PreNicene Ascetical and Mystical Literature

Catalog description

A survey of Christian literature primarily from East of the Adriatic (at least as presently constituted), dealing with asceticism and the "visio Dei." Begins with Old Testament materials, looks at intertestamental literature including the Qumran Scrolls, and trajectories extending from the Second Temple to Rabbinic-era, Jewish mystical texts. Then moves to the New Testament, with special attention to Paul and Luke-Acts, and continues through the early martyrologies and New Testament apocrypha, in particular the apocryphal acts of the Apostles, and early Manichean materials. Concludes with the Alexandrians, Clement and Origen, and possibly Methodius of Olympus at the turn of the 4th century.