On Knowing and Unknowing God: Reason and Mysticism in the Armenian Theologian Gregory of Tatev
Ruth M Gornandt
The Journal of Theological Studies February 10, 2023 DOI: 10.1093/jts/flac133 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that mystical and apophatic theology is central to Gregory of Tatev's thought and spiritual practice, despite his reputation for a strongly logical and analytical approach, and that divine hiddenness and incomprehensibility underlie the epistemology and hermeneutics of his cataphatic theology. |
Abstract
The dialectic of the cataphatic and the apophatic is vital for honouring the transcendent within the rational endeavour of theology. The medieval Armenian theologian Gregory of Tatev presents a theological approach that is strongly logical and analytical, discussing the mystical only in a few places. For this reason, he has been accused of abandoning the apophatic altogether. However, it can be shown that mystical theology is at the heart of his thinking and his own spiritual practice. After expounding his cataphatic and apophatic theologies this paper shows that the divine hiddenness and incomprehensibility shape Gregory’s cataphatic theology in that they underlie its epistemology and hermeneutics. Both are developed from the spiritual experience that God is ultimately ineffable and that ‘unknowing’ is the highest form of knowing him.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |