CHAPTER 9

“Mysticism” in the Pre -Nicene Era?

Bogdan G. Bucur

Despite the venerable usage of the noun “ mystery ” and of the adjective “ mystical ” in early Christianity, in reference to the church ritual, to the sacraments, to the

interpretation of Scripture, to the angels, to the Christian life of prayer, etc., the term “ mysticism ” is not very felicitous. As has been noted (Louth; Fitschen), it relies on the unproblematized assumption of “ mysticism ” as a universal category applicable to any number of Christian or non - Christian phenomena. The noun “ mystique ” appeared in seventeenth - century France as a designation of the “ new science ” of the inner life, through a substantivization of the adjective “ mystical, ” which, since the thirteenth century, had increasingly come to designate “ what had become separate from the insti-tution ” (De Certeau 79 – 112). It was used “ within and in reference to groups that were furthest removed from the theological institution; like many proper nouns, it fi rst took the form of a nickname or accusatory term ” (107). Evidently, then, “ mysticism ” – the usual English term since the nineteenth century (McGinn 267) – was not coined as a neutral descriptor, but as a polemical tool (and later as a theological concept) designed to grasp and illumine certain western Christian phenomena of the seventeenth century.

This more modern understanding of mysticism, however, which implies individual-ism, emotionalism, or opposition to the ecclesial institution, is inadequate for describing early Christian realities. As a matter of fact, extensive accounts of “ mystical ” experi-ences in the fi rst person singular are largely inexistent before Augustine in the Latin west, and before Symeon the New Theologian in tenth - century Byzantium (see Chap-ters 13, 14, and 18, this volume). The “ mysticism ” of pre - Nicene Christianity, especially as it comes to expression in proto - Orthodox writers (i.e. those claimed by later Ortho-doxy to have been normative for early Christianity), consisted of a complex synthesis of biblical exegesis, spiritual pedagogy, ascetic theory, Eucharistic devotion, doctrinal articulation, and martyric performance, which carried on and gradually transformed the symbolic world of Second Temple Jewish apocalypticism while gradually inculturat-ing itself within the Greco - Roman commonwealth.

The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Christian Mysticism, First Edition. Edited by Julia A. Lamm.© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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Mystical Cosmology, Temple Mysticism, and Their Continuation in Christianity

Following a general Near - Eastern pattern, the Bible depicts the God of Israel as the ruler of a heavenly world: seated on a fi ery throne of cherubim in the innermost sanctum of a heavenly temple, and attended by thousands upon thousands of angels, arranged in precise ranks and orders, and performing their celestial liturgies according to pre-cisely appointed times and rules (Weinfeld 191 – 209; Mettinger; Elior 40 – 62, 82 – 87). Throne - imagery looms large in prophetic visions such as Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1, which offered the basis for rich developments in the apocalyptic literature of Second Temple Judaism (de Jonge) (see Chapter 8 , this volume). Scholars have exhaustively docu-mented correspondence between the heavenly world of Jewish apocalyptic literature and the imagery of the Jerusalem Temple (Elior 2005 ; Morray - Jones 1992; 1998 ; Him-melfarb). Thus, the summit of the cosmic hierarchy is the innermost chamber of a heavenly temple, where the enthroned anthropomorphic Glory of God (see Fossum 1999 ), guarded by the “ angels of the presence, ” makes itself accessible to a few elevated fi gures.

The mystical cosmology of Second Temple apocalypticism constituted the general framework of early Christian discourse, ritual, and ascetic praxis. A celestial “ hierar-chy ” – if the anachronism is acceptable (this term was coined centuries later by the anonymous author of the Pseudo - Areopagitic Corpus) – occurs in fi rst - century pseude-pigrapha that enjoyed great popularity in early Christianity, such as the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Tet. Levi 3) and the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah. The latter offers descriptions of the seven angelic ranks and of their celestial liturgies, and – most importantly – attempts to explain the signifi cance of Christ ’ s descent and re - ascent within that framework. It has been argued (Bucur 2009 ) that Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – 215) provides the ideal entry - point into these earlier Christian traditions. Clement left behind a body of writings vaster and more varied than that of any Chris-tian writer before Origen (c. 185 – 254) (see Chapter 10 , this volume). Despite Clement ’ s self - assumed mission of presenting a bold and intelligent account of the faith, his corpus preserves an invaluable collection of older traditions (whether “ Jewish, ” “ ortho-dox, ” “ heretical, ” “ Greek, ” or “ barbarian ” ). Most importantly, however, in his Prophetic Eclogs and Adumbrations , where he claims to provide a written record of oral traditions inherited from earlier charismatic teachers, to whom he refers to as “ the elders, ” Clement furnishes a detailed description of the spiritual universe. Having at its pinnacle the Logos, Clement ’ s spiritual universe features, in descending order, the seven protoc-tists, the archangels, and the angels. The purpose of hierarchy consists in “ advance-ment ” (prokop ē ) on the cosmic ladder, which leads to the progressive transformation of one level into the next: the believers are being instructed by the angels, and, at the end of a millennial cycle, they will be translated into the rank of angels, while their instructors will become archangels, replacing their own instructors, who will in turn be promoted to a higher level (Ecl. 56 – 57). Placed at the pinnacle of the cosmic ladder, absorbed in unceasing contemplation of the Face of God, the protoctists represent the model of perfected souls (Exc. 10.6; 11.1).

