The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian

332 Pages·2000·11.938 MB·English

by  Hilarion Alfeyev

The Spiritual World of
ISAAC the SYR1AD
by tlllarlon Alfeyev

Cistercian Studies Series: Number one hundred seventy-five
Hilarion Alfeyev
THE SPIRITUAL WORLD OL ISAAC THE SYRIAN

Cistercian Studies Series: Number one hundred seventy-five
THE SPIRITUAL WORLD
OL ISAAC THE SYRIAN
by
Hilarion Alfeyev
Foreword by
Bishop Kallistos [Ware] of Diokleia
Cistercian Publications
Kalamazoo, Michigan — Spencer, Massachusetts
Thomas J. Bata Library
TRENT UNIVERSITY
PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO
© Copyright 2000 by Cistercian Publications, Inc.
First published in ad 2000 by
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For my teacher
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Forword
Bishop Kallistos [Ware] 9
Introduction. Isaac of Nineveh as a Spiritual Writer
of the Church of the East 15
1. The Church of the East at the Time of Isaac 16
2. The Christology of the Church of tire East 20
3. The Life of Isaac the Syrian 25
4. The Writings of Isaac 29
5. The Sources of Isaac’s Theology 32
Chapter I. God, the Universe and Humankind 35
1. Divine Love which Reveals Itself through the Created World 35
2. The Structure of the Created World 43
3. The Incarnation 49
Chapter II. The Way of a Solitary 61
1. Solitude and Renunciation of the World 61
2. Love of God and Love of One’s Neighbour 67
3. Stillness and Silence 77
4. A Monastic Way to God 81
Chapter III. Trials on the Way to God 91
1. Temptations 91
2. Experience of Abandonment 101
Chapter IV. Humility 111
1. Humility as Assimilation to God 111
2. Humility as an Inner Quality 116
3. External Signs of Humility 123
Chapter V. Tears 129
1. Repentance 129
2. Bitter and Sweet Tears 134
Chapter VI. The School of Prayer 143
1. Prayer 144
2. Outward Aspects of Prayer 150
3. Prayer before the Cross 163
4. Reading 174
5. Night Prayer 184
6. The ‘Rule of Slavery’ and the ‘Rule of Freedom’ 193
7. Prayer for the World 201
8. Meditation on God and ‘Pure Prayer’ 208
Chapter VTI. The Life in God 217
1. ‘Spiritual Prayer’ and the Stillness of Mind 21.8
2. Contemplation 223
3. Visions, Revelations, Insights 229
4. ‘Overshadowing’ and ‘Illumination’ 236
5. Wonder 241
6. ‘Inebriation’ by the Love of God 248
7. Faith and Knowledge 256
Chapter VIII. The Life of the Age to Come 269
1. Meditation on the Future World 270
2. Life after Death 274
3. Eternal Punishment or Universal Salvation? 283
4. Divine Love which Reveals Itself in the Final Destiny
of the World 292
Conclusion: The Enduring Influence of Saint Isaac 299
Bibliography 303
Index of Syriac Terms 313
General Index 315