The mystical tradition of the Eastern Church : studies in patristics, liturgy, and practice

This volume offers revised versions of papers originally presented at the December 2016 conference on “The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church,” organized by the Sophia Institute of Eastern Orthodox Studies (succeeded by the Institute for Studies of Eastern Christianity, or ISEC) and held onthe premises of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York.In this volume we aim to introduce various contemporary Orthodox theological, philosophical, exegetical, and liturgical views on mysticism. The book reflects the modern Orthodox quest for a deep spiritual engagement with both the academy and the general public. The contributors represent a diverse group of Christian Orthodox thinkers and public intellectuals concerned with handing down tradition while also offering a proper response to the challenges of modernity according to Orthodox ethos and canons.The chapters are organized in a way to reflect their emphasis on patristics, liturgy, and practice. We believe that this work will be engaging and call for a dialogue among the Orthodox and non-Orthodox communities. We hope that it will further facilitate scholarly exchange on the mystical tradition of the Eastern Church. Table of Contents 6 Preface and Acknowledgements 8 Abbreviations 10 Introduction: Mysticism and its Historical Manifestations • Sergey Trostyanskiy and Jess Gilbert 12 I. MYSTICAL THEOLOGY AND CHURCH MOTHERS ANDFATHERS 20 I.1. The Relation Between the Incomprehensibility of God and the Naming of God in the Theology of Pseudo-Dionysius • Theodore Damian 22 I.2. Toward an Understanding of Maximus the Confessor’s Mystical Theology of Deification: The Spiritual Sabbath / Eighth Day Sequence in Two Hundred Chapters on Theology • Jess Gilbert 38 I.3. Mystical Theology in the Writings of Gregory of Nyssa and Dionysius Areopagite • Eirini Artemi and Christos Terezis 62 I.4. Analogy in the Mystical Theology of Gregory of Nyssa: Transcending Negation and Affirmation • Robert F. Fortuin 80 I.5. Recapitulative Reversal and the Restoration of Humanity in St. Irenaeus • Don Springer 96 I.6. Kindling Divine Fire: The Mystical Sayings of St. Syncletica • V.K. McCarty 110 II. LITURGY, SACRAMENTS, AND ICONS 126 II.1. The Kingdom of the Holy Trinity and the Movement of a Community in the Sacrificial Spirit of Christ: The importance of Father Dumitru Stăniloae’s Mystical and Ascetic Vision of the Holy Liturgy • Ciprian Streza 128 II.2. The Sacraments of the Church: Basis of Spirituality, Building Blocks of the Kingdom • Philip Zymaris 156 II.3. The Mystery of Representation: Theodore the Studite on Seeing the Invisible • Sergey Trostyanskiy 180 III. CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE AND APPLICATIONS 202 III.1 Understanding My Avatar: Cyberbeing, Bio-Digital Personhood, and Fictional Transcendences from an Orthodox Perspective • Inti Yanes-Fernandez 204 III.2. A Theory of Practice: A Meditation on Practice Itself • Mark W. Flory 228 III.3. The Prayer of the Heart as Method of Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy • Cameron McCabe 248 III.4. Orthopraxis and Theosis: The Role of Ritual in the Training of the Mind • Anthony Perkins 260 Indices 274 Subject Index 274 Index of Names 276 "This volume presents the work of contemporary Orthodox thinkers who attempt to integrate the theological and the mystical. Exciting and provocative chapters treat a wide variety of mysticism, including early Church accounts, patristics (including the seemingly ever-popular subject of deification), liturgy, iconography, spiritual practice, and contemporary efforts to find mystical sense in cyber-technologies and post-humanism."-- Publisher's website