“MYSTICISM” IN THE PRE-NICENE ERA? 135

Following the example of Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE – c. 40 CE ) (see Chapter 4 , this volume), whose “ noetic exegesis ” of authoritative texts, such as the Bible or Plato (Osborn) was embraced by Alexandrian Christianity, Clement of Alexandria internal-izes the cosmic ladder and the associated experience of ascent and transformation. All imagistic details, such as specifi c intervals of space or time ( “ seven days, ” “ one thousand years, ” “ seven heavens, ” “ archangels, ” “ protoctists, ” etc.) were emptied of the literal meaning they had had in the apocalyptic cosmology of the “ elders. ” A fi tting formula to describe Clement of Alexandria ’ s treatment of the inherited apocalyptic cosmology of the elders would be “ interiorized apocalypticism, ” defi ned as “ the transposition of the cosmic setting of apocalyptic literature, and in particular of the ‘ out of body ’ experience of heavenly ascent and transformation, to the inner theater of the soul ” (Golitzin 2001 : 141). Reread in this manner, the cosmic ladder becomes a metaphor for the spiritual ascent of every believer. The perfected Christian – “ the Gnostic soul ” – is described as possessing unmediated, perfect access to the vision of the Face, taking its stand in his immediate proximity (Adumbr. Jude 5.24). Indeed, any devout Christian “ studies to be a god ” (Strom. 6.14.113), and that those who attain to the rank of the protoctists “ are called by the appellation of ‘ gods, ’ to be co - enthroned with the other ‘ gods ’ that have been set in fi rst place by the Savior ” (Strom. 7.10.56 – 57). Until then, the perfected human is described as “ an angel on earth, but already luminous, and resplendent like the sun ” (Strom. 7.10.57), even “ a god going about in the fl esh ” (Strom. 7.16.101).

Transformational Mysticism: From Angelifi cation to The osis

The theme of transformation from a human into an angelic being, or at least of becom-ing “ angelomorphic, ” was abundantly present in Jewish apocalyptic literature (e.g., 1 En 71.11; 4QSb 4.25; 2 En 28.11; T. Levi 4.2). The covenanters at Qumran, for instance, “ expressed profound identifi cation with the angels . . . they envisaged a heavenly cult of angelic priests, ” and saw themselves as “ partners and counterparts of the angels ” (Elior 58, 171, 99, 93). A perfect example of such “ transformational mysticism ” can be found in the Book of the Watchers ( = 1 Enoch 1 – 36), written in the third cen tury BCE , decades before the apocalyptic section of Daniel (chs. 7 – 12), and in the later 2 (Slavonic) Enoch, dated to the fi rst century CE . According to these texts, the patriarch ascends through the heavens and becomes acquainted with the various levels angelic denizens and their worship. At the climax of his heavenly journey, he gazes on the enthroned anthropomorphic “ Glory of God ” (Ezekiel 1:26), is “ anointed, ” “ crowned, ” “ robed, ” and endowed with the name of God. Being thus transformed into a (simili)angelic entity, he partakes of the divine glory, knowledge, and majesty, and is conferred upon the authority of mediation and judgment (e.g., 1 En 71; 2 En 22). These views, even though usually criticized by the Sages (Elior 201 – 231), continue to hold sway in certain strands of later Jewish mysticism (3 En 15.48C), which even depicts Enoch as having become “ the lesser YHWH ” (3 En 12), virtually indistinguishable from God.

