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Color profile: DisabledComposite Default screenPRO LO G UEThe modern Anglican priest and mystic Robert Llewelyn, former chaplain of theshrine of Julian in Norwich, wrote that there were two ways of knowing Christ: onecan either know all about him or one can know him. He added that knowing Christ“is the only knowledge which ultimately matters. We Christians have a great start inbeing able to know about Christ from the Gospels, but if we do not know him it is asnothing.”1 This dichotomy represents the two different though intimately relatedChristianities that coexist uneasily within each other. One Christianity emphasizeshuman intellect and reason and is a theology, a set of beliefs to be accepted and rules tobe followed, a creed that is proclaimed. The other Christianity is that of the mystics,who seek the experience of the God of the former and stress the inability of humanreasoning to know the incomprehensible deity. These two Christianities present different means by which one can know God, either through the divine self-revelation tobe found in the Scriptures and in Christian theology or through the direct revelationof the divine to the individual. Fr. Llewelyn’s preference for the mystical approach asthe essential aspect of Christianity fits easily with the view of Evelyn Underhill, one ofthe twentieth century’s best-known writers and teachers on mysticism, who arguedthat “mysticism represents the very soul of religion.”2This book is concerned with the mystics of the Christian tradition, those who havegained the direct experience of the divine. However, the central problem in the studyof mystics and of mysticism remains one of definition, for there is an astonishinglywide variety of connotations associated with those terms, which was pointed out fromthe beginning of the “modern” study of mysticism. In 1899 William Ralph Inge, laterdean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, published Christian Mysticism, which “almostsingle-handedly caused an English revival of interest in Christian mysticism.”3 In thatwork he wrote that no word in the English languagehas been employed more loosely than “Mysticism.” Sometimes it is used as anequivalent for symbolism or allegorism, sometimes for theosophy or occultscience; and sometimes it merely suggests the mental state of a dreamer, orvague and fantastic opinions about God and the world. In Roman Catholicwriters, “mystical phenomena” mean supernatural suspensions of physical law.Even those writers who have made a special study of the subject, show by theirdefinitions of the word how uncertain is its connotation.4Dean Inge then provided twenty-six definitions of mysticism in a Christian context as“specimens” of the possibilities. At one extreme is the philosophical and theological1Mystics of the Christian Tradition22 February 2001 09:19:49

Color profile: DisabledComposite Default screen— Prologue —concept of mysticism as a union with the divine so close that all distinction betweenthe mystic and the divine is obliterated. At the other extreme “mystical” is sometimesregarded as a synonym for the occult or simply for the weird, or as William James said,“The words ‘mysticism’ and ‘mystical’ are often used as terms of mere reproach, tothrow at any opinion which we regard as vague and vast and sentimental and withouta base in either facts or logic.”5 James, however, pointed out thatChurches, when once established, live at second-hand upon tradition; but thefounders of every church owed their power originally to the fact of their directpersonal communion with the divine. Not only the superhuman founders, theChrist, the Buddha, Mahomet, but all the originators of Christian sects have6been in this case.Between these extremes is the approach of those who “focus on mysticism almost7exclusively as a psychological moment of inspired rapture.” However, debates aboutthe definition of mysticism, “while interesting, lend themselves to scholastic quib8bling.”From the various possibilities, the definition of mysticism employed in this present9work is that of Evelyn Underhill, “the direct intuition or experience of God,” or, toput it differently, mysticism is “every religious tendency that discovers the way to Goddirect through inner experience without the mediation of reasoning. The constitutiveelement in mysticism is immediacy of contact with the deity.”10 This definition is in11wide use in the study of mysticism, although when discussing mysticism in worldreligions, “God” is often replaced by more general terms such as “Absolute Reality,”“the Ultimate,” or “the One.” Moreover, it also permits a very broad horizon for theinvestigation of mystics. If mystics are defined as those who have gained the directexperience of the divine, the term can comprise not only those who attained adistinctionless union with God but also those whose experience of the divine was lesscomplete, for example it can include those in the constant presence of God or thosewithin whom the Holy Spirit dwelled and who received the spiritual gifts accompanying the signs of that indwelling, such as divinely infused knowledge, clairvoyance,healing powers, as well as what are sometimes taken to be the typical mystical manifestations, visions and voices.One can study either mysticism or mystics. Both methods are useful but they tendto have different effects and to be more valuable to different audiences. The study ofmysticism is important, being concerned with phenomenology and methodology, butit also carries limitations, especially in introductory works. Inevitably examples fromthe writings of mystics are produced to illustrate particular aspects of mysticism; thistends to overwhelm the beginning reader with a seemingly endless series of disembodied and decontextualized quotations attributed to authors who are largely unknown,leaving one to ponder the significance of the isolated quotations. However, ideas havecontexts and cannot always be judged simply at face value, for at times the historicalcontext is vital for an understanding of mystical works. For example, the condemnations of Meister Eckhart and Marguerite Porete had a chilling effect on particular2Mystics of the Christian Tradition22 February 2001 09:19:50

