The Genealogy of Mystical Traditions
The Oxford Handbook of Mystical Theology February 25, 2020 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198722380.013.4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Proposes that Christian mystical theology developed through several historically coherent genealogies from the patristic era to the early modern period, culminating in the Quietist Controversy and a generally negative Enlightenment attitude toward mysticism. |
Abstract
This chapter is designed as a broad road map of the development of Christian mystical theology down to the Quietist Controversy at the end of the seventeenth century and the triumph of the Enlightenment, which took a generally negative attitude toward the mystical element in Christianity. It follows the main genealogies, or historically coherent traditions of mystical theology, from the patristic genealogies of east and west, through the medieval genealogies (monastic, Franciscan, German, Flemish, French and Italian, English), concluding with the early modern genealogies (Protestant and Reformed Catholic, especially of Spain and France).