Eastern Christian Mysticism: What Is It?

Eastern Christianity has a mystical emphasis in its theology and retains hesychasm, a tradition of mystical prayer dating back to Christianity’s beginnings. Hesychasm concerns a spiritual transformation of the egoic self, following a path designed to produce more fully realized human persons. The term is difficult to define, but it is often thought of as the practice of experiential knowledge of God. Early Christian mysticism includes the time of Jesus and the first few centuries CE.

Christian mysticism is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Christian traditions of the Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodox Church, where stillness (hēsychia) is sought. Contemplative practices range from simple prayerful meditation of holy scripture (i.e., Lectio Divina). Eastern mystics distinguish between the essence of God and divine attributes, which they regard as energies that penetrate the universe.

This study aims to determine whether the mystics from Basil the Great to Symeon the New Theologian are important primarily as precursors of Hesychasm. Christian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity, often connected to mystical theology. Contemporary Orthodox thinkers attempt to integrate theological and mystical beliefs, such as the Trinity, Jesus being both a man and God, Communion, the Resurrection, and Christ’s coming again.

In summary, Eastern Christianity has preserved a mystical emphasis in its theology and hesychasm, focusing on spiritual transformation and the pursuit of a path towards more fully realized human persons.

Was Jesus a mystic?

Jesus was a teacher of teachers and a mystic of mystics in various ways. His teachings and actions brought the British Empire to its knees, while his mystical poetry and passion for levitations and visions of fire inspired Saint Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Matthew Fox, a progressive theologian and Dominican priest, dedicated an entire book, “The Coming of the Cosmic Christ”, to the mysticism of Jesus. Jesus’ teachings and actions influenced many mystics, including Krisha, Buddha, Gandhi, Saint Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross.

What makes Eastern Christianity unique?

The Eastern Orthodox Church is a self-governing denomination consisting of 14-16 autocephalous bodies, with smaller churches having a mother church that is autocephalous. All Eastern Orthodox are united in doctrinal agreement, unlike the Catholic Church and its various churches, which are in communion. The Eastern Orthodox reject the Filioque clause and were once in communion with the Catholic Church, but the two split after the East-West Schism. There are approximately 240 million Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, with many today referring to Eastern Orthodoxy simply as the Orthodox Church.

Old Oriental churches, also known as the Coptic Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Church (India), Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, and Armenian Apostolic Church, are Eastern Christian traditions that maintain the faith of the first three ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church, while rejecting the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon.

What does the Bible say about Christian mysticism?

In Romans 8:26-27, the role of the Spirit in Christian mysticism is elucidated. It is posited that those who engage in introspection can comprehend the Spirit’s perspective, as it facilitates prayer in accordance with God’s will for the faithful.

What is a mystical type of Christianity?

Contemplative Mystical Christianity is a movement within Christianity that focuses on inner communion and union with God through the Bible, personal experience, creation, and spiritual practices. While some may view these beliefs, emphases, practices, and understandings as unique to each movement, they are not. Both movements embrace each perspective as truth that can be biblically substantiated. The difference is often due to emphases, spiritual practices, or language.

The fear of presenting these as contrasts is that they may be perceived as either/or choices, but in reality, each movement has attributes needed for a holistic spirituality. An exclusive emphasis on either may lead to losing balance or missing out on key aspects of the Christian faith.

What are the 4 aspects of mysticism?

The mystical phenomenology is distinguished by a set of characteristics, including ineffability, a mystical quality, transiency, and passivity. James posits that this latter quality represents the most challenging aspect to convey in verbal form.

What is Eastern Christian spirituality?

The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Churches have their roots in the earliest days of Christianity, with roots in the Roman and Byzantine Empires, Syria, Iraq, Iran, India, Egypt, and Ethiopia. The schism of 1054 CE separated the Eastern and Western Catholic faiths, leading to different expressions of spirituality. Western Christian tradition focuses on the Bible and human reason, while Eastern Christian spiritual traditions emphasize experiential knowledge through the Holy Mysteries.

Orthodox believers venerate icons as windows to the spiritual realm, viewing them as windows to the spiritual realm. This reverence is evident in Orthodox churches, where some of these images are displayed.

The majority of images were taken using Leica monochrome digital cameras, which remove the color filter array, allowing more light and detail to be registered on the sensor. Monochrome digital cameras are particularly effective in extracting detail in low light conditions, such as those found in churches or monasteries. Additionally, their compact and noiseless design makes them suitable for discreet photography in sensitive locations. Digital Silver Imaging photo lab printed and mounted the photographs.

What is Christian mysticism?

Christian mysticism is a tradition of mystical practices and theology within Christianity that focuses on the preparation of individuals for, the consciousness of, and the effect of a direct and transformative presence of God or divine love. Until the sixth century, the practice was known as contemplatio, c. q. theoria, which means “looking at” or “gazing at” God or the divine. Christianity uses both Greek (theoria) and Latin (contempio) terminology to describe various forms of prayer and the process of coming to know God.

Contemplative practices range from simple prayerful meditation of holy scripture to contemplation on the presence of God, resulting in theosis (spiritual union with God) and ecstatic visions of the soul’s mystical union with God. Contemplative practices have a prominent place in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, and have gained renewed interest in western Christianity.

What do Eastern Christians believe?

Eastern Orthodox Christians believe in the Word of God as a fully divine and human person united in Jesus Christ through the Incarnation. This theology is unique to the Eastern Orthodox Church, characterized by monotheistic Trinitarianism, the belief in the Incarnation of the divine Logos, cataphatic theology with apophatic theology, a hermeneutic defined by a Sacred Tradition, a catholic ecclesiology, a theology of the person, and a principally recapitulative and therapeutic soteriology.

The Eastern Orthodox Church considers itself the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles. They maintain the Christian Bible as a collection of inspired texts originating from this tradition, with the New Testament choices made based on established faith. Tradition also includes the Nicene Creed, decrees of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, writings of the Church Fathers, Eastern Orthodox laws, liturgical books, and icons.

What are the three stages of Christian mysticism?

Two authors, contemporary mystics and scholars, delineate the three principal stages of mystical life: the purgative, the illuminative, and the unitive. For further information, please refer to Fr. Spitzer’s article on Christian mysticism, accessible via the following link.

How do Christian mystics pray?

Mystics engage in prayer by assuming a posture of receptivity, allowing themselves to be guided by the divine presence and to participate in the cosmic dance.