Emerging Christianity also described the eschatological destiny of humankind as a transformation towards an angelic or simili - angelic status: “ Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed ” (1 Corinthians 15:51); “ they

136 BOGDAN G. BUCUR

are like the angels ” (Matthew 22:30), “ equals of the angels ” (Luke 20:36). Scholars have noted that largely under the infl uence of Matthew 22:30 and Luke 20:36, “ the Christian life was popularly conceived to be an imitation of the angels. In particular, the exhortation to asceticism was often supported by appeal to the model of the angels ” (Davies and Allison 3: 229; Brock 6 – 8). In the early third century, Tertullian (c. 160 – 225 CE ) still envisaged a process of real “ angelifi cation ” ( marc . 3.9.4, 7). Nevertheless, the notion of an angelic transformation at the end time was recontextualized and made dependent on the Christian kerygma. For instance, according to Philippians 3:20 – 21, the transformation of the believer is effected by Christ upon his end - time return, and consists of a change that results in a “ christomorphic ” humanity. It is no wonder, therefore, that some early Christians expressed the conviction that, at the eschaton, humanity would even surpass the angels. In 2 (Syriac) Apocalypse of Baruch (early second century), for instance, the righteous “ shall be transformed into the splendor of angels ” (5.5) and “ they shall be made like unto the angels ” (5.10), and yet “ the excel-lence of the righteous will be greater than that of the angels ” (5.12). The best known proponent of this view was Irenaeus of Lyon (c. 130 – 200): after the parousia, human-kind will “ contain the Word, and ascend to Him, passing beyond the angels ” (haer 5.36.3; see de Andia 327 – 328).

The interiorized ascent to heaven and transformation before the divine Face, so prominent in Jewish apocalypticism, was what Christian tradition calls, in shorthand, theosis , “ deifi cation. ” Indeed, we know that “ by the time Porphyry fi rst wrote of the philosopher deifying himself, Christians had already been speaking of deifi cation for more than a century ” (Russell 52). Writing not long after Irenaeus of Lyon affi rmed that “ the Word of God was made man . . . so that man, having been taken into the Word and receiving the adoption, might become the son of God ” (haer. 3.19.1), Clement of Alexandria was “ the fi rst ecclesiastical writer to apply the technical terms of deifi cation to the Christian life ” (Russell 121). This is the same Clement who reports of the archaic Christian tradition of a real “ angelifi cation. ”

After the third century, the idea of a real “ angelifi cation ” was gradually discarded. Despite extensive talk about the ascetical holy man living as an “ angel in the body, ” and despite the depiction of an angelic life in heaven, the transformed holy man of later monastic literature is “ angelomorphic ” rather than “ angelic. ”

The Body as Temple: Ascetical and Mystical Anthropology

The Shepherd of Hermas (c. 90 – 130) is perhaps the most signifi cant work of Christian asceticism in the pre - Nicene era. Reworking the imagery of Temple sacrifi ce and angelic liturgy current in Second Temple Judaism, offering a “ summary of Jewish Christian moral and ascetical theology ” (Dani é lou 1964 : 37), and anticipating important ele-ments of later Christian ascetic theory, this work is remarkable for its theory of prayer and for its affi rmation of the connection between temple liturgy, interior liturgy and the liturgy of heavens.

For the Shepherd, the ascetic life of the Christian is intimately linked to the phenom-ena of divine inhabitation and angelic intercession. The identity of the celestial agent remains unclear, as the text seems to use “ angel ” and “ spirit ” interchangeably, and, fur-

“MYSTICISM” IN THE PRE-NICENE ERA? 137

thermore, uses “ spirit ” also for the Son of God (Bucur 2009 : 120 – 125). Inversely pro-portional to its disinterest in doctrinal precision or terminological coherence is the Shepherd ’ s emphasis on the dynamic aspect of Christian religious experience, its detailed description of the “ mechanics ” of the ascetical and mystical phenomena, and its rich analysis of the means of discriminating between authentic and deceitful spir-itual experiences. The mission of the indwelling pneuma (whatever its identity: the Holy Spirit, the angelic spirit, the powers of the Son) is described as an act of worship, a “ liturgy ” (Mand 5.1.2), an act of intercession on behalf of the righteous and against sinners (Mand 10.41.5). Hermas ’ s theory of prayer and prophecy appears to be based on the logic of Old Testament sacrifi cial rites – only pure and blameless sacrifi ces can be admitted at the altar – and on the widespread Second Temple imagery of angels bringing the prayer of the humans to the heavenly altar (Stuckenbruck 173 – 180). Thus, in the absence of a pure place, the indwelling spirit is unable to perform his worship (Mand 5.1.3). Overall, the Shepherd is quite insistent on the use of “ place ” : the interaction between the angel and the prophet occurs in the nebulous “ place ” of visions (Vis 1.1.3; 2.1.1; 3.1.3 – 5; 4.1.2; Sim 8.4.1; 9.5.6; 9.10.3.), in the interior “ place ” of the interior liturgy (Mand 5.1.3), as well as in the prophetic ministry to the congregation, where the congregation itself constitutes, as it were, the “ place. ” In the case of saintly persons, the Shepherd can also claim, “ their place is already with the angels ” (Sim 9.27.3).

