List of mystics

For the definition of mystic, see mysticism .

Christian mystics and historically important authors on mystical theology

• see also: Christian mysticism

Beginnings of Christian mysticism

• Origen (185-254)
• Gregory of Nyssa (around 335/340 – after 394)
• Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
• Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita (around 500)
• Maximus Confessor (580-662)

Christian mystics in the Middle Ages

• St. Bernhard von Clairvaux (* around 1090, † 1153), a doctor of the church ,
• Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179),
• Amalrich von Bena (* in Bène near Chartres; † 1206 or 1207),
• St. Francis of Assisi (1181 / 1182–1226),
• Mechthild von Magdeburg (1207 / 10–1282 / 94), Mechthild von Hackeborn (1241 / 42–1299) and St. Gertrud von Helfta (1256–1301 / 2) all lived in the Cistercian convent Helfta in Eisleben (Saxony-Anhalt),
• Marguerite Porete (1250 / 60-1310), Beguine , wrote the "mirror of the simple soul," the most widespread mystical treatise of the 14th century and was used as a heretic burned at the stake
• Thomas Aquinas (* around 1225, † 1274), one of the most important Catholic church teachers ,
• the Doctors of the Church and Franciscan theologian St. Johannes Bonaventura (before 1221–1274), who also wrote works such as the “Pilgrimage of the Soul to God”
• Agnes Blannbekin (around 1250–1315), Beguine and Franciscan of the Third Order in Vienna, whose visions are handed down in Vita et Revelationes
• Dietrich von Freiberg
• the German theologian and philosopher Meister Eckhart (1260–1328),
• the Augustinian monk Heinrich von Friemar (the Elder) (around 1245-1340), who, partly influenced by Eckhart, wrote the first treatise on the distinction between spirits and the mystical treatises De adventu Verbi in Mentum and Tractatus de adventu Domini,
• Hermann von Fritzlar , whose ascetic prose collection, the "Book of the Holy Life", written from 1343 to 1349, became very influential around 1400,
• the German mystic Johannes Tauler (around 1300-1361), worked in Strasbourg at the time of the plague . With his sermon on the unity of man with God ( unio mystica ) he demanded ethical perfection, which should be actively pursued. This met a strong demand for private piety very much (see: Devotio moderna ),
• Rulman Merswin (1307-1382), merchant and spiritual writer, was one of the " friends of God ",
• Heinrich von Nördlingen (around 1310 – possibly 1379), nuns pastor , friend of Tauler, correspondence provides information about the Upper German or Basel “ friends of God ”, the Upper German translation of Mechthilds von Magdeburg's work The flowing light of the god , was created in his vicinity .
• Sel. Margareta Ebner (1291–1351), a Dominican nun , correspondence with Heinrich von Nördlingen
• Christine Ebner (1277–1356), also a Dominican and a nun, was in contact with Margareta Ebner, but not related
• Blessed Heinrich Seuse (1295–1366), a German mystic, of whom an inner experience of grace , ecstasies and asceticism are reported, some of which are probably of hagiographic origin. As a student at the Studium Generale of the Dominican Order , he was an enthusiastic student of Eckhart , who he defended against critics and railed himself against the brothers of the free spirit ; later, like Eckhart, he was suspected of heresy , his writings are known for their poetic wealth and shape a still widespread one Image of German mysticism . His “Book of Truth” was a popular devotional book in the Middle Ages, his spiritual vita is the first in German (albeit with influences from his spiritual daughter Elsbeth Stagel ),
• Blessed Jan (o. Johannes) van Ruysbroek (o. Ruusbroec o. Rusbrochius) (1293-1381), a Flemish mystic,
• the unknown author of the book God's friend in the Oberland (1346) belonged to a community of men and women under their own lay piety were ethical renewal rather than clerical bound piety,
• Thomas von Kempen (1380–1471) is the author of the Imitation of Christ (De imitatione Christi), the most famous work of the so-called Devotio moderna ,
• Hendrik Herp († 1477/78), influential Flemish preacher and author of mystical writings,
• Niklaus von Flüe (Brother Klaus) (1417–1487) is one of the last late medieval mystics. Because of the papal schism , large parts of the Swiss Confederation were excommunicated , which gave rise to lay movements . Niklaus was influenced by the circle of mystics of the Engelberg monastery and the Strasbourg friends of God ; ascetic fasting and a tower experience in his youth are reported about him , as well as an experience of light that made him return home from the hermitage ; he worked as a political advisor, thus combining mysticism and politics. In addition to proverbs and rhyming prayers, a popular devotional text that was not written by him but reproduced his or related words has come down to us.

