Ysabel de Andia – författare

Ysabel de Andia’s double exploration of Christian and Hindu mysticism, available in English for the first time.Now available in English for the first time, Ysabel de Andia's double exploration of Christian and Hindu mysticism provides a valuable addition to the field. Composed from lectures given in Benares in 2015 to priests of the Missions Étrangères de Paris, Mystery of God, Mystery of Christ combines the two main research interests that have defined de Andia's career: first, an understanding of Christian mysticism as growing out of the Christian mystery of Christ and the sacrament, and secondly, the relationship between this and Hindu contemplative prayer as articulated by Jules Monchanin.Beginning with the Cappadocian fathers, de Andai traces the developing interpretation of Mystery through Christian thinkers from Origen and Gregory of Nyssa to Basil and Dionysios the Areopagite. From here, she begins to dovetail this study with an exploration of Hindu contemplation, relating the Carmelite mystic St John of the Cross to the Advaitist tradition, especially as expounded by Shankara. Throughout, her masterful understanding of both traditions is apparent. For English readers, her insight will provide a fresh perspective on this lively subject area.

Ysabel de Andia’s double exploration of Christian and Hindu mysticism, available in English for the first time.Now available in English for the first time, Ysabel de Andia's double exploration of Christian and Hindu mysticism provides a valuable addition to the field. Composed from lectures given in Benares in 2015 to priests of the Missions Étrangères de Paris, Mystery of God, Mystery of Christ combines the two main research interests that have defined de Andia's career: first, an understanding of Christian mysticism as growing out of the Christian mystery of Christ and the sacrament, and secondly, the relationship between this and Hindu contemplative prayer as articulated by Jules Monchanin.Beginning with the Cappadocian fathers, de Andai traces the developing interpretation of Mystery through Christian thinkers from Origen and Gregory of Nyssa to Basil and Dionysios the Areopagite. From here, she begins to dovetail this study with an exploration of Hindu contemplation, relating the Carmelite mystic St John of the Cross to the Advaitist tradition, especially as expounded by Shankara. Throughout, her masterful understanding of both traditions is apparent. For English readers, her insight will provide a fresh perspective on this lively subject area.

In the first part of this study, the theme of the union (henosis) is analysed in Dionysius the Areopagite's De Divinis Nominibus. The starting point of this inquiry is the trinitarian theology of Dionysius. He distinguishes between Union (henosis) and distinction (diakrisis), ad intra of the divine Persons and ad extra of the divines names, understood as powers. The movement of procession and conversion of the divine names follows the very structure of the treatise: from the Union to the One, a movement called "the circle of love". In a second moment, the word henosis or the formula henosis hyper noun, "union above the intellect", are analysed in the De divinis nominibus, where they allude to the "union without confusion" of the ideas one with the other, or to the union of intellect with God in the unknowledge.The second part is dedicated to the union with God in the De Mystica Theologia. The author first studies Moses' ascension and his entrance in the Darkness within the tradition of the commentaries of Exodus, such as Philo's or Gregory of Nyssa's treatises De Vita Mosis; she analyses the progress of negative theology towards the mystical union and she tries to identify the "unknown God" with whom the intellect becomes unified in the neoplatonician theory and also in the context of Paul's discourse on the Areopage. She concludes with an examination of the unio mystica and its major features in Pseudo-Dionysius.