The most distinctive aspect of Thomas Gallus’ theology is his theological anthropology, which he derives from the Neoplatonic metaphysics of Dionysius, where all created reality is governed by a threefold metaphysical dynamism of procession (exitus), remaining (manens), and return (reditus). With respect to rational creatures, these dimensions acquire distinct expression. Metaphysical “procession” takes the form of a descending movement or vector within the soul and a radical receptivity for receiving the divine self-communication from above. Metaphysical “return” for its part finds its anthropological expression in an ascending movement or vector, an upward thrusting, ultimately self-transcending movement of the soul toward and into God. Gallus concretely expresses this dynamic anthropology by conceiving of the soul quite literally as a hierarchia in the specific Dionysian sense of the term, namely, “a sacred order, a state of understanding, and an activity approximating as closely as possible to the divine;” the goal of which “is assimilation and union, as far as attainable, with God. With this hierarchical anthropology, Gallus works out a sophisticated account of the soul's cognitive encounter with God, entailing both "intellectual cognition” and "affective cognition," which interact with each other to bring about a deifying union.
The most distinctive aspect of Thomas Gallus’ theology is his theological anthropology, which derives from Dionysius, where all created reality is governed by a threefold metaphysical dynamism of procession, remaining, and return. With respect to rational creatures, these dimensions acquire distinct expression. Metaphysical “procession” takes the form of a descending movement within the soul and a radical receptivity for receiving the divine self-communication. Metaphysical “return” for its part finds its anthropological expression in an ascending, ultimately self-transcending movement of the soul toward and into God. Gallus concretely expresses this dynamic anthropology by conceiving of the soul as a hierarchia in the specific Dionysian sense of the termthe goal of which is union with God. With this hierarchical anthropology, Gallus works out a sophisticated account of the soul's cognitive encounter with God, entailing both "intellectual cognition” and "affective cognition," which interact with each other to bring about a deifying union.