Christian mysticism

Christian mysticism is the pursuit of direct experience of God or divine reality within Christian belief and practice. It encompasses contemplative disciplines, accounts of union with God, and traditions of mystical theology.

Contemplative prayer: A form of prayer centered on silent attention to God rather than spoken petitions or discursive thought. It is a principal practice for cultivating receptive attention to God.
Desert Fathers: Early Christian ascetics who pursued prayer and spiritual discipline in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. Their practices and sayings established lasting models of solitary contemplation.
John of the Cross: A sixteenth-century Spanish Carmelite poet and theologian known for writings on purification and union with God. His poetry and prose describe transformation through the dark night of the soul.
Scholasticism: A medieval method of theological and philosophical inquiry that uses structured argument to reconcile authorities and resolve questions. Its emphasis on formal reasoning contrasts with mystical theology's attention to experiential knowledge.
Mystical theology: Theological reflection on direct experience of God, the limits of language about God, and the soul's transformation. It names the broader theological field developed through Christian mystical writings.
Apophatic theology: An approach to theology that describes God by denying that finite concepts can adequately capture the divine. It explains why mystical accounts often approach God through silence and negation.
Gregory of Nyssa: A fourth-century Cappadocian theologian whose writings describe the soul's endless ascent toward God. His account of unending desire shaped Christian understandings of mystical progress.
Julian of Norwich: A fourteenth-century English anchoress whose Revelations of Divine Love is the earliest surviving English book by a woman. Her visions combine intimate divine love with reflection on suffering and salvation.
Christian rationalism: Approaches to Christian belief that emphasize reasoned argument as a primary way to establish or explain religious claims. It foregrounds intellectual justification where mysticism stresses direct encounter.
Christian monasticism: A Christian way of life organized around communal or solitary vows, prayer, discipline, and separation from ordinary social patterns. Monastic communities preserved and transmitted many mystical practices and texts.

Linked from 18 pages