Christian Mystics: Their Lives and Legacies Throughout the Ages

Description

"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, and giving special emphasis to the great high points of mysticism in the medieval, early modern and Eastern Orthodox traditions, the book describes the lives of visionaries including Clement of Alexandria, Saint Bonaventure, Blaise Pascal and Simone Weil. 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.

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