Vesa Valentin Cosmin: The divine vision in Isaac of Niniveh and the East Syriac Christology

One of the most important themes in Isaac of Niniveh's discourses is the concept of divine vision. His ascetic endeavor aims to experiencing the presence of God, described as theoria (stupor), vision, or perception. So that to picture this process Isaac makes an interesting synthesis between Evagrius, Theodore of Mopsuestia and John the Solitary (eventually also Pseudo Macarius). The concept of vision has been largely discussed in the context of the dyophisite Christology of the East Syriac of the 7-8th century. That specific theological context reveals various debates between, on one side, an academic theology (represented by the schools and, occasionally, by the higher clergy) and the monastic charismatic theology, on the other side, concentrated directly on the problem of spiritual vision in the frame of the official Christology of the time. The aim of this research points to identifying the relation between the spiritual theology of the East Syriac mystics and the scholastic academic theology in the East Syriac Church of that specific period.