“Everything is Found Inside” (Πάντα ἔσωθεν εὑρίσκεται, Hom. III.8.1.5).
The Emergence and Development of the Discourse of Interiorization of Religious Experience in the Eastern Christian Tradition:
Revisiting the Unique Contribution of the Spiritual Homilies attributed to St. Macarius of Egypt

Abstract

The dissertation at hand examines the development of the discourse of interiorization used to describe inner religious experiences in the Eastern Christian tradition. It identifies three phases in the so-called phenomenon of interiorization and explores the changes that contributed toward its development, starting from the temple worship in early Judaism, through the latter development in Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, and ultimately focuses on the late forth-early fifth-century Spiritual Homilies attributed to St. Macarius of Egypt. As the identity of the author of these influential texts is still debated, we refer to him as Pseudo Macarius. Part One of the dissertation, examines three major concepts fundamental to the development of the discourse of interiorization: namely, Yahweh’s glorious presence, the inner human being, and the concept of the heart. Additionally, Part One presents the phenomenon of interiorization as belonging to the core of the Christian tradition, visible from the very beginning of the early Christian movement rather than an influence by later Neoplatonic, Stoic or Gnostic philosophies. In Part Two of the dissertation, we turn to Ps. Macarius’ interiorization discourse by analyzing in detail his use of the same three major concepts — the divine presence, the inner human being, and the heart. The goal of the second part is to examine Ps. Macarius’ role in the development of the Christian language of interiority, arguing that the uniqueness of his contribution lies not so much in the invention and introduction of new interiorizing concepts, but rather in the span, intensity, and creativity that characterize the way he uses already existent concepts and terminology. In doing so, this dissertation depicts Ps. Macarius as one of the most prolific and anthropologically balanced authors with a distinctive style of interiorized exegesis who develops some original and creative aspects of the language of interiority as he insists on the necessity of experiencing the continuous, transformative presence of God located in the depths of the synergic union of the inner human being and the heart.