Gabrielle Thomas: Wearing a 'Garment of Glory': Re-examining Theosis in the Theology of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus

Discussions concerning Saint Gregory Nazianzen’s doctrine of theosis have come to the fore in recent decades. Commentators have directed academic attention both to the interpretation of theosis and Nazianzen’s principal source of inspiration for the doctrine. Some scholars have argued that theosis is ‘real’ (Susanna Elm and Christopher Beeley) or ‘ontological’ (John McGuckin), whilst others have oriented towards a metaphorical interpretation (Norman Russell and Donald Winslow), or else, argued that Nazianzen’s use of theosis is ‘rhetorical’ (Vladimir Kharlamov). Added to this, commentators dispute whether Nazianzen appropriates to theosis the Platonic notion of imitation (Norman Russell), the Stoic metaphor depicting kinship with the divine (Boris Maslov), or biblical precedents (Torstein Tollefsen). This paper contributes to these debates by analysing Nazianzen’s description of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise against the backdrop of the exegetical tradition, ‘Garments of Glory’, also known as ‘robes of glory’, which appears in numerous sources, such as, the Syriac Christian tradition. Along with his extensive deployment of Greek philosophical concepts, we argue Nazianzen weaves this exegetical tradition in such a way as to profoundly affect our conception of theosis and to suggest a literal interpretation of the doctrine.