Categories: uncategorized
Date: 13 October 2005 13:43:30
I'm enjoying, and gaining much from, reading St Gregory of Nyssa's On the Soul and Resurrection. It is a bit heavy going for me at times, and I find myself re-reading certain paragraphs, but it is presented in a rather wonderful way (a dialogue between inquisitive and questioning St Gregory and his sister St Macrina(*) who gives the answers) and, even though I do not understand it all, the bits I do have been of benefit.
I was reading the chapter Why is Purification Painful? tonight, and I was struck in particular by these words about God being all in all, that our entire fulfilment can only be found in Him alone and the annihilation of evil:
... Since evil does not exist by its nature outside of free choice, when all choice is in God, evil will suffer a complete annihilation because no receptacle remains for it."....
"But indeed the divine Nature is the source of all virtue. Hence those who are released from evil will be in the divine Nature, so that, as the apostle says, 'God may be all in all.' .... For while we carry on our present life in many different ways, there are many things in which we participate, such as time, air, place, food and drink, clothing, sun, lamplight, and many other necessities of life, of which none is God. The blessedness which we await, however, does not need any of these, but the divine Nature will become everything for us and will replace everything, distributing itself appropriately for every need of that life. This is clear from the divine sayings, that God becomes a place for the saints, a house, a garment, nourishment, drink, light, wealth, dominion, and every concept and name of all things which contribute to the good life for us. He who becomes all will also be in all. In this the apostle seems to teach the complete annihilation of evil. If God will be in everything which exists, evil obviously will not be among the things which exist; for if one should suppose that evil existed, how would it remain true that God is 'in all'? If evil is excluded, not all things are included. But He who will be 'in all' will not be in what does not exist."
St Gregory of Nyssa, On the Soul and Resurrection, pp 85-7, 1993, SVS Press, Crestwood