The Divine Liturgy as Mystical Experience
Most characterizations of mystical experience emphasize its private, esoteric, and non-sensory nature. Such an understanding is far removed from the original meaning of the term mystikos. For the ancient Greeks, the mystical was that which led participants into the awareness of a higher reality, a...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Innsbruck in cooperation with the John Hick Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Birmingham
[2015]
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| In: |
European journal for philosophy of religion
Year: 2015, Volume: 7, Issue: 2, Pages: 137-151 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Orthodox Church
/ Liturgy
/ Spiritual reading
/ Mystical experience
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| RelBib Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism CB Christian life; spirituality RC Liturgy |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) Volltext (teilw. kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Most characterizations of mystical experience emphasize its private, esoteric, and non-sensory nature. Such an understanding is far removed from the original meaning of the term mystikos. For the ancient Greeks, the mystical was that which led participants into the awareness of a higher reality, as in the initiatory rites of the ancient mystery cults. This usage was taken over by the early Church, which similarly designated the Christian sacraments and their rites as mystical because they draw participants into a higher level of reality. I argue that the Divine Liturgy is a form of mystical experience in this sense, and that philosophers have missed a great deal by excluding such communal acts from the scope of mystical experience. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: European journal for philosophy of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.24204/ejpr.v7i2.124 |