Abstract
In the Christian contemplative tradition, there is the theme of approaching and encountering God with unknowing. In this tradition of unknowing, the intellectual and perceptual faculties are abandoned and not exercised. Writers who have counseled or described the way of unknowing from their own experience include the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing and St. John of the Cross. In the Bible itself there are references to clouds and darkness surrounding God.Those who have an unconscious epiphany are unaware of encountering God or the divine. In an epiphany of unknowing, by contrast, one is aware of the encounter, but the cognitive and perceptual faculties are not engaged. In this chapter, we present the reflections of Dionysius (or Pseudo-Dionysius) on Moses’ encounter with God in “the darkness of unknowing” and consider the spiritual exercise recommended by the author of The Cloud of Unknowing, and we consider how St. John of the Cross understood the darkness of infused contemplation and wisdom in relation to the dark night of the soul, as well as an epiphanic vision that St. Teresa of Ávila experienced in which all ratiocinative and perceptual experience was eclipsed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
This and the previous quotations are from Dionysius, The Mystical Theology, Chap. 1, in Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works, trans. Colm Luibheid (New York and Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1987), p. 137.
- 2.
The Cloud of Unknowing, ed. James Walsh, S.J. (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1981), Chaps. 3, 5, 26, and 43; pp. 120–121, 128, 173–174, and 201.
- 3.
The Cloud of Unknowing, Chaps. 2, 3, and 5; pp. 119, 120–121, and 129.
- 4.
A Letter of Private Direction, in The Pursuit of Wisdom and Other Works, by the Author of The Cloud of Unknowing, trans. James Walsh, S.J. (New York and Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1988), pp. 219 and 222–223.
- 5.
The Cloud of Unknowing, Chap. 6, p. 130.
- 6.
The Cloud of Unknowing, Chap. 68, p. 251.
- 7.
St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul, trans. E. Allison Peers (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1959), bk. 1, Chap. 9 and bk. 2, Chap. 1; pp. 63 and 91.
- 8.
St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul, bk. 2, Chap. 5, p. 100.
- 9.
Ibid.
- 10.
Ibid., p. 101.
- 11.
The Cloud of Unknowing, Chap. 68, p. 252.
- 12.
Dionysius, The Divine Names, Chap. 1, in Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works, p. 50.
- 13.
St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul, bk. 2, Chap. 17, p. 159.
- 14.
St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul, bk. 2, Chaps. 17 and 25; pp. 159 and 193.
- 15.
Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D, General Introduction to John of the Cross: Selected Writings, ed. Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. (New York and Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1987), pp. 10 and 13–14.
- 16.
St. Teresa, Life, Chap. 27, in The Complete Works of St. Teresa of Jesus, trans. and ed. E. Allison Peers, (London: Sheed and Ward, 1972), vol. 1, p. 170. Teresa wrote her autobiographical Life probably in 1562–3, when she was about 47. She was commanded by her confessors to write it to enable them better to judge the extraordinary experiences that she confessed to them. Introduction to Teresa’s Life, in The Complete Works of St Teresa, vol. 1, p. 1.
- 17.
St. Teresa, Interior Castle, Sixth Mansions, Chap. 8, in The Complete Works of St Teresa of Jesus, vol. 2, p. 310.
- 18.
St. Teresa, Interior Castle, Sixth Mansions, Chap. 8, in The Complete Works of St Teresa of Jesus, vol. 2, p. 310.
- 19.
St. Teresa, Life, Chap. 27, in The Complete Works of St Teresa of Jesus, vol. 1, p. 172.
- 20.
St. John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, bk. 2, Chap. 23, in John of the Cross: Selected Writings, ed. Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. (New York and Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1987), p. 135.
- 21.
St. Teresa, Life, Chap. 27 and Interior Castle, Sixth Mansions, Chap. 8, in The Complete Works of St Teresa of Jesus, respectively, vol. 1, p. 170 and vol. 2, p. 310.
- 22.
St. Teresa, Life, Chap. 27, in The Complete Works of St Teresa of Jesus, vol. 1, pp. 170–171.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kellenberger, J. (2017). Epiphanies of Unknowing. In: Religious Epiphanies Across Traditions and Cultures. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53264-6_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53264-6_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53263-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53264-6
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)