Beauty, it is said, is in the eye of the beholder. One person will see beauty in what another person considers ugly. This is possible because everything which exists has its own beauty, a beauty which it has by nature, a beauty which some people are better able to ascertain it than others. God, of course, discerns that beauty, because, as St. Gregory of Nyssa explained, God knows all things in relation to their nature and the beauty or glory of that nature:
But the eye of God does not have regard to creatures’ blooming beauty, nor does it define beauty and goodness in terms of a fine color or a fine shape, but rather in terms of how each thing, in its being, has in itself a complete and perfect nature. [1]
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Henry Karlson, after studying early church history and theology, and talking to a close friend who could answer many of his questions, became a Byzantine Catholic in 1995. Because of his interests, he eventually pursued graduate studies in theology. He has a wide variety of topics he likes to talk about which will be reflected upon here, including, but not limited to, Patrology, Sophiology, Comparative Theology, Theological Aesthetics, Eschatology and Literature.
With thanks to Henry Karlson and Patheos, where this reflection originally appeared.
[1] St. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Six Days of Creation. Trans. Robin Orton (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2021), 80.
