δειχθῆναι τοῦ γενομένου υἱοῦ θεοῦ τὴν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν οἰκειότητα.

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Bibliography

Editions and translations

Gregory of Nyssa, Oratio Catechetica, ed. by E. MÜhlenberg (GNO III/4), Leiden, 1996. Gregory of Nyssa, Oratio Catechetica, ed. by. J.-P. Migne (PG 45), Paris, 1863. Gregory of Nyssa, Oratio Catechetica, ed. by J. H. Srawley, Cambridge, 1903. Grégoire de Nysse, Discours Catéchétique, ed. by. R. Winling (SC, 453), Paris, 2000. Gregory of Nyssa, Dogmatic Treatises: Select Writings and Lett ers, ed. by P. Schaff, H. Wace, transl. by W. Moore, H. A. Wilson (NPNF II/5), Grand Rapids/MI, 1893. Gregor von Nyssa, Die große katechetische Rede. Oratio catechetica magna, hrsg. by J. Barbel, Stutt gart, 1971. Origenes, De principiis, ed. by H. GÖrgemanns, H. Karpp, Darmstadt, 1976.

Secondary Literature

Daley, B. E., The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic Eschatology, Grand Rapids/MI, 1991, pp. 85–89. Ferguson, E., Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries, Grand Rapids/MI, 2009, pp. 603–616. Grillmeier, A., “Vom Symbolum zur Summa: Zum theologiege schichtlichen Verhältnis von Patristik und Scholastik,” in Idem, Mit ihm und in ihm: Chris- tologische Forschungen und Perspektiven, Freiburg, 1975, pp. 585–636. Heyden, K., “Apocatastasis,” in Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, Vol. 2, ed. by H.-J. Klauck et al., Berlin, 2009, pp. 373–375. Kees, R. J., Die Lehre von der Oikonomia Gott es in der Oratio Catechetica Gregors von Nyssa, Leiden, 1995. Mann, F., “Gregor von Nyssa,” in Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Bd. 3, hrsg. H. D. Betz et al., Tübingen, 2000, Sp. 1265–1266. Maraval, P., “Chronology of Works,” in The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nys- sa, ed. by L. F. Mateo-Seco, G. Maspero, transl. by S. Cherney, Leiden, 2010, pp. 153–169. Maspero, G., “Baptism,” in The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa (see above), pp. 90–92. Mateo-Seco, L. F., “Eschatology,” in The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa (see above), pp. 274–288. Ramelli, I., “Baptism in Gregory of Nyssa’s Theology and Its Orientation to Eschatology,” in Ablution, Initiation, and Baptism: Late Antiquity, Early Juda- ism, and Early Christianity (Vol. II), ed. by D. Hellholm et al., Berlin, 2011, pp. 1205–1231.

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Ramelli, I., “Christian Soteriology and Christian Platonism: Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and the Biblical and Philosophical Basis of the Doctrine of Apo- katastasis,” VC, 61 (2007), pp. 313–356. Ramelli, I., “La dott rina dell’ apocatastasi eredità origeniana nel pensiero escatologico del Nisseno,” in Eadem, Gregorio di Nissa. Sull’ anima e la resurrezione, Milano, 2008, pp. 735–958. Winling, R., “Oratio Catechetica,” in The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa (see above), pp. 546–549. ZaÑartu, S., “El Dios razonable de la gran catequesis de Gregorio de Nisa,” Teología y Vida, 45 (2004), pp. 564–604.

SUMMARY

Exploring the notion of eschatology in Gregory of Nyssa‘s Oratio Cat- echetica and his strategies of communicating eschatological hopes in a catechetical context, this article argues that eschatology is in fact an under- lying principle for Gregory‘s theology guiding and inspiring his thought as a whole. This is shown by way of central theological loci: following Ori- gen, Gregory‘s eschatological concepts are integral to his understanding of God and God‘s salvatory work; thinking God eschatologically thus, re- sults in the Nyssen‘s exceptional argumentation in favour of the universal restoration of all things (ἀποκατάστασις) — a notion not only considered objectionable by many of his contemporaries but still agitating controver- sy today due to its explicit inclusion of Satan in Christ‘s salvatory work. In the same way that Gregory thus draws an “otherwordly” process into this (earthly) life in order to utilize it as an argument for the certainty of faith, baptism also is depicted as the anticipation of eschatological puriﬁ - cation. In that baptism‘s ramiﬁ cations must be proven by the believer subsequently, eschatological concepts in Gregory‘s theology are shown once again not only to refer to future hopes but to serve above all as beacons of orientation in this world.

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