Ascetical Theology

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Abstract Ascetical theology is the branch of theology that studies the nature of Christian asceticism and Christian perfection. “Asceticism” comes from the Greek askēsis and literally means exercise, practice, or training. In the early Christian church askēsis referred to the study of the sacred scriptures (Origen, Contra Celsus 7.60) and bodily discipline (Basil of Caesarea, Ep. 81.1); it was also used as a technical term for the monastic life (Athanasius, Life of Anthony , Prologue). Jordan Aumann writes that “a Polish Franciscan named Dobrosielski introduced the word ascetical into the Latin usage of western theology in 1655” (Aumann 1980, 14). Roman Catholic theologians of the early 19th century began in earnest to make a distinction between ascetical theology and other areas of theology. For example, according to Adolphe Tanquerey, ascetical theology is one of the three parts of theology, the other two fields being dogmatic and moral. For Tanquerey, ascetical theology has its foundation in dogma that depends upon and completes moral theology — ascetical theology directs dogmatic truths toward practice and moves beyond moral theology in that it insists “on a higher degree of virtue than strictly obligatory. Ascetical Theology, then, is truly the science of Christian perfection ” (Tanquerey 1932, 5). According to ascetical theology, the Christian life is often divided into three stages: the purgative, the illuminative, and the unitive. The purgative way stresses cleansing from sin, the illuminative way is growth in Christian virtue, and the unitive way focuses on union with God. In a most general sense, ascetical theology is the study of Christian discipline and the spiritual life, rooted in the study of the sacred scriptures and Christian tradition. In 1910 Pope Benedict XV established the first academic chairs in ascetical theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) and the Pontifical University Gregoriana, both in Rome.