Based on: Desert Hermits, Byz. MS. illum., ca, 1081 Princ. U. Libr., image modif .

MONASTIC SPIRITUALITY SELF-STUDY 

Fr. Luke Dysinger, O.S.B. 

BELOW are links to materials from courses taught at : Saint John's Seminary, Camarillo; Loyola/Marymount University, Los Angeles; and Saint John's Abbey School of Theology, Collegeville, Minnesota. Anyone interested in academic credit for a a web-course that uses these materials should contact Dr. Susan Wood at Saint John's in Collegeville.

PLEASE note that: (1) audio lectures (5-9 min. in length) will take several minutes to download on slow modem connections; and (2) they require a reasonably recent version of Windows Media Player (or another player capable of playing .wma files). To display the Greek text properly is is necessary to have loaded on your computer the SGreek font, available as shareware from SilverMountain Software: http://www.silvermnt.com/fonts.htm .

 

(1) VISIONS of HEAVEN and the ASCENT to GOD 
Plato as mystical theologian; his Parable of the Cave and Myth of Er.  Spiritual Ascent in the intertestamental period: The Book of Enoch. Cicero's retelling of Plato's Myth in the Dream of Scipio. 

(2) BIBLICAL and EARLY CHRISTIAN MODELS of SPIRITUAL ASCENT:
Apophatic and Kataphatic Theology.  Fundamental biblical texts in the early Christian contemplative tradition.  Saint Perpetua the martyr as seer and intercessor.  Three early examples of monastic visionaries (Antony, Evagrius, Benedict)

(3) SOLITUDE and COMMUNITY in EARLY CHRISTIANITY:
Origins of Christian monasticism. Hermitage and cenobium in northern Egypt (Nitria, Kellia, Scetis). Solitude and community in: Athanasius' Life of Antony; the Apophthegmata; The Ascetikon (Rule) of Basil the Great; the Rule of Benedict.

(4) LECTIO DIVINA:
Introductory concepts (monologistic prayer, meditatio, parrhesia); Private and Group lectio divina; Dei Verbum (Vatican II); Philo of Alexandria; Cyprian of Carthage; Hugh of St. Victor; Guigo II.

(5) THE RHYTHM of PSALMODY and PRAYER:
Psalmody and hymnody in Judaism and early Christianity.  Early monastic descriptions of psalmody and prayer: Athanasius; Antony; John Cassian; Evagrius Ponticus; and Basil.  Gregory of Nyssa, On The Inscriptions of the Psalms. Benedict on psalmody and prayer.  Gabriel Bunge, Geistgebet - Spiritual Prayer.  Representative psalms with antiphons, ancient and modern.  Pope John Paul II, On Psalm 117.

(6) LITURGICAL PRAYER
Cyril of Jerusalem and Ambrose of Milan on baptism, chrismation, and the Eucharist.  Dionysius the Aereopagite on liturgy and mystical theology; Maximos Confessor on Dionysius and liturgy. Suger of St. Denis on the contemplation of beauty.  Books of Hours; Gertude the Great on liturgical prayer; Hildegard of Bingen. Vatican II (Lumen Gentium) on the Royal Priesthood.

(7) CONTEMPLATIVE EXEGESIS
Biblical and early patristic recommendations of mystical (allegorical) exegesis.  Clement of Alexandria and Origen on fourfold and threefold exegesis. Evagrius and Cassian  (Conf. 14) on progressive levels of biblical interpretation. Eucherius of Lyons’ allegorical glossary.

(8) MONOLOGISTIC PRAYER
Biblical and early patristic sources (Cyprian, Tertullian, Clement of Alex.) on continuous prayer. Evagrius: sel, from on Prayer; Cassian, Conf. 9-10. Early Byzantine witnesses (Diadochus and Barsanuphius).  The monks of Sinai: Climacus, Hesychius, Gregory of Sinai.  The Jesus Prayer, Mount Athos, and Gregory Pallamas.

(9) EVAGRIUS PONTICUS
Introduction to Evagrius' Life and teaching. Primary texts in Greek (where available) and English, including: Praktikos; Gnostikos; Kephalaia Gnostica; Peri Logismon; Skemmata; On Prayer; Scholia on Psalms, -on Proverbs, -on Ecclesiastes; select Letters.

(10) THE APOKATASTASIS
Texts and handouts from the patristic, medievel, and modern period on the early Christian controversy concerning the apokatastasis (restoration).

 

 


This Webpage was created for a workshop held at Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, California in 1990....x....   “”.