The aim of this thesis is to explore Gregory of Nyssa’s tabernacle imagery, as presented in Life of Moses 2.170-201. This part of Life of Moses has suffered from relative neglect compared to the scholarly attention conferred on Gregory’s apophatic darkness imagery. For the purposes of this study, Life of Moses 2.162-201 has been divided into nine consecutive sections, given the following headings: Darkness; The tabernacle ‘not made with hands’; Christological interpretation; Divine names; Heavenly powers; The earthly tabernacle; Heavenly and earthly worship; The holy of holies; The priestly vestments. Each section is analysed in the same way. Firstly, Gregory’s text is examined, and his biblical sources identified. Secondly, there is a presentation of relevant passages in the work of his Alexandrian predecessors – Philo, Clement and Origen. Thirdly, there is a discussion of the ways in which Gregory’s fourth century theological context has influenced his interpretation, often causing him to differ from his predecessors. It is under this heading of ‘theological context’ that contemporary scholarly discussions about Gregory are most in evidence. Fourthly, a heuristic comparison with a range of heavenly ascent texts from the Hellenistic and Late Antique worlds is undertaken. It is this methodology of heuristic comparison which is the experimental aspect of the thesis. The aim is not to prove influence, but to use heavenly ascent texts as a foil, in order to shed new light on Gregory’s imagery. Does Gregory’s interpretation of the tabernacle come into focus when viewed through the lens of heavenly ascent? In order to answer this question, the scholarship on heavenly ascent texts is mined for new ways of looking at Life of Moses. The conclusions begin by reviewing the methodology. It is argued that although many of the themes explored stem from the biblical text, and occur in Gregory’s Alexandrian predecessors, the richness of possibilities they provide, and therefore the choices made by Gregory, only become apparent when his work is compared and contrasted with a wide range of other heavenly ascent texts. Even in the case of a fourth century Christian work heavily influenced by Platonism, attending to the Jewish matrix of Christian mysticism pays dividends. The conclusions continue by listing the key ideas discovered in Life of Moses 2.170-201. They end by discussing the relationships between mysticism, theology and politics in Gregory’s tabernacle imagery. It is argued that Gregory holds all three together. This is typical of heavenly ascent texts, which combine descriptions of religious experience with claims to authoritative knowledge. For Gregory, the high point of Moses’ ascent into the darkness of Mount Sinai is the mystery of Christian doctrine. The heavenly tabernacle is a type of the heavenly Christ. This mystery is beyond intellectual comprehension, it can only be grasped by faith; and only the select few, destined for positions of responsibility, should even attempt to do so. But its benefits are available to all through the community’s worship in the earthly tabernacle. Anyone can aspire to wear an airy, angelic robe by living a life of virtue, in which faith and practice go hand in hand.

This thesis proposes that integrated rituals of netherworld descent and heavenly ascent are represented in the Hebrew Bible as having been performed by Davidic royals – royal women, as well as male monarchs. In some instances (e.g. Psalms 2; 18; 24; 89:2-38; and 110) these rituals are represented idealistically, with Yahweh confirming the king’s ritual status and potency, through re-presented speech acts. In other instances, however, while an idealistic picture of monarchy continues to be upheld, it is subverted from within in varying ways (e.g. 2 Kgs 9:30-37; 11; Ps. 89:39-52; Isa. 14.4b-20; Jer. 13:18-20; Ezekiel 19). The differing portrayals of monarchy reflect the differing ways with which biblical texts are negotiating and interacting with ambiguous discourses embodying memories of monarchy. On the one hand, after the fall of monarchic Judah, ‘foreign’ monarchy (and especially trading monarchies, such as those of Phoenicia) were fetishised within biblical authors’ discourses of political and economic imperialism, and so Davidic monarchy became a signifier of an enchanting and mystifying ‘indigenous’ past. On the other hand, discourses concerning the past frequently referenced exile, and the collapse of monarchy. Some biblical representations of ritual netherworld descent and heavenly ascent acknowledge this latter, uncomfortable kind of remembering – even as they reify and reinforce these enchanting memories which they subvert. The remembered, cosmically liminal first temple and the remembered royal body become loci for these paradoxical, contradictory, and competing memories. This much is evident in mystifying royal cosmic liminality and heavenly ascent, access to divine knowledge, and mimesis of Yahweh; in cathartic myths of the subjugation of the forces of chaos and disorder, both cosmic and military; and in the subversion of the enchanting remembered Davidic cultic praxis of descent and ascent, through these motifs’ re-presentations in montages alongside rituals which connote displacement, destruction, profanation, desecration, subjugation and being forgotten. In these instances, the vulnerabilities inherent in cultural idealising of the Davidic monarchy’s potent cosmic liminality are brought into sharp relief.