The Adaptation and Development of the Proclean Notion of Κατάβασις: From Proclus to Maximus the Confessor

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of Proclus’ notion of divine descent, i.e., κατάβασις, on the formation of core theological doctrines in Pseudo-Dionysius and Maximus the Confessor. The notion of κατάβασις was originally employed by pagan Proclus to explain the downward providence of gods toward humans, emphasizing the dominant role of gods for human perfection. In his exegesis on Alcibiades I, Proclus identified Socrates as the incarnation of divine providence, a divinely inspired lover in charge of Alcibiades’ conversion to philosophical life. Pseudo-Dionysius adapted the Proclean notion of κατάβασις by supplementing it with the Christian notion of God’s ecstatic love, understood as God’s providential act toward His creation. In the Celestial Hierarchy and Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, Dionysius endeavored to reveal the reciprocal-ecstatic union between God and humans made possible by His ecstatic κατάβασις during the liturgy. Maximus adapted and further developed the Dionysian notion of κατάβασις. While stressing the crucial role of the κατάβασις for human salvation, he gave it a new meaning by synthesizing it in the context of his anthropology, which stressed the holistic transformation of the human body and soul as a result of the divine descent.