Teresianum

Edith Stein’s engagement with Thomist metaphysics and phenomenology led her to develop a unique Christian philosophy that integrates theological insights with philosophical reasoning. Her work, particularly in Finite and Eternal Being, explores the interplay between essence and existence, aligning with but also diverging from the thought of her mentor, Erich Przywara. Stein’s ontology centers on the tension between form and fullness, influencing her understanding of the imago Trinitatis. She proposes that the triadic structure of divine life – being, meaning, and self-giving – is mirrored analogically in all creation. Her innovative approach offers a fresh perspective on Trinitarian thought, emphasizing relationality and participation in divine being.

La pensée d’Edith Stein a pour caractère et attitude fondamentale l’humilité. Celle-ci, en tant que rapport à la vérité, régit à la fois la recherche phénoménologique de la clarté ultime et, au-delà de la conversion, l’entrée dans le mystère. Une grande unité s’étend ainsi sur toute la recherche, chez la jeune phénoménologue comme chez la carmélite, d’une présence pure dont le seul esprit humain n’est pas la mesure.

The fundamental character and attitude of Edith Stein’s thought is humility. Humility, as the relationship to truth, governs both the phenomenological search for ultimate clarity and, beyond conversion, the entry into mystery. A great unity thus extends throughout the search, in the young phenomenologist as in the Carmelite nun, for a pure presence whose measure is not the human spirit alone.

L’articolo prende spunto dalle figure di due santi miafisiti tradizionalmente descritti e raffigurati come carmelitani (Cirillo di Alessandria, al quale diversi storici attribuirono il merito di aver fornito un nome e un ordinamento agli eremiti del Carmelo, e Kaleb di Axum) per tracciare una panoramica dei rapporti fra Chiese ortodosse precalcedonesi e Ordine carmelitano nel corso di quasi quattro secoli (XIV-XVIII), a partire dalle narrazioni tardomedievali volte a ricostruire il mitico passato dei fratres Beatae Mariae in Oriente in un contesto di profonda rivalità con gli altri Ordini mendicanti. Gli storici carmelitani d’età medievale e moderna si resero in questo modo protagonisti di un processo di mediazione che diffuse narrazioni orientali in Occidente, a dispetto delle divergenze cristologiche che separavano entrambi i santi dalla Definizione calcedonese cui la Chiesa cattolica aderisce.

The article draws on the figures of two Miaphysite saints traditionally described and depicted as Carmelites (Cyril of Alexandria, who was credited by several historians with providing a name and a rule for the Carmelite hermits, and Kaleb of Axum) to trace an overview of the relations between the Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches and the Carmelite Order over the course of nearly four centuries (14th-18th), starting with Late Medieval narratives aimed at reconstructing the mythical past of the fratres Beatae Mariae in the East in a context of deep rivalry with the other mendicant Orders. Carmelite historians of Medieval and Modern times thus became the protagonists of a mediation process that spread Eastern narratives to the West, in spite of the Christological divergences that separated both saints from the Chalcedonian Definition to which the Catholic Church adheres.

En mayo de 1613, los carmelitas descalzos Redento de la Cruz y Bartolomé María viajaron desde Isfahán a Ereván y Echmiadzin bajo las directrices del Papa Paulo V y el Prepósito General, P. Juan de Jesús María. Su misión era negociar con Melquisedec, coadjutor de los armenios cismáticos, en un esfuerzo de Roma por consolidar su influencia sobre las comunidades cristianas en Persia. Durante su viaje, documentaron las negociaciones y observaron la situación política y religiosa de la región, los usos y la organización de los armenios cismáticos, leyendas y referencias históricas, así como la pobreza y explotación de los armenios católicos bajo jurisdicción dominicana. A su regreso, intercedieron en Tabriz ante el Sah Abbas I por la comunidad cristiana persa. Sus informes, entregados en Roma a principios de 1614, revelaron la decadencia de la provincia dominicana en Armenia, lo que llevó al general dominico Serafino Secchi a enviar una misión encabezada por Paolo Maria Cittadini para revitalizar la región. Además, los carmelitas documentaron las prácticas religiosas de caldeos, jacobitas y nestorianos a solicitud del Vaticano, en un contexto de crecientes relaciones de Roma con comunidades cristianas globales.

