Marta Höffner

Experiences of visions and ecstasy in the writings of the Desert Fathers

In this article the author, based on selected early-monastic texts (apophtegmata, biographies of monks and historical/travel reports), analyses issues of visions and ecstasy at the beginning of early Christian monasticism. The main problem tackled in the text is the approach of monks to the phenomenon of ecstasy and visions. This issue is inseparably linked with the socio-geographical context of the lives of the fi rst monks, who mostly lived in the desert. Ecstasy is something which goes beyond the established order of affairs, and the visions sent by Satan to the monks are tests, the next stages on the way to the transformation of the human being, but also stigmata of holiness.

The Body and Soul in the Anthropology of Gregory of Nyssa

The paper raises one of the issues which are present in the writings of Gregory of Nyssa, namely that of the relation between body and soul. The above issue is closely associated with the anthropo-logy of the bishop of Nyssa which is based on a fragment of the book of Genesis that treats about man being created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:27). Contrary to Philon and Orygenes who refer the act of dual creation to both Gen 1:27 and Gen :7, Gregory of Nyssa bases his conception of dual creation exclusively on the above-mentioned verse. In the conception of the bishop of Nyssa, the first creation relates to man understood as the humankind and it is a creation in the image and like-ness, whereas the second creation is a division into sexes (God introduces this division foreseeing man’s inclination to sin). With an act of free will, man selects sin and together with the original sin the biological sphere becomes activated. In spite of continuing in this state, the corporeal nature of man is not perceived in a negative way. In the second part of the article, the author raises the issue in what way the body and soul create a unity in man, at the same time being differentiated in the sphere of its nature. The conception presented by Gregory of Nyssa is clearly anchored in neo-Platonism. The text shows in what way the soul displays its varied activity through the body and in what way the body itself is adjusted through its constitution to the needs of the soul. Through the relation of body and soul, Gregory presents the conception of man as a dynamic and exceptional being as the two orders – the spiritual and the bodily one are united in man.