Saturday 11 April 2015

Giulio Maspero: Isoangelia in Gregory of Nyssa and Origen on the background of Plotinus

In their works both Gregory of Nyssa and Origen speak about isoangelia (angel-likeness): according to God's plan the true end of a human person is to become like an angel. This paper compares the thought of the two authors on the background of Plotinus' philosophy of the souls. The Cappadocian defines isoangelia as a condition of the soul acquired at the end of time, because it is related to human will and its definitive direction towards God, according to a movement that is prolonged into the epektasis. On the other side, Origen's isoangelia is at the beginning, because it is related to the original similarity of human souls to the angels. This difference is explained having recourse to their different metaphysical frameworks and Plotinus' ontological view.

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