Table Of Contentoxford early christian studies
General Editors
Gillian Clark Andrew Louth
THE OXFORD EARLY CHRISTIAN STUDIES series includes scholarly volumes
on the thought and history of the early Christian centuries. Covering a wide range
of Greek, Latin, and Oriental sources, the books are of interest to theologians,
ancient historians, and specialists in the classical and Jewish worlds.
Titles in the series include:
Activity and Participation in Late Antique and Early Christian Thought
Torstein Theodor Tollefsen (2012)
Irenaeus of Lyons and the Theology of the Holy Spirit
Anthony Briggman (2012)
Apophasis and Pseudonymity in Dionysius the Areopagite
“No Longer I”
Charles M. Stang (2012)
Memory in Augustine’s Theological Anthropology
Paige E. Hochschild (2012)
Orosius and the Rhetoric of History
Peter Van Nuffelen (2012)
Drama of the Divine Economy
Creator and Creation in Early Christian Theology and Piety
Paul M. Blowers (2012)
Embodiment and Virtue in Gregory of Nyssa
An Anagogical Approach
Hans Boersma (2013)
The Chronicle of Seert
Christian Historical Imagination in Late Antique Iraq
Philip Wood (2013)
Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus
Andrew Hofer, O.P. (2013)
Ascetic Pneumatology from John Cassian to Gregory the Great
Thomas L. Humphries, Jr. (2013)
Contemplation and Classical Christianity
A Study in Augustine
John Peter Kenney (2013)
The Canons of Our Fathers
Monastic Rules of Shenoute
Bentley Layton (2014)
John Chrysostom on Divine Pedagogy
The Coherence of his Theology and Preaching
David Rylaarsdam (2014)
Gregory of Nyssa’s
Tabernacle Imagery
in its Jewish and
Christian Contexts
ANN CONWAY-JONES
1
1
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To my grandmothers:
Elsie Conway
and
Olive Daniel.
Elsie Conway was awarded a PhD in botany in 1925. During the Second
World War she researched the potential of British seaweeds to provide
agar-like compounds, as supplies from the Far East were becoming
restricted. She was a founder member of the British Phycological Society.
Olive Daniel sailed to the Caribbean, on her own, in 1930, to marry a
man she hadn’t seen for three years. When once again separated by the
Atlantic during the Second World War, they evaded the censor using a
code based on the hymn numbers in the Methodist Hymn Book.
For their examples of scholarship and faith, and for their cherishing of
me, I am profoundly grateful.
Preface
I first encountered Gregory of Nyssa at the very start of my theological stud-
ies, when told to write an essay on Cappadocian Trinitarian theology. On
discovering that Gregory was known for depicting the ascent to God as an
ascent into darkness, I was captivated. I subsequently wrote a dissertation
titled ‘The Cappadocian Sister’, examining the ways in which Gregory used
Macrina to exemplify his contemplative theology. I noticed, however, that Life
of Moses didn’t in fact say a great deal about darkness, whereas it contained
pages and pages on something called ‘the tabernacle not made with hands’;
and I wondered about its significance. Years later, having studied for an MA
in Jewish–Christian relations at the Centre for the Study of Jewish–Christian
Relations in Cambridge (now the Woolf Institute), I entered into correspond-
ence with Philip Alexander, Professor of Post-Biblical Jewish Literature at
the University of Manchester, about writing a PhD thesis on early Jewish and
Christian mystical exegesis. He sent me some as yet unpublished work heuris-
tically comparing Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice with The Celestial Hierarchy
of Pseudo-Dionysius.1 It occurred to me that Gregory of Nyssa lay, chrono-
logically at least, somewhere between the two. I remembered ‘the tabernacle
not made with hands’, and suggested it as the topic for my thesis. Once I had
divided up Gregory’s text, and given a title to each section, I felt more con-
fident that the study might prove worthwhile. ‘Darkness’, ‘names’, ‘heavenly
powers’, ‘priestly vestments’ . . . all were topics on which Jewish heavenly ascent
texts had something to say.
I studied for my PhD part-time, over six years. My research was funded
by a Postgraduate Award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council
(AHRC), for which I am most grateful. Many people supported and encour-
aged me during that time. I would like to thank my dialogue partners in
Birmingham—Birmingham Progressive Synagogue, Mosaic (the Birmingham
Society for Jewish Studies), the Birmingham Council of Christians and Jews,
and the Annual Birmingham Jewish–Christian Study Day—for kindling
and sustaining my interest in the complex interactions between Judaism
and Christianity, Jews and Christians. The Centre for the Study of Jewish–
Christian Relations in Cambridge gave me the confidence to undertake seri-
ous study again, and to convert interest into sustained research. Studying
midrash and Talmud with Margaret Jacobi has been a privilege. I am grateful
to my colleagues at the University of Birmingham, particularly Philip Burton,
1 Philip Alexander, ‘The Qumran Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice and the Celestial Hierarchy of
Dionysius the Areopagite: A Comparative Approach’, Revue de Qumran, 22: 87 (2006).
viii Preface
Hugh Houghton, Charlotte Hempel, and Deryn Guest, for their support. John
Hall took an enthusiastic interest in this project from the start. Our meet-
ings in the reception hall of Thimblemill Swimming Baths to translate Life
of Moses must have amused the staff. Life has not always been straightfor-
ward, and John Austen helped me navigate some choppy waters. My friends
Maggy and Marlene provided bolt-holes when I needed them. I was made
welcome at two International Colloquia on Gregory of Nyssa, in Tübingen and
Leuven, where I gained invaluable insights into Gregory’s theology. My trips to
Manchester were always a pleasure, with scholarly input and debate furnished
by the Ehrhardt seminars. I am grateful to Kate Cooper for acting as my sec-
ond supervisor; and I would like to thank my fellow students Maria, Penny,
Katharina, David, and Sandra for their friendship. The staff at the John Rylands
University Library Document Supply Service were fantastic—never complain-
ing about the difficulties I created by living in Birmingham but studying in
Manchester. Staff in the postgraduate office of the School of Arts, Histories
and Cultures, notably Anna Bigland and Joanne Marsh, ensured that all went
well with funding applications. My examiners, Morwenna Ludlow and George
Brooke, combined encouragement with constructive criticism. Tom Perridge
and Karen Raith from OUP have guided me expertly through the process of
publication. Above all, my thanks go to Philip Alexander, for his wisdom and
generosity. Conversations with him were a delight and an inspiration, always
sending me home reinvigorated. And finally, I am indebted to Michael, Ben,
and Simeon. Our family life sustains all my endeavours.
Contents
List of Abbreviations xi
1. Gregory, the Tabernacle, and Heavenly Ascent 1
2. Gregory of Nyssa and Life of Moses 22
3. Biblical Contexts 29
4. Alexandrian Contexts 35
5. Heavenly Ascent Contexts 47
6. Darkness 63
7. The Tabernacle Not Made with Hands 82
8. Christological Interpretation 97
9. Divine Names 116
10. Heavenly Powers 134
11. The Earthly Tabernacle 154
12. Heavenly and Earthly Worship 171
13. The Holy of Holies 188
14. The Priestly Vestments 203
15. The Value of Heuristic Comparison 225
Conclusions 232
Appendix: Translation of Life of Moses 1.46–56, 61; 2.162–201 241
Glossary 253
Bibliography 257
Index of sources 283
General Index 295