In May 1613, Discalced Carmelites Redento de la Cruz and Bartolomé María embarked on a journey from Isfahan to Erevan and Echmiadzin under the directives of Pope Paul V and the General Superior, Fr. Juan de Jesús María. Their mission was to engage in negotiations with Melchisedec, the coadjutor of the schismatic Armenians, as part of Rome’s broader strategy to consolidate its influence over Christian communities in Persia. Throughout their journey, they meticulously documented the negotiations and provided detailed observations on the region’s political and religious dynamics, as well as the customs and organizational structures of the schismatic Armenians. They also reported on the poverty and exploitation faced by the Armenian Catholics under Dominican jurisdiction. Upon their return, they interceded in Tabriz with Shah Abbas I on behalf of the Persian Christian community. Their reports, delivered to Rome in early 1614, highlighted the decline of the Dominican province in Armenia, prompting Dominican General Serafino Secchi to dispatch a mission led by Paolo Maria Cittadini to revitalize the area. Additionally, the Carmelites recorded the religious practices of Chaldeans, Jacobites, and Nestorians at the Vatican’s request, in a period marked by Rome’s expanding relations with global Christian communities.

The doctrine of two wills in the Son of God incarnate was stated at the sixth ecumenical council in 680-681, endorsing the Christology of St Maximus the Confessor. Appreciation of the doctrine can be enhanced, this article contends, by bringing to bear on it the mystical testimony of St John of the Cross. The justification for such a move is the shared humanity in Jesus and John, and, further, the transformation in Christ which the human John has experienced. Four texts from the Living Flame show human willing lifted up, licked up in the flame of the Holy Spirit, surrendered entirely to God’s will, and thereby become entirely, humanly, free.

Teologia spirituale, 199

Maurizio Aliotta, Tristezza. Una visione cristiana, di Lukasz Strzyz-Steinert, ocd, 199

Roberta Leotta, Gelosia. Un’emozione senza nome?, di Lukasz Strzyz-Steinert, ocd, 200

Marie-Christine Hazaël-Massieux, À la lumière de Dieu. En chemin dans l’intelligence du coeur, di Bernard Lukasz Sawicki, osb, 202

Francesco Zanella, Silenzio dell’uomo e silenzio di Dio. Il motivo del silenzio nella tradizione classica, ebraica e cristiana, di Lucia Laner, ocd, 204

Anna Bissi, Elisa Cagnazzo, Volti di donne. Figure femminili nella Bibbia tra esegesi e psicologia, di Manuela Romano, ocd, 207

Spiritualità carmelitana, 209

Robert McNamara, The Personalism of Edith Stein. A Synthesis of Thomism and Phenomenology, Steven Payne, ocd, 209

Gianni Gennari, Teresa di Lisieux. Maestra di speranza. I segreti di una «dottrina» ritrovata, di Antonella Piccirilli, 211

Gabriele Della Balda, Le Carmelitane di Compiègne. Dalla ghigliottina al Cielo, di Chiara Zacchi, ocd, 213

‘Facing the Abyss’ refers to the liminal and temporal theme of ‘Ontological Distance’ in the poetry of an anonymous Carthusian monk in the period 1964-2024. This article approaches the topic mainly from the perspectives of Catholic monastic spirituality and the Carthusian tradition. The thematic analysis of the selected texts explores the metaphors and expressions employed by the monk-poet to describe the extremity of the ontological distance between the Creator and creatures. The acknowledgment of the extreme ontological distance, rather than leading to existential despair, can become a source of joy and gratitude when viewed through faith. The paper identifies some influences of early Eastern monastic spiritual traditions that echoed in the contemporary Carthusian author’s writings.

This article outlines the patristic understanding of the book of nature. It highlights the ideas of the logoi of creation and the contemplation of nature as the basis for the Fathers’ theology of nature as a divine book. It explores a variety of themes in the book of nature, especially the knowledge of God and the use of nature as a place of loving dialogue with God. It finally argues that the book of nature is not a sufficient principle on its own and explains how this affects the patristic understanding of natural law. The article ends by showing how the liturgical orientation of nature is another way in which nature and Scripture are parallel principles that are called to transcend their own limitations and find their fullness in Christ.