Wisdom interprets the beauty of the revelatory Name as glory unveiling God in the midst. Desert elders impart the injunction to turn and see, opening seeing to timeless union of seer and seen, union of the Son with the Father to which the Spirit bears witness, unveiling Holy Trinity. This union is the beauty of holiness which sanctifies all who hallow the Name in the Kingdom come. Wisdom unveils the radiant face of God here in the midst, interpreting the beauty of uncreated light as the enlightening revelation of glory, so that glory may be rightly ascribed to God, curing confusion that imposes divisive separation. All falls are undone by God, in God through God, Holy Trinity in act as uncreated wisdom in love with glory, union of seer and seen in pure seeing. The Spirit of Truth imparts wisdom, wisdom which unveils the glory of true realisation, wisdom which opens the eye of the heart to glorification. Unceasing prayer is the Spirit’s prayer in the heart, giving glory to God when the beauty of his face is unveiled, ascribing the beauty of glory to God. This turns the mind around so that it unites with God in the heart, restoring vainglory to original glory in God through God, as God. Pride and presumption dissolve to the degree that glory is wedded to wisdom, presence to awareness, awareness to presence, healing all falls into confusion and division.
Beauty as such does not save, because if glory is usurped, beauty may seduce and deceive. But beauty in God saves because beauty unveils glory, glory which wisdom beholds, glory that wisdom restores to God. This is what is happening in glorification, union with God that sustains deification. Wisdom’s injunction is turn and see; it is God who sees seer and seen, Holy Trinity. Awareness is presence and presence is awareness when joy blesses seeing, seer and seen. Blessing is this triune union in action, active as uncreated energy of light and glory. It is act as being, being in act. The reason elders say little about this is that the mystery is not communicated through informed opinion. No amount of information is of any use. Only the awakened eye of the heart sees and this seeing is ineffable grace. The Apostle does not dabble in worldly wisdom but imparts the wisdom of God in a mystery, wisdom that discerns the glory of the Kingdom come. So elders point to the unveiled face, radiance of enlightening beauty in the awakened heart. They point out the presence that enlightens, the awareness that glorifies, under no illusion that speech can grasp what wisdom sees. Desert wisdom knows that in God, things arise in their beauty and release into glory, leaving no trace of confusion or division.
Beauty is glory unveiling transfiguration at the heart of the tradition, handing on wisdom as glory and glory as wisdom. When beauty saves, glory transfigures. Love of beauty, or Philokalia, is glory unveiling wisdom in illumination and wisdom revealing glory in glorification. Wisdom is awareness of glory in illumination, glory is presence of wisdom in glorification. The awareness and the presence are one, as the Name ‘I AM’ reveals. ‘I’ awareness and ‘AM’ presence are a cherubic embrace, a conjugal union in the Holy of Holies, a Bridal Chamber in the midst. Elders impart their interpretations of the Song of Songs, but do not take God’s Holy Name in vain or divulge what is hidden with Christ in God. Beauty as glory transfigures all that was renounced in ascent, hallowing all that is embraced in descent, the Bride’s descent in union with her Beloved. This is the hidden mystery of the Church, transfiguring incarnation as enlightening ascent and glorifying descent. It is the heart of the Holy Liturgy of the Eucharist, deification in act as illumination, transfiguration in glory as glorification. Beauty inspires the love that opens wisdom to glory, love of beauty which unveils glory as transfiguration. It inspires ascent that opens the mysteries of Christ’s ascension and descent that unveils the mysteries of Christ’s glorification. Beauty as glory embraces both, ensuring the integral inclusions of wisdom. Desert wisdom is the integral embrace of beauty and glory, beauty unveiling glory in illumination, beauty releasing into glory in glorification.