Mysticism

Nearly five years ago now when the hardcover version was released, I drew attention to The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Christian Mysticism edited by Julia Lamm. This month, Wiley has released a much more affordable paperback version of the collection, which contains contributions from a number of noted Orthodox authors, including Bogdan Bucur, Augustine Casiday, George Demacopoulos, and Paul Gavrilyuk; and a number of chapters on Eastern periods or areas, including the Syriac tradition.

This collection, the publisher tells us,

brings together a team of leading international scholars to explore the origins, evolution, and contemporary debates relating to Christian mystics, texts, and the movements they inspired.

• Provides a comprehensive and engaging account of Christian mysticism, from its origins right up to the present day
• Draws on the best of current scholarship by bringing together a collection of newly-commissioned readings by leading scholars
• Considers examples of mysticism in both Eastern and Western Christianity
• Offers a brilliant synthesis of the key figures and historical periods of mysticism; its core themes, such as heresy, gender, or aesthetics; and its theoretical considerations, including theological, literary, social scientific, and philosophical approaches
• Features chapters on current debates such as neuroscience and mystical experience, and inter-religious dialogue