“Mystical Theology: Introducing the Theology and Spiritual Life of the Orthodox Church”, with Prof. Christopher Veniamin

Mystical Theology: Introducing the Theology and Spiritual Life of the Orthodox Church, with particular reference to the Holy Bible and the witness of the Church Fathers, past and present. Available Units thus far:

Unit 1: Introduction: Holy Scripture, Greek Philosophy, Philo of Alexandria
Unit 2: Irenaeus of Lyons
Unit 3: Clement the Alexandrian
Unit 4: Origen
Unit 5: Athanasius the Great
Unit 6: The Cappadocian Fathers
Unit 7: Augustine of Hippo

Unit 14: Gregory Palamas

Unit 15: John of the Ladder
Unit 16: Silouan and Sophrony the Athonites

Bookclub Series: Saint Silouan the Athonite, by St. Sophrony the Athonite
Unit 1: Spiritual Warfare, Part 1

Recommended background reading: Christopher Veniamin, ed., Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies ; and The Enlargement of the Heart, by Archimandrite Zacharias ; Christopher Veniamin, ed., Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies (Dalton PA: 2022) ; The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation: "Theosis" in Scripture and Tradition (2016) ; The Transfiguration of Christ in Greek Patristic Literature (2022) ; and Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos, Empirical Dogmatics of the Orthodox Catholic Church: According to the Spoken Teaching of Father John Romanides, Vol. 1 (2012), Vol. 2 (repr. ed. 2020).

It is hoped that these presentations will help the enquirer discern the profound interrelationship between Orthodox theology and the Orthodox Christian life, and to identify the ascetic and pastoral significance of the Orthodox ethos contained therein.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I wish to express my indebtedness to the spoken and written traditions of Sts Silouan and Sophrony the Athonites, Fr. Zacharias Zacharou, Fr. Kyrill Akon, Fr. Raphael Noica, Fr. Symeon Brüschweiler; Fr. John Romanides, Fr. Pavlos Englezakis, Fr. Georges Florovsky, Prof. Constantine Scouteris, Prof. George Mantzarides, Prof. John Fountoulis, Mtp Hierotheos Vlachos, Mtp Kallistos Ware, and Prof. Panayiotes Chrestou. My presentations have been enriched by all of the above sources. Responsibility however for the content of my presentations is of course mine alone. ©Christopher Veniamin 2024