Eternity divided : Gregory of Nyssa’s division of “time” after death in his Homilies

Abstract

A fundamental difference lies in Gregory’s presentation of the afterlife in his treatises and in his homilies. What they do have in common is that they allude to a period of post-mortem purification in preparation for entering paradise. Whereas in the treatises, all souls undergo this purification since all will eventually be saved (as best explained in An et Res), in the homilies – which are the object of this study – this purification is reserved only for those who will be granted salvation, while unrepentant sinners will be damned to eternity in hell. The time-frame between the moment of death and the admittance into eternal bliss in God’s presence can be interpreted as the interim period between individual judgement (which occurs at the moment of death) and universal judgement/apocatastasis (which happens at the end of time). This intermediary period of time is presented in different ways in the homilies: some are admitted to paradise immediately owing to their virtuous lives, others must undergo purification since they are still disposed towards earthly desires (e.g. Eccl I). In other homilies, paradise itself is divided into different parts (two in Bapt, four in Cant XV), implying there is a distinction even among those who have achieved salvation. Eventually, all those who have not been sentenced to eternal punishment, will share the same bliss, after the event of the apocatastasis.

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the different ideas the Nyssen shares with his audience, regarding the different stages of perfection which the soul undergoes, once it exits earthly life and starts living in eternity.