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:19:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sebastiana maria Silva.pdf: 1536000 bytes, checksum: 2487c2d3e1207d1baf47cde8279add8a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-11 / Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo / The subject celestial journey , well familiar to the old mediterranean world, is based on the belief that the visionary can cross the boundary between humanity and divinity, a constant characteristic in apocalyptic literature. Old Jewish mysticism was seen as an important dimension of this tradition, that is the reason why the mystics used the term apocalypse to describe the revelation of their experiences. Paul s ascension to heaven, recounted in 2 Cor 12,1-10, is the only first hand account and the best evidence of ecstatic practice of celestial journey in first century Judaism. This text, one of great interest in the studies of New Testament, has been examined in thematic forms that extend from the recognition of the apostle as enjoyable to divinity - what granted him such a heroic achievement - to a punishment experience by the guardians of the celestial gates for finding in him no merit to approach the place of the presence of God. For long time, the studies that prevailed in the academy were those of the theological aspects of the passage, such as the spine in the flesh , the apostolic mission , Paul s opponents , among others. The language of the passage reveals important topics that were not considered together for a coherent interpretation of the text. The use of expressions from the Jewish mystical apocalyptic circle like "caught up", "Third Heaven", "hear unutterable words" and "a thorn for the flesh" by the apostle needs to be investigated for the comprehension of what Paul had in mind while using those terms. Another problem is the omission of the experimental approach described in the passage. The apostle reveals that he lived the experience recounted in 2 Cor 12,1-10. While he was telling the unknown status of his body during the rising, he highlights signs of the altered state of consciousness, an aspect that was not considered in the traditional analysis of the text. These problems are analyzed in this thesis take as instruments of the Religion History and the Neurotheology analysis. Models were built trying to demonstrate a correlation between brain activity and mystical experience. In this respect, we have to point out that the emergence of neurotheology, or spiritual neurology brings a progress to the area of religious experience. Some points of difficult interpretation in pauline text have been clarified under this perspective. The proposal of this study was to build a contextual frame to analyse the ecstatic experience of Paul. The study made it possible to infer that the interdisciplinary approach allows a more appropriate scenario to the understanding and interpretation of the text. / O tema viagem celestial , bem familiar ao mundo mediterrâneo antigo fundamenta-se na crença de que o visionário pode cruzar a fronteira entre a humanidade e a divindade, uma característica constante na literatura apocalíptica. O misticismo judaico antigo era visto como uma importante dimensão dessa tradição, razão pela qual os místicos usaram o termo apocalipse para descrever a revelação de suas experiências. A ascensão de Paulo ao céu, recontada em 2 Cor 12,1-10, é o único relato de primeira mão e a melhor evidência para a prática extática de viagem celestial no judaísmo do primeiro século. De grande interesse nos estudos do Novo Testamento o texto tem sido abordado em forma temática que se estende desde o reconhecimento do apóstolo como agradável à divindade o que lhe rendeu tal feito heróico a uma experiência de punição pelos guardiões dos portões celestiais por não ter sido encontrado nele mérito para aproximar-se do lugar da presença de Deus. Por muito tempo os estudos que predominavam na academia eram os de aspectos teológicos da passagem, tais como o espinho na carne , a missão apostólica , os oponentes de Paulo , entre outros. A linguagem da passagem revela pontos importantes não considerados de forma conjunta para uma interpretação coerente do texto. O uso por parte do apóstolo de expressões do círculo místico-apocalíptico judaico, tais como foi arrebatado , Terceiro Céu , ouviu palavras inefáveis e um espinho na carne precisa ser investigado para a compreensão do que Paulo tinha em mente ao utilizar tais terminologias. Outro problema é a omissão do enfoque experimental descrito na passagem. O apóstolo revela que vivenciou tal experiência recontada em 2 Cor 12,1-10. Ao relatar o desconhecimento do status do seu corpo durante a ascensão ele evidencia sinais do estado alterado de consciência, aspecto não considerado nas análises tradicionais do texto. Esses problemas que são abordados nesta tese tomam como instrumentos da análise a História da Religião e o da Neuroteologia. Modelos foram construídos tentando demonstrar uma correlação entre a atividade cerebral e a experiência mística. Há que se destacar, nesse sentido, que o surgimento da neuroteologia ou neurologia espiritual constitui-se em um avanço na área da experiência religiosa. Pontos de difícil interpretação no texto paulino foram elucidados dentro dessa perspectiva. A proposta deste trabalho, portanto, foi construir um quadro contextual em que a experiência extática de Paulo pudesse ser analisada. O estudo possibilitou inferir que a abordagem interdisciplinar permite alcançar um cenário mais apropriado para a compreensão e interpretação do referido texto.