January 22, 2004
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Perichoresis, or Coinherence
Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter XXI –
Gibbon, discussing the theology of the Trinity, defines perichoresis as
“… the internal connection and spiritual penetration which indissolubly unites the divine persons59 ….
59 … The
or ‘circumincessio,’ is perhaps the deepest and darkest corner of the whole theological abyss.”
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, section 146, translated by Walter Kaufmann
Perichoresis does NOT mean “dancing around” ….
From a mailing list message:
If [a correspondent] will but open a lexicon, she will see that perichoresis (with a long o, omega) has nothing to do with “the Greek word for dance,” which is spelt with a short o (omicron). As a technical term in trinitarian theology, perichoresis means “interpenetration.”
Interpenetration in Arthur Machen
Interpenetration in T. S. Eliot:
“Between two worlds
become much like each other….”
On the Novels of Charles Williams
Coinherence in Charles Williams
The Per Speculum link is to a discussion of coinherence and the four last films of Kieslowski –
La Double Vie de Veronique (1991),
Trois Couleurs: Bleu (1993),
Trois Couleurs: Blanc (1993), and
Trois Couleurs: Rouge (1994).
See, too, previous log24 entries related to Kieslowski’s work and to coinherence:
Moulin Bleu (12/16/03),
Quarter to Three (12/20/03), and
White, Geometric, and Eternal (12/20/03).
