COURSE OUTLINE Par I Christian Mysticism

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COURSE OUTLINE Par I Christian Mysticism

COURSE OUTLINE PART I HISTORY OF THE (EASTERN) CHRISTIAN MYSTICAL TRADITION I. THE MYSTICAL DIMENSION OF THE SCRIPTURES. The Old Testament Background. The New Testament: The Incarnate, Transfigured and Risen Christ. The Gospel of St. John. The Epistles of the Apostle Paul. II. PLATONIC/HELLENISTIC BACKGROUND. Plato. Philo. PloOnus. III. PRE-NICEAN DEVELOPMENTS. The MysOcal Dimension of Martyrdom. St. IgnaOus of AnOoch and Sts. Perpetua and Felicitas. The mysOcal theology of Clement of Alexandria and Origen. IV. THE MONASTIC TRADITION OF THE CHRISTIAN EAST. St. Anthony the Great and primiOve monasOcism. The intellectual tradiOon of the desert – Evagrius of Pontus. The mysOcism of the heart - St. Macarius the Great. St. Gregory of Nyssa and divine incomprehensibility. The SinaOc TradiOon – St. John Klimakos (of the Ladder). V. THE WESTERN CONTRIBUTION OF THE PATRISTIC AGE. St. John Cassian. St. Ambrose of Milan. St. AugusOne. St. Gregory the Great. VI. THE SYRIAC TRADITION. The poeOc and mysOcal theology of Sts. Ephraim and Isaac of Syria. VII. BYZANTIUM. St. Dionysius the Areopagite and apophaOc theology. St. Maximus the Confessor. St. Symeon the New Theogian and Light mysOcism. Mt. Athos. VIII. ST. GREGORY PALAMAS AND HESYCHASM. A detailed study of this important figure in the history of Eastern ChrisOan spirituality. IX. THE HESYCHAST TRADITION OF ORTHODOX RUSSIA. St. Sergius of Radonezh and the “Golden Age of Russian Spirituality.” St. Nil of Sora and the non-possessors. St. Paisius Velichkovsky and the revival of hesychasm in Russia. The Philokalia. St. Seraphim of Sarov and the pracOce of “eldership.” X. THE CONTEMPORARY SETTING. ConOnuing revival and popularizaOon of hesychasm. The Jesus Prayer and its use in contemporary spirituality. Our main text for this part of the course will be St. Gregory Palamas and Orthodox Spirituality by John Meyendorff. We will also read parts of the other books assigned for this course. The book review and mid-term exam will be completed in this first half of the course..

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NEE 2015 2 FINAL.Pdf
ADVERTISEMENT NEW EASTERN EUROPE IS A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT BETWEEN THREE POLISH PARTNERS The City of Gdańsk www.gdansk.pl A city with over a thousand years of history, Gdańsk has been a melting pot of cultures and ethnic groups. The air of tolerance and wealth built on trade has enabled culture, science, and the Arts to flourish in the city for centuries. Today, Gdańsk remains a key meeting place and major tourist attraction in Poland. While the city boasts historic sites of enchanting beauty, it also has a major historic and social importance. In addition to its 1000-year history, the city is the place where the Second World War broke out as well as the birthplace of Solidarność, the Solidarity movement, which led to the fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe. The European Solidarity Centre www.ecs.gda.pl The European Solidarity Centre is a multifunctional institution combining scientific, cultural and educational activities with a modern museum and archive, which documents freedom movements in the modern history of Poland and Europe. The Centre was established in Gdańsk on November 8th 2007. Its new building was opened in 2014 on the anniversary of the August Accords signed in Gdańsk between the worker’s union “Solidarność” and communist authorities in 1980. The Centre is meant to be an agora, a space for people and ideas that build and develop a civic society, a meeting place for people who hold the world’s future dear. The mission of the Centre is to commemorate, maintain and popularise the heritage and message of the Solidarity movement and the anti-communist democratic op- position in Poland and throughout the world.
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By Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia
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