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:18:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Capa.pdf: 17992 bytes, checksum: 3c71ef92a3a9b10e9f9ed1102745b9ee (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-03-16 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The proposal of the dissertation is an interchange between the New Cultural History and the Search for the Historical Jesus. The problems presented to the contemporary historiography by the Postmodernity, the question of subjectivity in the epistemological processes of historic construction and the recognition of the complexity of social actions, ask for a methodology that would find a way out of the dualism rationalism- irrationalism, the opposition between positivists approaches and the refusal to interpret historic objects. The project presents the Italian Microhistory as a solution to these Chimeras. Thus, the question for Jesus of Nazareth wont be initiated by theoretical schemes such as the permanent structures of the Mediterranean, the so called common Judaism , or the ethos of Lower Galilee but by the intensive, detailed observation of a significant microphenomenon of Jesus life, his symbolic demonstration at the Temple (Mk 11:15-19 and parallels). The microanalysis will skillfully multiply the symbolic action s causal relations and from them infer Jesus religious outlines and his relationship towards the Great Spiritual Center, Herod s Sanctuary. The variation between the macroscopic and microscopic observation scales will also be fundamental to the construction of plausible images of Jesus. Inferences on the cultural and religious context of Galilee will be experimented from Jesus micro-action the understanding that individuals are, in one way or another, representatives of whole historical periods and cultural layers won t be taken for granted. This project hypothesizes that Jesus demonstration at the Temple, far from being an attempt of purification, was the actualization of a mythic structure centered on Jeremiah 7 (a mitopraxis) guided by an archaic imaginary that pictures heaven as a temple. This imaginary was abundant in the literary images of apocalypticism and in the incipient mysticism that will lead to Hekhalot literature. As a final experiment, it will be proposed a connection between Jesus heaven-temple imaginary and his alleged visionary experiences of heavenly ascent. / A dissertação tem como proposta um intercâmbio entre a Nova História Cultural e a Pesquisa pelo Jesus Histórico. Os problemas colocados à historiografia atual pela pósmodernidade, a questão da subjetividade nos processos epistemológicos de construção histórica e a necessidade de reconhecimento da complexidade das ações sociais, pedem por uma metodologia que encontre uma saída à contraposição entre racionalismo e irracionalismo, entre o positivismo e a recusa em interpretar os objetos históricos. O projeto propõe a Micro- história italiana como tentativa de superar estas quimeras. A busca pelo Jesus de Nazaré funcionará assim não a partir de esquemas teóricos ge rais as estruturas permanentes do Mediterrâneo, o common judaism , ou o ethos da Baixa Galiléia mas pelo estudo fino, detalhado de um microfenômeno bastante representativo de Jesus, a sua demonstração simbólica no Templo narrada em Mc 11:15-19 e paralelos. A microanálise tratará de controlar a multiplicação da grande teia de relações causais da ação simbólica em Jerusalém e inferirá a partir delas que tipo de religioso foi Jesus e como se relacionou ao grande centro religioso do Santuário de Herodes. A variação entre as escalas microscópicas e macroscópicas de observação será também fundamental na construção das imagens plausíveis de Jesus. Inferências sobre o contexto cultural e religioso da Galiléia também serão experimentadas a partir da microação analisada o corolário de que os indivíduos são, de uma forma ou de outra, representativos de períodos históricos e de estratos culturais será levado bastante a sério. A hipótese do presente trabalho é a de que a demonstração de Jesus no Templo, longe de uma tentativa de purificação, fora a atualização de um estrutura mítica centrada em Jeremias 7 (uma mitopráxis) orientada pelo imaginário plurissecular do céu-templo, abundante nas imagens literárias da apocalíptica e no misticismo incipiente que culminará na literatura Hekhalot. Como experimento final, propor-se-á uma conexão entre supostas experiências visionárias de ascensão aos céus de Jesus de Nazaré e o seu imaginário do céu-templo.