The language of “ place ” (Hebrew maqom; Greek topos) is noteworthy, as it has a rich biblical resonance – it is used for Bethel, Sinai, or the Jerusalem Temple – and will become a key concept in later patristic and rabbinic mystical literature (see Golitzin 2003 : 407 – 408). The theme of prayer as interiorized temple sacrifi ce was later used by a reader of Shepherd, Origen, and by Origen ’ s readers, the Cappadocians (e.g., Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity 24). It is very likely that the Shepherd ’ s intriguing statements about the “ narrow ” and “ hard ” recesses of the heart were received also by the media-tion of Origen (see Comm in Rom. 2.6.6). The connection between the themes of prayer as Temple offering, the requirement of purity, and – signifi cantly, for an author judged to be “ archaic, ” and who has no connection whatsoever with either Hermas or Clement of Alexandria – strong echoes of angelomorphic pneumatology are also to be found in Aphrahat the Persian Sage and other early Syriac writers. The simultaneity between temple liturgy, interior liturgy and the heavenly liturgy before the divine throne places the Shepherd at an earlier stage of the “ three - church tradition ” witnessed towards the fi fth century by the Syriac Liber Graduum (Book 12).

Hermas ’ s favorite ways of expressing the effect of divine indwelling are “ clothing ” (Sim 9. 13.5), “ renewal ” (Vis 3.16.9), “ purifi cation ” (Vis 3.16.11; Vis 3.17.8), “ reju-venation ” (Vis 3.21.2), and “ strengthening ” (Vis 3.20.3). This allows us to draw a connection between the individual and communal practice asceticism and the experi-ence of martyrdom.

Heavenly Mysteries and the Mysteries of the Church: Eucharist and Martyrdom

Starting as early as the fi rst century, the concern of early Christians “ was to relate the mysteries of the heavenly world – angelic ranks, etc. – to the central and commanding

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mystery of Christ ’ s death and resurrection ” (Dani é lou 1962 : 214). We fi nd strong echoes of this delicate balance in the New Testament, for example in 2 Corinthians or John 3. In confronting the “ superapostles ” (2 Corinthians 11:5) boasting of visions and charismata, Paul does not challenge the validity of either, but he writes to correct a visionary practice that he judges to be misguided and to reaffi rm what he understands to be the authentic type of Christian spirituality: one more radically patterned on the incarnation, and one whose visionary component is shaped by concern for the ecclesial community and by principles of spiritual pedagogy (Humphrey 31 – 48). In John 3, the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus concerns precisely ta epourania , “ heavenly reali-ties ” (John 3:12), namely ascending to heaven (John 3:13), entering the kingdom of God (John 3:4), and seeing the kingdom of God (John 3:3). The Forth Gospel ’ s authori-tative reply to such interests is not a dismissal in toto , but a redirecting of the search for vision towards an incarnational, sacramental, and communitarian context (Grese 1979; 1988 ) (see Chapter 7, this volume).

In the early second century, Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35 – c. 110) dealt in a similar manner with challenges to his leadership posed by various charismatic visionaries, nurtured, as has been suggested, by the spirituality of the Ascension of Isaiah. In reac-tion to his opponents, Ignatius set forth an anti - Docetic spirituality that revolves around the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ (Mag. 11; Trall. 9 – 10; Smyrn. 2) and was continuously kept in check by the concrete life of the ecclesial community and its hierarchy, and, again, by principles of spiritual pedagogy. He notes: “ Am I not able to write to you about heavenly things ( ta epourania )? But I fear that I could cause you harm, since you are infants . . . I am able comprehend heavenly things ( ta epourania ), both the angelic locations and the archontic formations – although it is not on account of this that I am already a disciple ” (Tral. 5.1 – 2). The point here is, fi rst, that his oppo-nents embodied the wrong kind of vision; second, that knowledge of the arrays of the angels and the musterings of the principalities, although not a bad thing, was not what makes one a Christian; and, third, that such knowledge of “ heavenly things ” was not to be disclosed carelessly. Similarly, the event of Christ ’ s descent to earth and ascent after the resurrection – both simultaneously awesome and mysterious – dwarf any “ heavenly mysteries ” trumpeted by the various apocalyptic visionaries (Eph. 19.2 – 3).

