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The Significanceof the Transfiguration
forHesychasm

EljiHisamatsu
1. Introduction
The story of the appearaneeof Christ, accompanied
by Moses andElijah,to Peter,James and John in the shining gloryof his divinity(Mt,17,1-8),traditionally believedto have taken place on Mt, Tabor, i.e.,thestoryof the Transfiguration,
has inspired a numberof themes ofChristian spirituality. Above all in Eastern Orthodox ChristianitytheTransfiguration has special prominence.
Thus the festival of theTransfigurationobserved on 6 August both in the East and in the West, isin the East one of the great eelebrationsof the Christian year alongside
Epiphany and Easter.i)
A decisiveinfluenceon Eastern Spirituality
in this respect was exercisedby the so-called
Hesychasm, a type of monastic
lifeand prayingof the OrthodoxChurch with the purpose of achieving
practiced by monks
divine quietness(Hesychia).
It flourishedin the 13thand 14ti'
centuries
asan ecclesiasticaland monastic
movement
spreadingto the Holy Mountain,
and throughout the Byzantine Empire, the Balkans,and laterRussia. As 'a result of great composure
and purificationof the soul and body, intellectual prayers which involved soul, mind and body (Jesus
Prayer),and participationin the common
Eucharistic lifeof the Church, the hesyehasts
tried to see with their own
eyes
thelight" whieh once
appearedon the day of Transfiguration,
namelythe so-called
light'1
The Hesychasts always
describedtheir experienceof God with
thisterm. For they identifiedthe divinereality that revealed itselfto themwiththe light that had appeared
to the Lord's diseiples at His"uncreated"Taborite

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CollegeTransfiguration.2)
The question is,why is the story of Transfigurationso important for
the hesychasts. The present paper triesto examine the precise signifirefereneeto thecance ofthe Transfigurationfbr the hesychasts by making'writingsofone of the most
Gregory of Sinai(c.1255-1346),

outstanding

hesychast teachers.
2. Threesteps

of spiritualadvancesoffor his teachihg of a psychosomatic method
Gregory is well-known
thisrole exclusivethe Jesus-prayer.3)
But itis too one-sided to emphasizely.He was primarilya promoter andof the monastic

missionary

spiritua-lityin general,for,as his entire writings clearly show, he was primarily adiscipline of thediscipline.This monastic
theoretician of monastic
washandedEastem Church,founded by Evagrius of Pontus (c.345-399),
down in the form ofthe(orthree steps"physike""praktike"),andofspiritualadvances,

namely"ethike""theologike".4)

The Sinaiteis a loyalbearer of inheritanceof this Evagrian idea.In
andDoctrines, Warnings and127 of his On Commandments
chapterandPromises; on Thoughts, Passions and Virtues,and also on Stitlness
he compares a monk with
Prayer: One Hundred and 71hirty-Seven7iexts,
127:
Let us quote the relevant passage from chapter"philosopher'15)

perfectphilosopher is one whose intellect(nous)has attained
love of God on the levelsof ethike, physikelove of wisdomor, rather,andtheologike. That is to say, he has learnt from God through the
ethikeascetic practice, through the physike an insight intothe spiri"The

tual causes
andthat in theoneselfwith

through the theologikethe theoria

the reading"ethike",orusually

the practice ofpurificationtransitionalcontemplation,'throughthings, anda precisenessofdoctrines".6)

This means
occupiesof createdonecalledof soul.

"praktike",one

In the physike, athe causes in the creatures
handwritingand in the theologike, anrecognizesof the creator's

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contemplation,

ultimateone

becomes worthyof the theoria,i.e.,the vision

precisenessofdoctrines'Z Thislastnotion is a erucial point
forour study and one to which we will soon come back.
In the same chapter, th,etermdenotesexclusively theone whohas reached the highest step, the theologike,whileisattributed
to theandto the(rhet6r)ofGod,

and"a"philosopher""physike""teachei'"praktike""interpreter"(grammateus).
interpreteris one proficientin the practiceof the ascetic lifeand
still actively engagedin scriptural exegesis. A divineteacher is one
mediates,in accordancewithwho
the laws governing the natural
world,
the sphitual
knowledge and inner meaningsof createdthingsand, inspired by the Holy Spirit,elucidates
all things with the analyticpower of his intelligence.
A true philosopher is one who has
attained,a supernaturalunion
consciously and directly,with God'17)"An