Color profile: DisabledComposite Default screen— Prologue —expressions of mystical ideas and shaped the framework of acceptable mystical language for two centuries to come. Or again, the devaluation of visions and voices by St.John of the Cross is often cited as if it were an abstract judgment on the matter by thisacknowledged master of the mystical life while ignoring the fact that in the Spain ofhis day visionary mystics were being prosecuted by the Inquisition and it was vital formystics who wished to avoid inquisitorial scrutiny to disassociate themselves fromthose who were considered heretics. Additionally, for those not already familiar withthe authors of the quotations, the effect of the presentation of a series of excerpts fromwriters bearing unfamiliar and sometimes exotic names can often be bewildering anddiscouraging, needlessly emphasizing a mysterious and impenetrable element to mysticism. Moreover, a study of mysticism tends to present a specific mystical paradigm asa model by which particular expressions of mysticism are to be judged.A study of mystics can produce a different effect. Attention can be drawn to theparticular context in which a mystic lived and moved, influences of previous mysticscan be more easily observed and the position of the mystics and their ideas in the longperspective of the mystical tradition can be discerned. The effect of a focus on mysticsis to make one aware that the direct experience of the divine has come in many different ways and paths and has been expressed in a variety of forms. Thus rather than therebeing a favored paradigm of mysticism, one more readily sees that there is tremendousvariation in Christian mysticism alongside the many areas of commonality shared bythe mystics. Moreover, many find it easier to focus on individuals than on abstractions. Thus an introduction to mysticism can often be gained more profitably first byexamining individual mystics before attempting to construct an Ism from theirexperiences.This work is concerned primarily with mystics but not to the exclusion of the largertopic of mysticism. Its focus is to place the mystics in the context of their own lives aswell as in the times in which they lived and, as much as is possible in something that isnot an anthology, the mystics will be allowed to speak their own words. A particularemphasis here is the mystical experience itself, that is, on what it is like to be a mystic,which leads to considerable attention being given to mystical visions and voices. Thisis not to imply that mysticism is to be equated with the reception of these phenomena,for that is indeed not the case, but such manifestations have long been regarded as acertain indication that the recipient was in fact a mystic and were usually emphasizedby the mystics’ biographers, hagiographers and contemporaries as evidence that theirsubjects had in fact been graced by divine visitations. Moreover, the visions frequentlywere crucial, catalytic events in the mystical life of the mystics and are thus inseparablefrom an understanding of their lives and careers.For the most part, the individuals considered here are mystics and not simply writers on mysticism. There are some exceptions – the unknown authors of highly influential mystical works, such as Pseudo-Macarius, Pseudo-Dionysius or the author ofThe Cloud of Unknowing. However, for the first thousand years of Christian mysticism there was a pronounced bias against claiming mystical experiences for oneself,preferring instead to attribute them to another person. Thus the assumption in thiswork, as in most which have considered figures such as Augustine or Gregory the3Mystics of the Christian Tradition22 February 2001 09:19:50

