Neoplatonic Metaphysics and Dionysian Hierarchy in the Theological Epistemology of Thomas Gallus

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.