«MANY LAMPS ARE LIGHTENED FROM THE ONE»: PARADIGMS OF THE TRANSFORMATIONAL VISION IN THE MACARIAN HOMILIES

Abstract

In the Second Temple apocalyptic materials visionaries normally «see» the extent of the divine glory, God's Kavod, often portrayed as enthroned anthropomorphic figure. As a consequence of this encounter, the visionary experiences a dra¬matic external metamorphosis which often affects his face, limbs, and garments, making them luminescent. In spite of the dominant role of the Kavod pattern in biblical and apocalyptic theophanic accounts, it becomes increasingly challenged in the postbiblical rabbinic and patristic environments which offered new understandings of the transformational vision. In these new developments, one can see a growing emphasis on the interiorization of the visionary experience. The article investigates the formative role of the Macarian Homilies in the transition from outer to inner in the transformational visions of Eastern Christian tradition.