Beyond Consciousness in Early Christian Mysticism

Late antique Christian mysticism is a way of transcending consciousness. The culmination of the approaches of the time is represented by the writings of Gregory of Nyssa (approx. 335–390) and Pseudo-Dionys of the Areopagus (5th c.). According to them, God cannot be expressed in discursive language. Theology therefore serves to ultimately transcend consciousness and verbal language and to describe the unspeakable only in negation.