1st Edition

Christian Mystics Their Lives and Legacies Throughout the Ages

By Ursula King Copyright 2004
    284 Pages
    by Routledge

    Ursula King’s Christian Mystics tells the story of sixty men and women whose mystical devotion to God transformed the times in which they lived and still affects our present-day search for spiritual meaning. Moving from key figures of the early Christian age to the great mystics of modern times, special emphasis is given to the great high points of mysticism in the medieval, early modern and Eastern Orthodox traditions. The lives of visionaries, including Clement of Alexandria, Saint Bonaventure, Blaise Pascal and Simone Weil are studied in detail. It reveals the richly diverse expressions that mystical experience has found during two thousand years of Christian history and shows how it underpins Christian ritual and doctrine as a source of spiritual inspiration for all believers.

    Beautifully illustrated and written by a prominent name in the British academic world, this significant text has received high acclaim and is the only book to feature biographies of key mystics.

    Introduction 1. Background and themes 2. Early Christian mystics 3. Medieval mystics 4. Mystics of the early modern period 5. Eastern Orthodox mystics 6. Mystics of our time Conclusion Bibliography Index Acknowledgements

    Biography

    Ursula King is Professor Emertius in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Bristol. Widely known internationally, her many publications include several books on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and women in world religions. She now works freelance on comparative spirituality, interfaith dialogue and wider issues of religion and gender.

    'Ursula King has succeeded admirably ... with a sure grasp of the subject and a clear prose style, she takes us on a journey through the lives and works of some of the great spiritual teachers of the Church.' - Church Times