The Healing Spirituality of Eastern Orthodoxy: A Personal Journey of Discovery
Kyriacos C. Markides
Religions June 8, 2017 DOI: 10.3390/rel8060109 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Lay people and monastic communities in Eastern Christianity, including monasteries on Mt. Athos in northern Greece |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | Argues that mystical, experiential religion and spirituality are not exclusive to Eastern traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Native American shamanism, but also exist in Eastern Christianity among lay people and in ancient monasteries like those on Mt. Athos. The author contends that these practices may contribute to the "eye of contemplation," cultivating an intuitive, spiritual side of human beings that has been repressed by rationalism and scientific materialism. |
Abstract
It is generally assumed by western scholars and spiritual seekers that mystical, experiential religion and spirituality are primarily a hallmark of the far East, as exemplified by Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and tribal religions like native American shamanism. In this overview, based on thirty years of field research as a sociologist, I have tried to show that such mystical practices and spiritual approaches exist in Eastern Christianity among groups of lay people, as well as in ancient monasteries like those found on Mt. Athos in northern Greece. It is argued that these thousand-year-old practices in the Christian East may contribute to what some thinkers have called the “eye of contemplation”, namely the cultivation of the intuitive, spiritual side of human beings that has been repressed over the centuries because of the dominance of rationalism and scientific materialism.