As for what Gregory distinguishes in God, whether it is a question of the trinitarian differences of the hypostases among themselves, of the differences between them and the divine nature, or, especially, between the divine nature, on the one hand, and that which is near the divine nature (energies, names, light, glory, grace), on the other, he does not directly indicate in his writings what nature these differences are. And to ask him such questions directly would be anachronistic on our part. Nevertheless, from his writings it is clear enough that for him these differences, although they are seen by the action of the mind, which he calls invention, are not subjective, but correspond to something that really exists in God. It can even be said that each of the names that we apply to God signifies something special in Him, corresponding to the special manifestations of His energies. But they do not denote His nature, however, it remains unknowable and unapproachable. This distinction between the unknowable nature or essence of God and the energies by which we are given a certain knowledge of God and communion with Him is a fundamental feature of the theology of St. Gregory of Nyssa. He insists, however, that our human mind is incapable of conceiving God as He is, cannot contemplate Him as one, and is inclined to divide Him. But in fact, the differences between nature and energies do not violate the simplicity of the Divine nature, which is understood as formlessness and infinity and as the absence of contradictions. Energies do not contradict each other and do not introduce complexity into the Divine nature, especially since they are not the nature itself, but what is around it. Therefore, the Divine nature remains simple. With even greater clarity, St. Gregory of Nyssa reveals the difference between the divine nature and its manifestations, turning to mystical experience. It is a hand that is not the Bridegroom Himself; it is grace that descends to us, light, glory, the Divine powers that make man a god. And Gregory of Nyssa emphasizes that there is nothing created in God, otherwise He would be complex. That is why the deification of man by Divine grace is true, and at the same time it is a dynamic, endless process that does not lead to a confusion of natures, for the Divine energies are not identical with the unapproachable divine nature.

Notes

1

The opposite could be said of St. Basil: he prefers the term "essence" to the term "nature."

2

Eun. 1.364 (p.134.22-26).

3

Eun. 1.373 (p.137.1-6).

4