The article discusses Maximus the Confessor’s interpretations of the Transfiguration of the Lord, which are compared to his doctrine of mystical theology. It proves that Transfiguration was contemplated by Maximus to be a kind of paradigm of mystical theology. A comparison of some key concepts of Maximus’s mystical theology is made, on the one hand, with that of the Corpus Areopagiticum, and on the other - with the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas. Remaining loyal to the main points of the teachings of the Areopagite, Maxim gave them a clearer Christological and experimental anthropological interpretation. As for the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas, despite some differences in terminology, (especially the understanding of apophaticism), Maximus’s exegesis of the Transfiguration and his doctrine of mystical theology as a whole can be reconciled with the main provisions of Palamas. At the same time, it is necessary to remember that Maximus answered other questions, the nature and character of the perception of
Original languageRussian
Pages (from-to)145-176
JournalБиблия и христианская древность
Volume2
Issue number2
StatePublished - 2019
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Denys Areopagite, exegesis, Gregory Palamas, Maximus the Confessor, mystical theology, the light of Thabor, transfiguration, Григорий Палама, Максим Исповедник, мистическое богословие, преображение, Псевдо-Дионисий Ареопагит, фаворский свет, экзегеза

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