AUC THEOLOGICA
AUC THEOLOGICA

AUC Theologica is a peer-reviewed journal for theology published twice a year. As we publish original papers in English, German, French, and Italian, our mission is to serve as a platform both for Czech researchers, who can present their research results in these languages, and for international contributors, who are invited to enter the academic theological discussion in the heart of Europe.

The journal focuses on a wide range of theological disciplines, such as systematic theology, biblical studies, patristic studies, pastoral and spiritual theology, religious education, church history, etc. Within these fields, the journal seeks to reflect the current theological questions and problems, which often requires interdisciplinary approaches. Supporting the intersection of various theological disciplines, we thus also welcome theological papers touching other academic fields including philosophy, sociology, literary studies, and science.

Each issue consists of two sections. The thematic section presents papers of the same focus. The section called ‘Varia’ invites papers dealing with various theological themes from the perspective of all Christian traditions. Our current and past issues are approachable for free on this website in the form of Open Access.

AUC THEOLOGICA, Vol 13 No 1 (2023), 135–158

Le sophisme de la beauté chez Grégoire de Nysse

[The Deceptiveness of Beauty in Gregory of Nyssa]

Lenka Fílová

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23363398.2023.19
published online: 20. 11. 2023

abstract

In my article, I will discuss Gregory’s view of beauty from a theological-anthropological perspective, focusing on why beauty is deceptive and where the limits and boundaries lie between beauty as a theological category and beauty that becomes an idol and does not lead to God. The key question will be how beauty, whose source is God – the essential beauty – can be deceptive. I want to emphasise that although Gregory sometimes speaks about the deceptiveness of beauty, the ambiguity lies not in the beauty itself but in the ability or inability of the human being to discern the beautiful. Here I draw on the foundation of Gregory’s anthropology, namely the creation of human beings in the image and likeness of God. I will further analyse Gregory’s concept of the knowledge of beauty and its relationship to desire and passion in Gregory. I will conclude by reflecting on the moment when beauty becomes an idol that leads people away from the path of knowledge of the truly beautiful.

keywords: Beauty; Image of God; Beauty of person; Deceptiveness of beauty; Idol

Creative Commons License
Le sophisme de la beauté chez Grégoire de Nysse is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

148 x 210 mm
periodicity: 2 x per year
print price: 100 czk
ISSN: 1804-5588
E-ISSN: 2336-3398

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