The Spirituality of the Christian East, Volume 2

Front Cover
Cistercian Publications, 1986 - Religion - 564 pages

This second volume on Eastern Christian spirituality amplifies in depth the final two chapters of the earlier The Spirituality of the Christian East: A Systematic Handbook. Like Cassian in writing his Conferences, Cardinal Spidla k does not advocate any particular pattern of prayer, but sets out faithfully to collect and share the teachings of generations of eastern monks and spiritual writers.

Contents

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SOURCES
1
The Alexandrian Fathers 2 Monastic Writings 3 The Golden
12
LITURGICAL POETRY Greek Hymnography 18 Forms
21
THE DIVINEHUMAN DIALOGUE
31
The Necessity of Prayer 31 Definitions of Prayer 33 Various
41
Intercession 46 Veneration of the Mother of God 47
47
PRAYER AS SUPPLICATION
53
The Will of GodThe Norm for Petitions 59 The Order
68
Natural Contemplation 183 The Moral Exegesis of
187
MYSTICISM
203
NEGATIVE THEOLOGY The Apophatic Way 209 What Falls
214
Spiritual Ecstasy 227 Spiritual Prayer According
228
The Transcendent Value of the Desire for Happiness 235
241
The Ascent of the Mind to God 252 The Spirit in
254
MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONS The Language of the Spiritual Writers 261
261
Spiritual Marriage 261 Spiritual Inebriation 263 Watchful
267

BODILY PRAYER
74
Traditional Gestures 76 The Sign of the Cross 77 Genuflections
85
LITURGICAL PRAYER
94
The Mystical Nature of the Liturgy 98 The Allegorical
100
The Spiritual Celebration of Festivals 105 Thanksgiving
106
LITURGICAL ESCHATOLOGISM The Expectation of the Parousia 107
107
THE SACRAMENTS The Christian Life Is Sacramental 111
119
MEDITATIVE READING
130
THE SEARCH FOR THE SPIRITUAL SENSE Beyond the Letter 136
136
MEDITATION HagaMeletanMeditari 140 Learning
144
THE CONTEMPLATIVE EAST Mary EasternMartha Western? 152
152
The Definition of Contemplation
158
The Theoteles Logos 162 The Various
165
The Spiritual Senses 171 The Illuminated Nous 172
173
Charity Is the Door to Gnosis 178 The Life in Christ Leads
179
THE DISPOSITIONS FOR PRAYER
282
Joy 298 Gratitude 298 Poverty 299
299
Visible Preaching 306 The Place of Grace 306
306
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS The History of Hesychasm 319
319
Nepsis Antirrhesis WatchfulnessCounterstatement 325
325
THE JESUS PRAYER History of the Jesus Prayer 331 The Power
332
Early Christians 333 Have Mercy on Me 334 God and
338
the Heart 341 The Russian Pilgrim 343 The Natural
345
CONCLUSION
358
Solutions to the Problem 362 The Preeminence
364
TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS
370
A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
381
TOPICAL INDEX
493
NAMES INDEX
507
Copyright

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