Skip to content

The Oxford Handbook of Apophatic Theology

3 papers in the library · publishing 2026

Papers

Sort Most recent Most cited

The Flemish School of Mystical Theology

The Oxford Handbook of Apophatic Theology August 20, 2026 Rik Van Nieuwenhove

Abstract This essay considers the apophatic elements in the writings of some of the major exponents of the Flemish or Dutch school of vernacular theology in the high and late-medieval period. First the spirituality of the beguine Hadewijch is discussed, in whose oeuvre the topic of divine longing takes central stage. Secondly, the mystical theology of Jan van Ruusbroec and his ideal of the...

Apophatic Theology and Christian Spirituality Today

The Oxford Handbook of Apophatic Theology August 20, 2026 Ethan Smith

Abstract Apophatic theology is relevant to Christian spirituality today as a form of Christological ascetico-mysticism. This chapter demonstrates the spiritual pertinence of Dionysius the Areopagite’s apophatic theology through its connections to Scriptural Christologies and its opposition to specific formations of the self in the context of neoliberal capitalism. Studies of Second Temple...

Albert the Great on Negative-Mystical Theology as the Epitome of Science

The Oxford Handbook of Apophatic Theology August 20, 2026 Katja Krause, Tracy Wietecha

Abstract What is the epitome of science? Today, it is seen as residing in the scientific methods and practices of experimentation. For the Latin scholastics, the epitome of scientia has commonly been identified as the method and practice of demonstration. Yet Albert the Great (1200–1280) offered a different answer to our question. He relegated demonstration to a lower rank, and instead...