Utopias of wisdom and holy madness: Essay on Christian mysticism of early Byzantine roots

Abstract

The author shows us in this article four mystical fables that have shaped early Byzantine spirituality, considering both the Greco-Byzantine mystic of the II to V centuries, as the "ascending phase" which extends from the VI to the X centuries, being these Anthonys Fable, Evagrius Ponticus fable, the Spiritual Scale Juan Climaco’s fable and that of the Holy Fools. The paper concludes by noting that the early Byzantine spirituality was configured as a "spirituality of the heart", while the bad thoughts come from outside the heart, from the demons that haunt the human heart.