Training the Self to Receive the Light of Truth
Syriac Spirituality from the Evagrian Tradition to Gregory Bar Hebraeus (d. 1286CE)
The editorial board of Studies in Spirituality, together with the Titus Brandsma Institute, would like to invite you to the second Studies in Spirituality Lecture. This event is organised in cooperation with the Catholic Study Network.
Theme of the lecture
In the Syriac literature of monastic spirituality, there is a persistent contrast made between the knowledge gained by the gnostics through the illumination of the mind by the Spirit, and the knowledge which is acquired through the formal study of books. Gregory Bar Hebraeus’ emphasis on the spiritual training in receiving divine truth can be traced back to the 4th century ascetic Evagrius Ponticus, whose Chapters of Knowledge was translated into Syriac from the Greek and whose influence is particularly evident in the 8th century East Syrian mystic Isaac of Nineveh. Bar Hebraeus incorporates Evagrian features into his spiritual texts to develop a terminology for mystical science that is quite distinct from other disciplines of scientific learning.