With the explosion of dualistic theologies in the mid - second and third centuries, similar tensions can be discerned between the claims to mystical experience and knowl-edge made by the hierarchical church as opposed to those of various “ Gnostic ” conven-ticles. The central revelation ascribed to the Valentianian master known as “ Marc the Magician, ” for instance, concerns the celestial manifestation of the ineffable God as “ Body of Truth, ” a heavenly anthropomorphic reality composed of thirty letter in four distinct enunciations (haer 1.14; Sagnard 358 – 369; F ö rster 229 – 292). While the main-stream church (the “ psychics ” ) can only comprehend the “ sound ” of the celestial Name – the six - letter name “ Jesus ” – the Marcosian initiates have access to the celestial Name, by virtue of their (presumably “ pneumatic ” ) co - naturality. Yet for Marc ’ s critic, Ire-naeus of Lyon, Christian experience must be guaranteed by the church ’ s “ rule of the truth received by means of baptism ” (haer. 1. 9.4), which is in turn guaranteed by apostolic succession and intercommunion between the local churches, and it involves the transfi guration of the body rather than casting it away (haer. 5.6. 1; 5.8.1).

“MYSTICISM” IN THE PRE-NICENE ERA? 139

Far from opposing charisma and institution, Ignatius viewed the threefold order of ministry – in other words, the “ institution ” – as itself a spiritual reality. Thus, it is only in unity with the bishop (Smyrn. 8; Trall. 2; Mag. 7) that Christian life leads one to becoming “ God - bearers and temple - bearers and Christ - bearers ” (Eph. 9.2). For his part, Clement of Alexandria viewed the locus of continual advancement to the transforma-tive vision of God as being not only the “ celestial hierarchy, ” but also its continuation in the ecclesiastical hierarchy: “ the advancements ( prokopai ) pertaining to the church here below, namely those of bishops, presbyters and deacons, are imitations ( mim e mata ) of the angelic glory ” (Strom. 6.13.107).

Overall, for “ proto - orthodox ” writers, spiritual experience had to be shaped and vali-dated by prior commitment to orthodox christology and by the sacramental and com-munitarian context of the hierarchical apostolic church (Eph. 20.2), and come to public expression in the grand spectacle of martyrdom. Tertullian ’ s well - known phrase “ the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians ” ( Apology 50) expressed the belief that martyrdom – the act of “ witnessing ” to Christ publicly, in spite of (and in the midst) of humiliation, torture, and, eventually, death – triggers an effusion of spiritual power that, paradoxically, renders Christianity irresistibly attractive for outsiders. Beginning with the fi rst martyr Stephen, early Christians saw martyrdom as an imitation of Christ ’ s suffering (Acts 7:59 – 60, cf. Luke 23:34.46) and subsequent “ entry into glory ” (Luke 24:26).

It is true, to a certain extent, that the radical witnessing to one ’ s Christian faith through martyrdom was succeeded, especially after the fourth century, by the type of radical dedication to the ideals of the Gospel that one fi nds in the ascetical and mystical lifestyle of what would later become monasticism. Nevertheless, the language of ath-letic contest, military discipline, subduing the body, receiving celestial crowning and clothing, etc., is common to both ascetic and martyric literature (Brock 2). If the des-ignation of ascetic labors as “ martyrdom ” is a commonplace in monastic writings, it is true, conversely, that pre - Nicene writers often viewed asceticism as training for mar-tyrdom. As has been noted from a medical and psychological perspective, martyrs were able to endure extraordinary pain and suffering because they were “ fortifi ed . . . by an ascetic training that allowed them to break the links between torture and psychic dis-integration ” (Tilley 467). Such training for “ successful ” martyrdom can be detected in the earliest Christian writings (Pauline corpus, Book of Acts, Revelation, Hebrews, 1 Clement, Barnabas, Ignatius of Antioch). During the second and third centuries, a certain differentiation is evident between North Africa, Asia Minor, and Gaul, where the emphasis falls on the apocalyptic or millennial qualities of martyrdom, and Alex-andria, where the training for martyrdom came close to philosophical paideia (Darling Young 11).

The main ingredients of early Christianity ’ s mysticism of martyrdom remain, however, the ascetic theory outlined above (see “ The Body as Temple ” ) and the Eucha-ristic mysticism exemplifi ed by Ignatius of Antioch, who described martyrdom not only as the beginning of true Christian discipleship (Eph. 1.2; 3.1; Rom. 4.2), the fulfi llment of his episcopal ministry (Eph. 21; Rom. 2.2), and, generally, the royal avenue to Christ - likeness (Rom. 6.3), but also as a sacramental oblation: “ I am the wheat of God, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found pure bread ” (Rom. 4.1).

