Apophatic theology in the work of St. Gregory the Theologian

St. Gregory of Nazianzus is a major figure in the history of Christian theology. The article analyzes the content of his apophatic theology. The author does this by comparing the works of St. Gregory with the works of the father of negative theology, Dionysius the Areopagite. The rhetorical and polemical context of St. Gregory defines the simplicity and clarity of his language. In contrast to Eunomius, he believes that even any relative truth in this temporary life is unthinkable and dark. This applies even more to the absolute truth. According to St. Gregory of Nazianzus, God is not a body. In particular, He is not the Aristotelian fifth body or any other (angelic) body. The Lord is unlimited and incomprehensible. He is unchangeable, immortal, continuous and unapproachable Light. God essentially cannot be nameable. Only His energies are named. In St. Gregory of Nazianzus, for the first time in the history of Orthodoxy, we see the simultaneous development of three of its most essential points: first, apophatic theology; secon, an orderly teaching about the names of God; third, Christian hymnography. Dionysius the Areopagite merges these three moments together. In this context, the work of St. Gregory the Theologian can be considered the most striking phenomenon preceding the apophatic teachings of the Areopagite.