I took the terms kataphatic and apophatic from the English translation of Vladimir Lossky's The Mystical Theology of the Orthodox Church, especially chapter 2; they go back at least to the 500s CE. Since you are well-disposed toward Orthodoxy, you might have a quick look there. (I am not Orthodox myself, but I spent my 'teens and early twenties in Berkeley, where many of my best school-friends were Russian Orthodox. Later on, my graduate studies were in Slavic linguistics, with particular emphasis on Church Slavonic, which is the liturgical language of the Russian Orthodox Church. So I am fairly knowledgeable -- for an outsider ...)
In Roman Catholic mysticism the two kinds are sometimes called via positiva ( = katapatic) and via negativa ( = apophatic). Very generally speaking, Catholicism seems to me to favor kataphatic theology and mysticism, while Orthodoxy strongly favors the apophatic approach.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2023-11-27 06:42 pm (UTC)I took the terms kataphatic and apophatic from the English translation of Vladimir Lossky's The Mystical Theology of the Orthodox Church, especially chapter 2; they go back at least to the 500s CE. Since you are well-disposed toward Orthodoxy, you might have a quick look there. (I am not Orthodox myself, but I spent my 'teens and early twenties in Berkeley, where many of my best school-friends were Russian Orthodox. Later on, my graduate studies were in Slavic linguistics, with particular emphasis on Church Slavonic, which is the liturgical language of the Russian Orthodox Church. So I am fairly knowledgeable -- for an outsider ...)
In Roman Catholic mysticism the two kinds are sometimes called via positiva ( = katapatic) and via negativa ( = apophatic). Very generally speaking, Catholicism seems to me to favor kataphatic theology and mysticism, while Orthodoxy strongly favors the apophatic approach.
And thank you for your compliment.