140 BOGDAN G. BUCUR

Aside from transforming imperfect humans into perfect sacramental oblations, mar-tyrdom “ was the instantiation of the Temple ’ s new presence among Christians, who saw themselves as true Israel and spiritual temples ” (Darling Young 12). It is clear that early Christian views of both the Eucharist and martyrdom ultimately reworked the biblical themes of temple and temple sacrifi ce, as fi ltered through the lens of Second Temple apocalypticism.

Exegetical Mysticism: Biblical Interpretation as Mystagogy

Early Christian mysticism was inextricably linked to the interpretation of Scripture. All varieties of Christianity (the so - called proto - Orthodox, as well as Gnostics, Valentinians, Marcionites, Sabelians, etc.) shared the notion of biblical exegesis as an enterprise whose fi nality is the experience of progressive transformation, both of the individual and of the community: exegesis not aimed at mastering a textual “ object ” but rather at mediating an encounter with divine mystery. This approach was, of course, not peculiar to Christianity. Most teachers of wisdom in the early centuries of the common era – whether Platonists, Stoics, Jews, or Christians – viewed their work as a trans-formative pedagogy, a “ spiritual exercise ” (Hadot; Rizzerio 159) designed to guide the student along a path of ethical, intellectual, and spiritual formation. Rabbinic Judaism knew of a sequence in which the various Scriptures, or parts thereof, are to be read. Origen spoke with admiration of Jewish traditions that placed the Song of Songs, together with the beginning of Genesis, and the throne - vision and Temple - vision in Ezekiel, among the so - called deuter o seis – writings that “ should be reserved for study till the last, ” because they concern the highest mysteries of the divinity (Origen, Comm. Cant. prol. 1.7). Indeed, Song of Songs could be read as “ a strictly esoteric text contain-ing sublime and tremendous mysteries regarding God in his appearance upon the throne of the Merkabah ” (Scholem 39) (see Chapters 2 and 8, this volume).

Greek philosophy proposed a curriculum consisting of various “ parts ” – for Plato, ethics, physics, and dialectics (understood as science of the Forms); for Aristotle, ethics, physics, and theology or fi rst philosophy; or, since Plutarch (c. 46 – 120 CE ), ethics, physics, and epoptics. In Clement and Origen, these latter terms designated, roughly, the stages of moral purifi cation, contemplation of the spiritual structures of created reality, and, fi nally, vision of and union with the divine. In the prologue to his commentary on the Song of Songs, Origen stated that the Solomonic writings (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs) illustrate the ethics – physics – epoptics sequence, and argued that the Song of Song is to be classifi ed in the latter category (Comm. Cant. prol. 3.1, 4). In fact, as scholarship has shown (Hadot), Origen ’ s “ mystagogical curriculum ” of biblical studies applied the ethics – physics – epoptics sequence both to the Old Testa-ment as a whole (Law – Prophets – beginning of Genesis, Ezekiel ’ s throne - vision, Song of Songs) and to the New Testament (Matthew and Luke – Mark – John).

Origen ’ s fusion of Greek epopteia and Jewish deuter o seis may have been anticipated by Clement of Alexandria. Relevant in this respect are texts such as Strom. 1.28.176, where Clement characteristically reconciles “ the fourfold division of Moses ’ s philoso-phy ” with the threefold scheme of ethics, physics, and epoptics, and Strom. 4.1.3,

“MYSTICISM” IN THE PRE-NICENE ERA? 141

where, according to Gedaliahu Guy Stroumsa, he lays out something similar to the “ secret tradition ” of rabbinic circles (Mishna Hagiga 2.1): an initiation into “ the things pertaining to creation ” (ma ’ asse beresh ı t) and the mysteries of the divine chariot - throne (ma ’ asse merkavah), on the basis of mystical exegesis of key texts in Genesis and Ezekiel.

It is clear, in any case, that the mysticism of the pre - Nicene era was very much linked to biblical exegesis. The Logos - doctrine of a Clement or Origen offered the hermeneuti-cal basis for a curriculum designed to meet the students at their lowest level – paganism – exhort them “ to the laver, to salvation, to illumination ” (Protr. 10.94), then train them in virtue, and instruct them into increasingly higher levels of the revelation by means of gradual descent into the depths of Scripture. There was an intimate link between the activity of the Logos and that of the Christian teacher, who derived the sequence of catechetical activity from the oikonomia of the divine Logos (Neymeyr 64 – 65; Kovacs). The unity and coherence of the curriculum was given by the fact that it is the same Logos who exhorts, trains, and teaches. The variety of levels was a natural result of the different levels occupied by the addressees of the Logos.

Trinitarian Mysticism: “Three Powers in Heaven ”?

