The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition

Andrew Louth traces the Christian mystical tradition from Plato and Platonism, through figures such as Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Denys the Areopagite, and Augustine, to St John of the Cross. In doing so he explores the diverse, and often conflicting influences that are to be found in Christian spirituality. An additional chapter brings this classic study completely up to date.

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Scholars of the patristic era have paid more attention to the dogmatic tradition in their period than to the development of Christian mystical theology. Andrew Louth aims to redress the balance. Recognizing that the intellectual form of this tradition was decisively influenced by Platonic ideas of the soul's relationship to God, Louth begins with an examination of Plato and Platonism. The discussion of the Fathers which follows shows how the mystical tradition is at the heart of their thought and how the dogmatic tradition both moulds and is the reflection of mystical insights and concerns. This new edition of a classic study of the diverse influences upon Christian spirituality includes a new Epilogue which brings the text completely up to date.