Paul Gavrilyuk
Paul Gavrilyuk holds the Aquinas Chair in Theology and Philosophy. He specializes in Greek patristics, modern Orthodox theology, and philosophy of religion.
His works include The Spiritual Senses: Perceiving God in Western Christianity (co-edited with Sarah Coakley, Cambridge, 2012); The Suffering of the Impassible God. The Dialectics of Patristic Thought (2006); Georges Florovsky and the Russian Religious Renaissance (2013).
Discernment and the Spiritual Senses in Origen
ABSTRACT
The paper explores a connection between discernment and spiritual perception. The discussion proceeds in four main steps. First, discernment as a practice underlying most Christian practices is introduced. Second, a distinction is made between judgment and perception, and it is argued that discernment involves both. Third, the concept of spiritual perception is introduced and the models of such perception are briefly discussed. Finally, drawing on John Climacus’ Ladder of Divine Ascent, a connection is established between discernment and spiritual perception.