The separability and opposition between “ doctrine ” and “ public worship, ” on the one hand, and “ the inner life, ” on the other, usually implied by popular usage of “ mysti-cism, ” simply does not characterize any segment within the broad spectrum of second - and third - century Christianity. If Rabbinic Judaism viewed its literature as an elaborate “ fence around the Torah, ” designed to prevent any possible transgression of the doctri-nal, liturgical, and ethical commandments received on Sinai, early Christianity under-stood its articulation of doctrine as an act of “ fencing around ” the church ’ s spiritual experience of the central mystery of Christ. Doctrine, in short, is itself “ sacred ” and “ mystical, ” inasmuch as it offers the signs, signals, and markings of individual and com-munal journeys into God. As will become evident in what follows, the development of early Christian mysticism was coextensive with early Christianity ’ s articulation of christological and trinitarian doctrine.

Characteristic of much pre - Rabbinic literature produced during the Second Temple era, and even more striking in the Jewish mysticism that rabbinic Judaism attempted to suppress (Segal 1977 ), was the growing tendency towards binitarian monotheism, along with a tendency to speculate on the “ elevation ” of patriarchal fi gures (Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Melchisedek, Jacob, Moses), who are said to have undergone a process of glorifi cation and to have been transformed into angelic beings (see discussion below). The term “ binitarian monotheism ” is used in scholarship to designate a certain bifurca-tion of the divine, featuring a supreme divinity and a secondary more or less personal-ized manifestation of God: the Glory, the Name, the principal angel, the Son of Man. In this light, the christological monotheism of the emergent Christian movement appears to be phenomenologically related to other types of Jewish binitarianism (Newman, Davila, and Lewis 1999 ; Boyarin 2004 ): Jesus is proclaimed as the Lord of Glory (1 Corinthians 2:8), the form of God (Philippians 2:6), the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians

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1:24), the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), the image of God (Colissians 1:15), the word of God (John 1:1), the name of God (John 12:28; 13:31; 17:1). Peculiar to early Christians, however, is the belief that the “ second power ” – the Logos or Son of God – “ became fl esh and lived among us ” (John 1:14), and the worship offered him as “ Lord and God ” (John 20:28) in a cultic setting.

Some scholars speak of an early binitarian stage in Christianity as “ a primitive effort at what later became Trinitarian doctrine ” (Hurtado 600, 651). In other words, the theology of “ two powers in heaven ” would be followed, logically, by one positing “ three powers in heaven ” (Segal 1977; 1999 ). For early Christians, however, it was the experi-ence of “ being in the Spirit ” (Revelation 1:10), or being “ fi lled with the Spirit ” (recur-ring in Luke - Acts) that enabled the worship of Jesus ( “ binitarian monotheistic devotion ” ), on the one hand, and that was retained by Trinitarian formulae of faith, on the other (Bucur 2011 ). A text such as Ascension of Isaiah (8.17 – 18; 9.27 – 40) and its echoes in Irenaeus (Epid. 10) and Origen (De principiis 1.3.4) presented a seeming perfect example of “ three powers in heaven ” theology: the visionary sees God, the angel of Christ, and the angel of the Holy Spirit as three discrete entities. Nevertheless, the angelomorphic Holy Spirit is fi rst and foremost “ the angel of the Holy Spirit who has spoken in you and also in the other righteous ” (Asc. Isa. 9.36) and, for Origen, the ground of all theognosy. In other words, the Spirit is the guide, the enabler, and the interpreter of the prophetic and visionary experience of worshipping Jesus alongside God. Generally speaking, the texts usually quoted as examples of “ early Christian bini-tarianism ” often claim to be rooted in a pneumatic religious experience that the readers are exhorted to emulate beginning with the very act of reading. When this mystagogi-cal element is set aside, the ancient writers are often found to lack explicit references to the Holy Spirit, and are thus labeled “ binitarian ” (Bucur 2011 ).

It has been noted (Bauckham) that one of the most important building blocks for the claims about Jesus made in the NT and among early Christians was the use of throne imagery (especially as displayed in Psalm 101:1 and Daniel 7:13). The rich deployment of this throne - imagery was evidently dependent on a christological re - reading of Old Testament throne - visions and more generally, of Old Testament theopha-nies. Recourse to Old Testament theophanies was a crucial element in the major theological polemics of the pre - Nicene era. The New Testament often alludes to the divine Name (Exodus 3:14, ho o n; Exodus 6:3, kurios), and proclaims Jesus Christ as “ Lord ” (kurios), obviously in reference to the Old Testament “ Lord ” seen by the prophets. This sort of “ YHWH Christology, ” or “ divine Christology, ” has been traced back to the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of John, the Pauline corpus, and the Catholic Epistle of Jude (Hanson; Ellis; Binni and Boschi; Capes 1992 ; Fossum 1987 ; Rowe; Gathercole). The Christological exegesis of theophanies (Christ as the One who appeared to Adam in the Garden of Eden, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to Moses on Sinai) in anti - Jewish polemics appears to have become normative by the middle of the second century, when it is used extensively in Justin Martyr ’ s Dialogue with Trypho .

A second context in which theophanies played an important role is the anti - dualistic polemic of authors such as Irenaeus or Tertullian: their argument that Christ is not a “ new ” God rests upon the thesis that he has already manifested himself in the old dis-pensation. In the third century, theophanies were also part of the argument against

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“ modalistic ” theologies, which downplayed or eliminated the distinction between the Father and the Son: since Christ had appeared in Old Testament theophanies, whereas the Father had not, it follows that the Son is distinct from the Father ( “ Epistle of The Six Bishops ” in Bardy 16 – 18). The Christological exegesis of theophanies constituted “ the bedrock of early Latin Trinitarian theology ” as represented by Tertullian, Lactan-tius (250 – 325 CE ), and Novatian (fl . 250) (Barnes 2003 : 341), and was the background against which the major “ tectonic shift ” of Augustine ’ s Trinitarian theology must be interpreted (Studer; Barnes 1999; 2003 ; Bucur 2008 ).

The christological interpretation of Old Testament theophanies resulted in the iden-tifi cation of Jesus with one of the three angelic visitors enjoying “ the hospitality of Abraham ” (Genesis 18:1 – 8), with “ the angel of great counsel ” (Isa 9:5, LXX) and “ the angel of the covenant ” (Malachi 3:1). Following a distinction between nature and function already insisted upon by patristic exegetes, scholars have come to designate such cases as examples of “ angelomorphic Christology, ” whereas the term “ angelomor-phic ” signals the use of angelic characteristics, while not necessarily implying that Christ is simply one of the angels (Dani é lou 1964 : 146; Fletcher - Louis 14 – 15; Gieschen 1998 : 4, 349).

Although less explored than angelomorphic Christology, a similar reworking of Jewish apocalyptic angelology can be discerned in early Christian pneumatology. Of relevance here is another prominent theme in the apocalyptic literature of Second Temple Judaism, namely the select group of angels conducting their liturgy before the heavenly throne. Sometimes called “ angels of the Face ” (Jub 2:2, 18; 15:27; 31:14 T. Judah 25:2; T. Levi 3:5; 1 QH 6:13), the supreme angels constitute a select group of heavenly beings – often a group of seven (Ezekiel 9:2 – 3; Tob 12:15; 1 En 20; 90.21; Test. Levi 7.4 – 8.3; 2 En 19.6; Pr.Jos) – that enjoys privileged access before God. Among Christian texts, Revelation mentions seven spirits before the divine throne (Revelation 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6; 8:2), and the Shepherd of Hermas knows of a group of seven consist-ing of the six “ fi rst created ones ” who accompany the Son of God as their seventh (Herm. Vis. 3.4.1; Herm. Sim. 5.5.3). Clement of Alexandria ’ s group of seven protoc-tists, mentioned above, is depicted in undeniably angelic imagery, yet it also conveys a pneumatological content: the seven are not only “ fi rst created angels ” and “ fi rst - born princes of the angels ” (Strom. 6.16.142 – 143), but also as “ the heptad of the Spirit ” (Paed. 3.12.87). Even though, with the advent of the Arian and Pneumatomachian confrontations, it was bound to become highly problematic and eventually to be dis-carded, angelomorphic pneumatology, far from being an oddity of Clement ’ s, consti-tutes a relatively widespread phenomenon in early Christianity (Bucur 2009 ).

The most important legacy of pre - Nicene mysticism is its transformation of the Jewish apocalyptic symbolic universe in light of the Christian kerygma , and the decided option, especially in Alexandria, in favor of a similar transformative appropriation of the Greco - Roman philosophical tradition. Later patristic theology will follow in the footsteps of pre - Nicenes such as Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus of Lyon, and Clement of Alexandria by continuing to hold together sacred text, liturgy, and ascetico - mystical experience as elements of a hermeneutical circle, each unfolding its meaning in relation to the others: the ascetic, visionary, and liturgical experience detects a certain nexus between discrete biblical texts; this network of biblical texts determines a specifi c

144 BOGDAN G. BUCUR

doctrinal articulation; doctrine then shapes and guides the liturgical and ascetico - mystical practice.

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