From the above explanations
itis clear that Gregory stands completely
in the Evagrian tradition regarding
the three monastic
basicdisciplines.
The significanceof the praktike as a prerequisitefor contemplation
liesin the necessity of purity of the intellect.
This is also fbr Gregory amatterof course,
he says that contemplation
when
is possible only tothose who
grace have attained
great purity of the intellect'18>
But he emphasizes
also the dangers for contemplation
arisingfrom theimpurity of the intellect:deceptions,illusionsor conceits, of which the`Cthroughleaderswarn

spiritualThe"physike",

again

and

again.9)

to Evagrius,is a spiritual

accordingunderstandingofin itsreferentiality
to God through the readingofhidden in all ereated. In conventional
divinemeaning (logoi)
theologicalterms, it is apreefof God'ZiO)The Sinaiterewrites ittoas fo11ows:Ifyou become
dispassionateand wholly consecrated
God",ii)
will disclosein created things the presence of the divine
Logos, the substantive Wisdom of God the Father; fbr in created things

the realityof creation"physieotheologieal"pure,"you

you wiH perceivethe outward

expression-of the archetypes

that characte-

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them, and thus through your active living
intelligence
you will speak
wisdomthat derivesfrom the divineWisdom'1i2)The reading ofthe divine
Logos in created things leadsto the theologike, a vision of the Trinity:
contemplatewithclarity
the logoi,or inward essencesof thesethings,and distinctly
perceive, so far as is possible,the single source of allthings,the Holy Trinity".!3)
Evagrius definedthe
as the visionof God through the
rize

"They

"theologike"visionofitseijand that initsown lightat the tirne
ofthestate oftheintellectthe prabler.14)Essentiallythe Sinaitefbllowshis predecessor. The ideathat the intellectrealizes the theologike through the vision
is expressed by the Sinaiteas foIIows:of itsownlight"Aecording

to theologians,noetic, pure, angelic prayer is in itspower
wisdominspiredby the Holy Spirit.A sign that you have attained
such
when
prayer is that the vision of the intellectpraying is comsees neither
itselfnor
pletely free from form and that the intellectanything
else
in a materialway.
On the contrary, it is often drawn
awayeven from its own sense by the lightacting
in it;forit now
radiance,
becoming
grows immaterial and filledwith spiritual
through ineffbbleunion a single spirit with God (cfICor. 6,17)".iS)
This quotation is also an impressiveconfirmationof the typically"at
Evagrian view that the theologiketakes place
the time of the prayer"
and there
light" isin the intellect'1
But as we shall soon observe, the Gregorian idea of the theologike
gains a totallynew element that is never found in his predecessor, namely,an assoeiation
ofthis mystical experience with the biblicalstory oftheTransfiguration.
"the"acting

3. Theologike and Transfiguration
Of the totalof 137 chapters of his ascetic-mystic
writingchap(Gregl),ters twenty-fiveto thirty-twotreat
All the chap(dogmata).
ters with exceptionof chapter
28 treat conventional
definitionsand state"doetrines"

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Christology.Why did the author so persistently recapitulate
the dogmatic traditions in his ascetic-mystic handbook? At this point,one must accentuatea quite important aspectof theteachings'of Gregory respecting
the theologike:It also includesdagmatic
orthodoay
withinthe vision. Within the highest discipline,
the highest
activity of the intellect,
Gregory distinguishesvision and doetrinesfrom
each other, whichwas
not the case with
Evagrius.Let us quote once again
ments

the Trinity andabout

Gregorysays

what

about

the theologike:perfectphilosopher is one`CThe

God throughintellect

whose

learnt from...hasthe ethikeascetic

practice,through the physike aninsightinto the spiritualcausesof createdtheologike

the theoria andten tOn dogmatdn

Just thismattersofthrough the(tenthe6rian kai

a preciseness of doctrines

akribeian)".i6)"precisenessdoctrines" orpole of the characteristics

discernmentin"scrupulousofdogma"i7)is one

That the two elements,

things, andtheoria anddogmatism, areof

the theologike.

componentsof thetheologikeis unquestionable,
as is clear from the discoveryof the sermonof Gregory, Discourseon the transiCiguration,i8) editedby David Balfbur,i9)
in which the Sinaiteclearly speaks of the lightof Tabor as divineanduncreated.

Firstof all, it must be pointed out that this discoursetreats the theologikeas leitmoti£ The prologue emphasizes
thisexplicitly:
basing ourselves on the magnificenceand analogy of createdthings oflered to us (note:theis meant),
but using our
mind'seye, letus gaze from nigh at hand, withnothing
intervening,upon
Jesus as He flashesfbrthlikelightningon Mt. Tabor'120)"Not"physike"

Gregory equates this vision of Christ
nothing
intervening"of(amesOs)in the lightflashingfrom Him on Mt. Tabor to the experience
the highestmystic state, i.e.the theologike.
"with

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The connection of the lightvision with Jesus'Transfiguration goesback to Pseudo-Macarius, as H. -V. Beyer has shown convincingly.2i)
Butin spite of the factthat this connection
wasalreadywitnessed
by such an
old document, we cannot
actuallyfind any clear reference to itbeforethe
hesychast movementsin the 14'hcentury. The identificationof the lightmystics
with theLight" was thereperceived by contemplative
fore certainly not originatedby the hesychasts but rather a rediscovery
andrevaluationof the idea of Pseudo-Macarius. Of the many
witnesses
hesychast writings which treat the Transfiguration relating
the
among
Evagrian light-vision,
our text,Discourse on the transtguration, is one of
the earliest and best examples. We will fo11owthe text,analyze its contents and try to clarify
its central
thought in order
to find a possible"Taborite

motive

ofthe

above

mentionedconnection.

The firsttwo paragraphs can be regarded
as a prelude for the whole
sermon.
The preacher inviteshis listenerswho, in a metaphoric
sense,
have alreadycometo the foot of Mt. Tabor to climb
intelligible
mountainhoros to noeton
in order toof the theoria" (totes the6rias)22}
the gloryof that floodofJesus' lightwhich blazesthere",as the threeapostlesorof vision"
experienced
it.After(philotheamonas)23)
invitation,however, the textsfrom paragraph three
this rather expectant
to seventeen are taken up only by exegetical explanations. These offbr a
comparison
between the Old Testament theophanies on Mt. Horeb (Sinai)that were granted Elljah (c£ I Kings 19,8-13)and
Moses (cf Ex. 19,1-25;
20,18-21;24, 1-18),and the New Testament event of the Transfiguration.
By means of the fuIInessof often repeated
Biblequotations and theirsymbolical-typologicalinterpretationthe author explains the meaningof theOld Testamentdivine manifestationsas prognosticationsof theTransfigurationof the Lord insisting that the latteris the finaland comwas
indicated symbolicallyin the former.
plete fu1fillment of what
Concretely
the whole section consists of the fo11owing
elements:
"the

"see

"loversa)

A comparison
nies:

diffbrentcircumstancesin the three theophaterrifying naturallikeelouds, storm, firesand
phenomena
ofthe

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thunderclaps in the case of Moses (5 4);"abefore Elljah (g5).In contrast,

lovingly
and auspiciously

appearedandChristonb) An explanationofthe reason

whylightbreath of light"24)
Taborinethbly"shoneto us men".25)

the three apostles

were

over-

Because they had not been yet
powered by the divine radiance:completely
purified (g 4).No one can participatein this light,
he is purified in his hearing and understanding
and hasrefinedthe fleshand make itincorruptiblein the purifyingfireof"beforethe Spirit':26)c)

A dogmatic interpretationof the Transfigurationofthe Trinity

appearing

the twoandnaturesofasJesus: Thea revelation

two figures

Moses and Elijah,symthe three apostles the Trinity

in the Transfiguration, namely

bolizethe two natures(g 8-11;15).

d) An actualizationofof Jesus andthe Transfiguration: Though both the Old

Testament theophany and the New Testament Transfiguration
belong already to the past,
Transfiguration is the truth ofthat theophany which
is present in each (enhekastO)'Z27)
And this
is in itselfof the eternalbeatitudein the otherworld".28>`Cthe"pledge

The eighteenththrough twenty-thirdparagraphs29) contain a dogmatic
treatiseon the nature ef Jesus within
the Trinity.The star'ting point is
God'svoice from the cloud:is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
£ Mt 17,5;Mc 9,7;Lk 9,35).30)
This is fbllowedby an interpretapleased" (ctionof the Transfigurationscene in the fbrm of explanations
put intothemouth
of God the Father. But what
the Father bringsup on that occasion
is a dogmatic explanation
composedof different
biblicalquotations(mostly from the Gospel of John) relating to the Son and His relationshipto theFather and to the Holy Spirit(g 18).This part is,as D. Balfour expresses
correctly,
massof ardent utterance
which
pours likelava from this
"This

"the

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CollegeThis
volcano"is fbllowedby anotherwhichof the interaction
digression
argues fbr the Trinityon the analogy
the word and the voice in men, each of which correamong
the inteilect,spondsto the father,the son and the Holy Spirit(g19-21).In the subse"theologicaltheologicalvolcano'Z3i)

the discussionfocuseson theof divine
quent two paragraphs (22-23)
economy"32)
in Jesus Christ,represented
in correspondence
withthe forin men.
mation and the functionofthe
After this rather complicated,andfora sermon quite monotonou
dog"plan"word"

matic

seetionof paragraphtwenty-four, the moodis agqin

elevated

to that

The scene is determined again by thethe beginningof the sermon.
splendidevent
on the Tabor. The apostles
who
meanwhile
have been purifiedand enlightenedbyrecognized thepurifying power ofthe Spirit",
Son andpereeived Him within themselves"33)but also thenot only the Son but also the Blitherthrough the voice
TtinityitselCi.e.,
the resplendent
cloud";34) at thisfrom above and the Holy Spirit
moment,the whole creation begins to rejoice over the complete
revelationof the Trinity on Tabor. The author
then joinsthe mysteryof theTransfigurationwith Jesusrfarewellprayer befbrehis arrest, in which heasks the Father fbrglorification(e£ Jn 17,5) and the Father promises His
on
the cross and in the further future,in order to
Son the glorification
show
to be and to become most primordial (fod and Lord in all
at

"the

"cognitively"through"Jesusrespects'Z35)

In the twenty-fifthparagraph36), the sermon

itsclimax: An
invitationto the vision of the Son who was transfigured on Mt. Taborof the biblicalfigures,namely,
an invitationto praise theafter the modelTransfigured,to see Him with Moses, to ascend with Elljah,to enquire
into divine matters
withJohn, to confess our acknowledgementwithPeter,to approach
the lightwith James, and, so faras is possible, to gazeas of the only
begotten from the Father" (Jn1,14).This ison Hisfbllowedby the author's
own
praise to the Lord Jesus ( g 26)37)and to the
Father in the firstpart of paragraph twenty-seven38) with a prayer to the
Lord (fromthe second part of g 27 up to g 2839>),
and thus end the wholereaches"glorysermon.

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College4) Conclusion
Two points are to accentuatedin this whole discourse.First,itis obvious that the Transfigurationis actualized
by means of contemplation: At
first,
the temporal universaZitptof the validityof the New
Testament
Transfiguration
is put into the fbreground. It took place already in the
Old Testament theophanies anticipatorily and typologically.
But it also
occurseach"in the present and this experienceisaof theeternal beatitudein the other world'Z
However the main attention turns
towards the present actualization
throughthe theoria. The New
Testament scene of the Transfiguration,Tabor, is now put into the inner
worldof the contemplativeasintelligible
mountainof the theoria'Z
Above all through the Iabelingof the three apostles asof vision"
the preacher brings the past event intoan inner connection
withthe present mystic
vision. On the part of the apostles
Gregory transfersthe concrete, visualof the Transfiguration into their inner world,
phenomenon
sayingthat they saw the Transfigured
perceived Him withinthemselves'1 Finallythe whole
sermon,as the prolog has alreadydone,finishes once more with an invitation to the contemplationof theTransfigured.
Second,the connection of dogmatism with the theoriais apparent. The
sections( g 8-11;15; 18-23) occupy almost halfof the wholepurely dogrriatic
sermon.
In his theological descriptionsand arguments
the preacher takes
trouble unremittinglyand exhaustively,on the authorityof biblicalandCreed and thepatristicsources as well as the Nicean-Constantinopolitan
Symbol of Chalcedon, to describe
the Trinitarianrelationshipof the three
Personsas well as the two natures in the one hypostasisof the Son and
His Economy, and to emphasize
their orthodoxy. The whole doctrinalsec"in"pledge"the"lovers`Ccognitively

tion (g 18-23)that H -V. Beyer callstrue compendiumof doctrines"de)consistsof the wordsof God to which
the voice from the elQud provided thestimulus.
The author givesreasons fbr the arrangementof the dogmaticstatementsin this eontext
withthe enthusiastic
claim:
all will betaught by God (Is.
54,13;Jn 6,45),in such a way that we learn from Him
andthrough Him what we ought to know'14i)All these discussions
finally
"a

"For

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Collegelead us to the complete
revelationof the Trinity throughtheTransfigurationofthe Second Person.
motiveofthe
sermonis clear.
With thisobservation, the most essential
It triesto link the monastic
experienceof the theoria to the biblicalTransfigurationto prove the former to be equivalent
to the Iatterand thus
to authQrize
the mystic vision as biblicallyfbunded. Such an emphatic
dogmatism has relevance
exactly
for the grounds for believingthat thefbra legitimatedogma conobjeet ofthe
vision isa true God. The criterion
the two naturesin hypostasisof
sistsin the confessionof the Trinity andrevelationof bothChrist.The Transfiguration therefore is the complete
the whole mysteryof God manifests
itselfdoctrines.
With these doctrines
in form of
the high revelatory
pronouncements",42)that are given
as thethe dogmas by God. Therefbrethe Transfigurationcan be regardedof thishighpointand climax of orthodoxy.
The theoriais the actualization
incident
each".
That is the theologike of the Sinaitewho
bibliea}learntfrom God thethinks that one who is worthy ofthe theologike"through

"in

"has

theoria andprecisenessofdoctrines'143}
The dogmatism of our author proves by no means
to be interestedin
the dogmatic science, or a theologiealdiscussionin itsel£ The right doclevel.Without mystitrines have their true validity only on the mysticalas aeism, theologyis pointless.
On the other hand, theology is necessaryof mysticism.
This inseparable connectionofguarantor of the orthodoxy
is in reality a fundamental character ofthe traditheology and mysticism
tionofthe Eastern Church,as V. Lossky emphatically insists:aEastern Church has never keenly distinguishedof thebetween mysticism
and theology, between personal experience
divinemysteries
and the dogma announced
by the church....Theology
eachother:On the contrary,
they supand mysticism
do not exclude
each
other.
The one cannot exist withouttheport and supplement
other....Thereis no Christian mysticism
without
theology - But
"The

above

tradition ofthe

all there is notrue theology without-

mysticism".44)

