T8191 – Contemplative, Charismatic, Visionary Experiences

Unit Code

T8191

Unit Name

Contemplative, Charismatic, Visionary Experiences

Unit Weighting

9  Credit Points

Type of Unit

Specialised

Prerequisites, corequisites or exclusions

9 credit points of a Theology unit (i.e “Introduction to Theology” or “Church Fathers: An Introduction”)

Academic Staff

Very Rev. Dr Doru Costache, BTh (Bucharest 1993), PhD (Bucharest 2000), Senior Lecturer

Content

Contemporary people look for ways of counteracting the pressures and stress of duty, information overload, and social life. As a result, meditation and other spiritual practices are becoming more widespread as people search for serenity. But, in the absence of a tradition as a context for validation, it is difficult to ascertain the effects of such practices on a long run. The Christian spiritual tradition has its own ways of addressing issues such as stress, burnout, fatigue, despondency etc. It also has the advantage of having assessed the outcomes of relevant practices through the ages. This unit discusses techniques of nature contemplation (Clement, Athanasius) and scriptural anagogical reading (Origen, Evagrius), together with measurements of these practices from the viewpoint of their anthropological efficacy in terms of “divine sense-perception” (Athanasius, Diadochus, Maximus), dreaming and visions (Antony, Athanasius, Evagrius), and other charismatic experiences, such as the “burning heart” (miscellaneous philokalic authors). The unit suggests ways of integrating techniques of scriptural and natural contemplation into the contemporary quest for serenity, against the backdrop of Eastern and Oriental Christian spiritual traditions.

Unit Weekly Schedule

Week 1 Spiritual practices in an age of stress and anxiety
Week 2 Traditional Christian practices: Ways of fasting
Week 3 Traditional Christian practices: Nature contemplation
Week 4 Traditional Christian practices: Culture contemplation
Week 5 Traditional Christian practices: Scriptural contemplation
Week 6 Traditional Christian practices: Reflective prayer
Week 7 Measuring spiritual progress: Serenity
Week 8 Measuring spiritual progress: Attentiveness 
Week 9 Measuring spiritual progress: Compassion
Week 10 Measuring spiritual progress: Visionary experiences
Week 11 Measuring spiritual progress: Charismatic experiences
Week 12 Spiritual practices for a hectic life