Call for Papers 2 / 2020

Mystics are a special part of the Christian experience. Due to their spiritual journey, they have become a model and a reference on many themes, including ecumenism. At times a stark contrast appears between their spiritual ecumenical approach and the language of the official ecumenical dialogue, whereas at other times one may nurture the other. Mystics exemplify an approach and behaviour whose source is a deep spiritual life rooted in their faith experience.

The last century, marked by two World Wars and important Church Councils, has given to the Christian world a particular generation of clerics, theologians, monks, nuns, pastors and believers who have been creative in finding ways to overcome some of the normal limits imposed by history and denominationalism. The mystics understood their Christian identity not by being pitted against another denomination, but through going deeper into the mystery of Christ. Their spiritual experience leads us to believe that the deeper one goes into the mystery of Jesus Christ, the more the mystery of the undivided Church is likely to arise.

This issue of RES aims to analyse the ways in which the mystics and spiritual guides of the 20th century embraced such courageous attitudes towards the other, the different one. How were they able to free themselves from the present and/or the past, as the biblical prophets once did, and ground their identity in something that has not yet happened or has not yet been fully revealed? What quality of their spiritual experience allowed them to receive the truth, wherever it may be found, and how did they resist the temptation Blaise Pascal raised, of making an idol out of one’s own understanding of the truth?

In this sense, in addition to studies on 20th century, or even prior, Christian mysticism, we also welcome contributions on key-persons (Church leaders or important theologians), key-events (e.g. Second Vatican Council or the Removing of the Anathemas), and also on Ecumenical communities or movements which have fostered the rediscovery of different Christian spiritualities to various Christian denominations.

Deadline: May 1, 2020