Origen of Alexandria and the paradigm of desert spirituality - doi: 10.4025/actascieduc.v35i1.19327
Patricia Ciner
March 1, 2013 DOI: 10.4025/actascieduc.v35i1.19327 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the 'spirituality of the desert' involves leaving the safety of the known world to follow an inner voice toward encounter with the divine, at great risk and with no guarantee of success, yet offering freedom and peace. Through Origen of Alexandria's homilies on Exodus, the authors contend this theological and mystical line retains full validity for the contemporary world. |
Abstract
In this article, we shall call ‘spirituality of the desert’ the experience that urges the human being to leave the safety and comfort of the known world in order to follow the inner voice that leads them to the encounter with the divine. This decision involves very great risks and uncertainties, because in the desert there is only silence and solitude and nothing guarantees success in the search of God. However, going through the desert offers, to those who take the risk, the most precious gifts that a human being can aspire: freedom and peace. In this regard and as a provisional essay of a ‘mystic phenomenology of the desert’, the main objective will be aimed at deepening the theological and mystical reflections on the desert done by an author such as Origen of Alexandria. The choice has been based on the immense influence this great theologian has had in the history of Western mysticism. The analysis of the significance of the desert in the theology of Origen, was held in his beautiful homilies on Exodus. This article will show how this theological line has full validity for the contemporary world.