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Notes:
1) C £ A. Michael Ramsey, art. Transfiguration,
in:ed. G, S.Wakefield, A Dictionary of
31986,
ChristianSpirituality,
London379-380.
2) C £ J. Meyendorff, St. Gragory Palarnas and Orthedox Spirituality,
St. Vladimir's
Seminary Press 1974, 116.
3> Cf. E. Hisamatsu,
Gebetslehre bei Gregorios Sinaites", Studia
l'atristica
vol. 30(199P, 218'N-223,
4) Cf.Evagrius, Practicus 1 = ed. A. Guillaumont f C. Guillaumont, EvagrelePontique,7},aiteChrtitiennes170, 498.
pratique ou Le MOine (;gources
5) That was common
in menastie
literature,in which the monastie
lifewas called
II. Naissance et developpements duphilosophy". Cf, P. Miquel, art. Monachisme
monachisme
Chretien, Dictiomtaire de spiritualite'
10 (1980),
1555-1556; G. Bardy,
et <philosoph>dans le vocabulaire
Chretien des premiers siecles",Revue det de morstique 25 (1949,
97-108.
6) Gregory of Sinai, On Conzmandments
andDoctrines. Wdrnings and Proneises;on
ThoLrghts,Passions aTtd Virtues,and also on Sttltnessand P?'ayer:One Hundred andThirty-Seven71exts(abbr.
chapter
127 = Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and
Makaries of Corinth,
The PhilohaliaIV; Athens 196i (3'dedition of the Philokaliapublished1782 in Venice)(abbr,
IV"),57,39-58,4,
7) Gregl, chapter 127 = Phi IV,57, 33-38.
8) Gregl,chapter 130= Phi IV,60,8-9.
9) Gregl,chapter 130= Phi IV,60,9-11.
IO) H.-V. Beyer, GregoriosSinaitesWleirlee.
Einleitung,hritische71extauagabeund Ubersetxutig) Wien 1985 <unpublished),
4.
")
Gregl, chapter
133 Phi IV,61,23-24.
12) Gregl,chapter134=PhiIV,61,27-30.
I3) Gregl,chapter98=PhiIV,47,35-37.
14) Cf.A. Guillaumont,
visionde I'intellectevagrienne';
par lui-mame dans la mystique'universite
Mtilangesde lSaint tlbseph
50 (198di,255-262,15) Gregl,ehapter116=PhiIV,52,30-35.
I6) Gregl,chapter 127 = Phi IV, 57,39-58,4.
17) Gregl,chapter57=PhiIV,39,7.
18) Abbr."Gregh"19) D. Balfour,
Gregory the Sinaite,Discourse on the Transfiguration.First critical
Edition,with English and Commentary"; 71}eeolagia
se/2 (198D.644-680(abbr,
Balfour),20) Greg2, g1= Balfour,644[9-11].
21) Cf, Pseudo-Macarius, Logos 18,7,3 = ed, W, Jaeger, Tu;o Rediscovered Wbrks ofAncient
ChristianLiterature.
Gragory of2Viyssa
and Macarius. Leiden 1954 (Nachdr,t965), I,207,"`Lichtlehre
19-23. Cf. H. -V. Beyer,
der MOnche des vierzehnten
unddes vierten
Jahrhunderts, ertirtert am Beispiel des GregoriosSinattes,des Evagrios Pontikos und
des Ps. -Makarios/Symeon", tJtihrbuch
alerOsterreichischen
31/2 (1981),
Byxantinistik504-505;511.
22) Grege, g1=Balfour,644[7],23) Grege, g2=Ba!four,644[18],"Hesychastische"true"<Philosophie>'ascetique"Gregl"),

'+Phi

=

"La

"Saint-139 -NII-Electronic Mbrary
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College24) Greg2,95= Balfbur,648 [73-74].
25) Greg2,g4=Balfour,646[50-51].
26) Greg2,g6=Balfour,650I91-92].
27) Greg2, S 17 = Balfour,656[210]-658[211].
28> Gregh, g 17 = Balfour,6S8[211].
29) Gregh, g 17 = Balfour,658[216]-673[377].
30) Gregh, g18=Balfbur,658[217-218].
31) Balfour,635.
32) Grege,g22=Balfour,666[336].
33) Gregi,g24=Balfour,672[380].
34) Greg2, S24=Balfour,672[384].

35) Grege,g24=Balfour,674[416-417].
Gregh, g25=Balfour,674I419]-676[4361.
Greg2, g26=Balfour,676[437]-678[456].
Greg2, g26=Balfour,678[457-465].
=Balfour,Greg2, g27-28
678[46S]-680[496].
40) H. LV. Beyer, GregoriesSinaitesWerke, op. eit.,4.
41) Gregorius of Sinai, On the Signs of Grace and Delusion, VVhittenforthe Confessor
Longinos: 7len 7lexts,chapter
1 = Phi IV, 66, 10-12,42) Gregh, g3=Balfour,646[4].
43) D, Balfour delivereda relatively detailed
prelude to hiscriticaltext edition of thissermon
Unfortunately he overlooked the above deseribedcharacteris(C£ Balfour,633-644),
tic of the theologike-interpretation,
not leastthe importance of its dogrnatic
meaning.
For, otherwise,
he could not have written that the psychological argumentof theTrinitarian dogmaB (S 19-21) isbecause it seems
uninspired"(Balfbur,
but also from a cor636),This is farnot only from a seientifieally appropriate
argument
rect understandingof Gregory.
44) V. Lossky, (Ubers.
V. M. Prager),Die dystische
Theolagieder morgenldindtschen
ifirche,Graz/WienfK61n, 1961,12-13,
36)
37)
38)
39)

"uninspiring

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