Color profile: DisabledComposite Default screen— Prologue —Great, is that when virtually all of authors’ works are permeated with mysticism andprovide exquisite descriptions of mystical experiences, they indeed were mystics.A work intended to be a wieldy one-volume introduction to two millennia ofChristian mystics necessarily entails limitations of its own. The requisite brevity mandates that each individual be discussed succinctly, to the omission of many aspects ofthe mystics’ lives, writings and teachings. Regrettably, many mystics have beenexcluded, for a work twice this size could easily be produced that would still notencompass all Christian mystics. Therefore this work serves as an introduction toChristian mystics that will perhaps encourage readers to investigate particular mysticsin greater depth and to take up the broader topic of mysticism with more profit. Forthose wishing to study Christian mysticism well-placed in historical context, oneshould consult the volumes now appearing in Bernard McGinn’s outstanding seriesThe Presence of God, A History of Western Christian Mysticism.1213As seen, William James argued that the founders of every church and Christiansect were mystics, as were the great founders of three of the world’s great religions,Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Indeed, the claim of the mystics to immediatecontact with the Transcendent is to be found in virtually all of the world’s religionsand commonly is the source of those religions:Not only has mysticism its fount in what is the raw material of all religion, butalso all the most profound insights of religious truth have their origin in themystical experiences of those who have led the spiritual progress of the humanrace.14Perhaps the figure of the shaman making spiritual journeys into the other world onbehalf of individuals as well as the community is the oldest type of mystic, a figure whohas been traced back to the paleolithic period: “The lifeway of the shaman is nearly asold as human consciousness itself, predating the earliest recorded civilizations bythousands of years.”15 Among the Plains Indians of North America, the vision quest,the individual’s search for direct contact with a guardian spirit, was “the most characteristic feature of North American religions outside the Pueblo area” and “provided anopportunity for direct contact with the supernatural.”16The religions and philosophies of the East are marked strongly by mysticism. It hasbeen remarked that in the religion of the subcontinent of India “mystical experienceholds a central place” and that in Hinduism in particular there is the appeal “to thesoul’s immediate knowledge and experience of God.”17 The founder of Buddhism,Siddhartha Gautama (ca. 563 to ca. 483 BC), “both at his enlightenment and death attained to a unifying vision and passed through trance states before the final peace of18Nirvana,” and Nirvana has been described as “the core of Buddhist mysticism,”19which is “an immediate apprehension of supreme Reality.” In China, the Taoistssought union with the Tao, which is the Infinite and Eternal, that is, Supreme Reality.When Buddhism reached China in the first century AD, it blended with Taoism toproduce Zen Buddhism, whose goal is enlightenment (satori) – “Zen’s version of the4Mystics of the Christian Tradition22 February 2001 09:19:50

Color profile: DisabledComposite Default screen— Prologue —mystical experience, which, wherever it appears, brings joy, at-one-ment, and a sense20of reality that defies ordinary language.”In the ancient Greek world, contact with the divine could be achieved throughintermediaries, such as the famous oracle at Delphi, who were important channels ofcommunication between the two worlds, as “seers and oracle mongers were omnipresent.”21 Moreover, as will also be seen in the next chapter, at the same time the widespread and increasingly popular mystery cults of the Mediterranean world offeredindividuals unmediated personal access to communion as well as union with the gods.The Jewish world of antiquity was also familiar with mystics, such as the Essenes whowill be discussed in the next chapter, and in medieval and modern Judaism the mysticism of the Kabbalists and Hassidists has been of profound influence on Jewish spirituality. At the same time, in the other great world religion related to Judaism andChristianity, Islam’s prophet Mohammed (ca. 572–632) was the recipient of divinerevelations on Mount Hira outside Mecca, including the word of God, the Qu’ran,and by the beginning of the ninth century AD the Islamic mystical movement of theSufis had arisen. “From its origins in the Prophet Muhammed and the Qu’ranic revelation, the mystical trend among Muslims has played an extraordinary role in thepublic and private development of the Islamic faith.”22Thus in considering the Christian mystics, it is important to remember that amongthe seemingly myriad differences of Christian denominations and the competingclaims of the world’s faiths, it is in mysticism that they meet on a common ground ofthe experience of the divine. The Trappist monk and mystic Thomas Merton, whowill be seen again in chapter V, expressed this commonality of divine revelation to theindividual:Everywhere we find at least a natural striving for interior unity and intuitivecommunion with the Absolute. And everywhere we find expressions of somekind of spiritual experience, often natural, sometimes supernatural. Supernatural mystical experience is at least theoretically possible anywhere under thesun, to any man of good conscience who sincerely seeks the truth and respondsto the inspirations of divine grace.23The Christian mystics prove the strength and persistence of the element in Christianity that is the core, fount and energizing spirit of all religion, the direct encounter withGod.5Mystics of the Christian Tradition22 February 2001 09:19:51

