Негативната теологија кај св. Василиј Велики и кај св. Григориј Ниски

Abstract

The paper explores the instances of negative theology present in the works of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory of Nyssa, in their polemic with Eunomius, and as the basis of their theological thinking. The negative theology in these authors is not systematic, or even well developed, but it is conspicuous and integral to their more elaborate constructions of theological notions and arguments. The paper, therefore, shows their stances on the attributes of God and the (im) possibilities to name God in the conflict with Eunomius; lists several examples of obvious apophatic formulations in their works, the main being their core belief about the incomprehensibility and unknowability of God’s essence and, thus, about God’s ineffability; and shows how some of these opinions incorporate in the ontological explanations of the Trinitarian teaching of St. Basil.