Apophasis, Abnegation, and Liturgy
David W. Fagerberg
University of Notre Dame, USA (United States)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9631-7755
Abstract
Apophatic theology is normally housed in the epistemological wing of the academy, and is treated as a via negativa that negates the assertion just made. This apophaticism feels like a wave that washes away every cataphatic sand castle we build.
In this essay, I would like to change the street address of apophaticism to the house of liturgy. There, apophatic theology is a liturgical reaction to the sovereignty of God. It is a posture of latria. However, such a liturgical posture depends, in turn, upon abnegation. The infinity of God (apophasis) reveals our nothingness (abnegation), and our nothingness makes us rejoice (liturgy) in God’s infinity. Worse than idolatry is worship of ourselves: auto-latria.
Apophatic theology is a liturgical reaction to the sovereignty of God, which, in turn, causes a state of abnegation, which I therefore call liturgical abnegation because it means forsaking autolatry.
Keywords:
Apophatic, Abnegation, Liturgical Abnegation, Autolatry, Self-denialReferences
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Authors
David W. FagerbergUniversity of Notre Dame, USA United States
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9631-7755
David W. Fagerberg — professor emeritus na Wydziale Teologii University of Notre Dame, USA. Doktorat z teologii obronił na Yale University. Zajmował się zagadnieniem ufundowania lex credendi w lex orandi (Theologia Prima, 2003), następnie połączył je ze wschodnim rozumieniem ascetyzmu (On Liturgical Asceticism, 2013). Pokazał relację tak rozumianej teologii do życia codziennego (Consecrating the World, 2016) oraz do osobistej duchowości (Liturgical Mysticism, 2020). Jego ostatnia książka dotyczyła teologicznego zakresu liturgii (Liturgical Dogmatics, 2021), obecnie przygotowuje zbiór publikowanych wcześniej esejów na temat teologii liturgii (The Liturgical Cosmos, 2022).
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