Color profile: DisabledComposite Default screenCHAPTER IORIG IN SM Y S T I C I S M I N TH E G R EC O– R OMA N W OR L DThe Roman world in which Christianity arose was one steeped in mystical religion.The traditional Greco–Roman pantheon of gods had been in decline since the midfourth century BC when the conquests of Alexander the Great (356–23 BC) reducedthe significance of the Greek city-states whose public cults were based on the worshipof the state gods. Previously religion in Greece had been based on the city-state andhad as its purpose the welfare of the entire community. But the Hellenistic world ofthe eastern Mediterranean that succeeded Alexander’s empire was international andcosmopolitan, in which one’s local or national identity and its associated religion wereoverwhelmed by the reality of belonging to large, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural statesunconnected to the old civic gods. To a great extent, individuals were isolated individuals in a great sea of humanity to the diminution of a consciousness of being membersof a close and clearly-defined community. Consequently, religions appealing to individuals of every ethnic or national origin were readily adopted throughout the Hellenistic world, often blending both Greek and non-Greek elements. These tendencieswere strengthened by the expansion of the Roman Empire to the East in the secondand first centuries BC, tending to render meaningless the previous local or nationalcultures that were now dominated by a state centered far away to the West.What these new and altered religions offered was salvation from the sufferings ofthis world, immortality in the next world and a direct communication with salvificdeities. These new and rapidly growing religions featured esoteric teachings knownonly to their initiates, who took the strictest oaths of secrecy, pledging never to revealthe secrets of the cult to outsiders. Hence these cults are known collectively as theMystery Religions, with the word “mystery” etymologically related to “mysticism.”Like mysticism, the Greek word mysterion, “mystery,” was derived from myein, “toclose,” in this case indicating the closed mouth of the initiates of the cults. The adherents of these mysteries kept their oaths so well that we know almost nothing of theiresoteric secrets.The Mystery Religions arose all over the Eastern world and spread easily throughout the Mediterranean, becoming universal cults. From Greece itself the mysteries ofEleusis developed out of a local agricultural cult celebrating the deliverance ofDemeter’s daughter Persephone from the clutches of Pluto, ruler of the underworld.In the Hellenistic period, the religion began admitting non-Athenians and even nonGreeks, including a number of Roman emperors. The vernal renewal of life thatresulted from Persephone’s annual liberation was allegorized into a symbol of the6Mystics of the Christian Tradition22 February 2001 09:19:51

Color profile: DisabledComposite Default screen— Origins —triumph over death, that is, an immortality that was available to participants in themysteries of Eleusis. The cult attached to the Greek god Dionysos, a god of vegetationand especially of wine, was also associated with the annual celebration of the return ofspring, but it was too marked by orgiastic elements and wild intoxication to be widelyadopted outside of Greece. The essence of the worship of Dionysos was taken over andtamed by the Orphic mysteries, which, on the basis of the rebirth of Dionysos after hewas killed by the Titans, also celebrated the possibility of immortality.The cult of the Great Mother was found under a number of names from AsiaMinor to Syria and on to Mesopotamia, and at Rome she was generally called Cybele.Here, too, there was the promise of rebirth and immortality, expressed in the myth ofher consort Attis, who was killed, or died after castrating himself

of mystics and of mysticism remains one of definition, for there is an astonishingly wide variety of connotations associated with those terms, which was pointed out from the beginning of the “modern” study of mysticism. In 1899 William Ralph Inge, later dean of St. Paul’s Cathed