Mysticism in modern times (16th - 19th centuries)

Important representatives of Christian mysticism in the 16th century are St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross , who founded the women's and men's orders of the barefoot Carmelites and received the honorary title Doctor mysticus (teacher of mysticism) from the Catholic Church .

• the Spanish mystic St. Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) founded Carmelite monasteries , including the first women's monastery in Spain, was active in pastoral care and wrote spiritual texts. The "Inner Castle" describes the way into the innermost part of the human being. She is known for her preaching of friendship with God.
• the Spanish mystic John of the Cross (1542–1591) was won over by Theresa of Avila for reforms of the Carmelite order, lived strictly ascetic and sought a passionate spirituality. His ecstatic visions were reflected in a spiritual poetry.

Other important mystics of this time were:

• St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) with his retreat ,
• Johann von Staupitz (around 1465–1524), cath. Theologian and professor. He wrote numerous writings that were heavily influenced by medieval mysticism. Known primarily as a confessor and patron of Martin Luther .
• Martin Luther (1483–1546) was deeply rooted in the mystical tradition: his confessor Johann von Staupitz and corresponding earlier writings (especially Johannes Tauler and Theologia deutsch ) deeply shaped the development of his Reformation views and his teachings of justification and the priesthood of all believers . However, Martin Luther later turned sharply against the so-called enthusiasts . This was primarily for political reasons, but it caused innumerable confusion and further divisions .
• Sebastian Franck (1499–1542 / 3), first a Catholic priest, then converted to Protestantism and worked as a Lutheran pastor. Pacifist , writer. In 1528 he renounced all denominations and developed his own ideas of a dogma-free Christianity of the heart.
• Valentin Weigel (1533–1588), a German pastor, mystical - theosophical writer. Throughout his life he hid his mystical conceptions, which were close to Sebastian Franck and Jakob Böhme . It was not until twenty years after his death that many of his writings, promoted by his successor and his sons, were put to print. In 1626 his books were publicly burned.
• Francis de Sales (1567–1622), bishop, doctor of the church
• Jakob Böhme (1575–1624)
• Angelus Silesius (actually: Johann Scheffler; 1624–1677)
• Jacques Bertot (1622–1681), Madame Guyon's soul guide when she was young.
• Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de La Motte Guyon (1648–1717), known as Madame Guyon, was an important exponent of mystical quietism.
• Giovanni Battista Scaramelli (1687–1752), Italian Jesuit, author of ascetic and mystical writings.
• Daniel Czepko (1605–1660), a German poet and playwright. Most of his works remained unprinted during his lifetime due to censorship.
• Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769), a German theologian , Lower Rhine preacher , pastor , writer and mystic of Reformed Pietism .
• George Fox (1624–1691), the founding father of the Quakers
• Johann Valentin Andreae was the founder of the Rosicrucians .
• Emanuel Swedenborg formulated his own teaching system, which later led to the foundation of the New Church ( Church of the New Jerusalem ).
• Jean Nicolas Grou (1731–1803), French Jesuit, author of numerous ascetic and mystical writings.
• Jakob Lorber (1800–1864), Catholic musician, who, as "God's clerk", wrote a "New Revelation" in 25 voluminous volumes, supposedly dictated by God
• Carl Welkisch (1888–1984), mystic and spiritual healer. His main work "In the Spirit Fire of God" deals with the penetration of body matter by the Spirit of God (spiritualization).

Christian mysticism in the Orthodox Church

See: List of Starzen .

Christian mysticism today (20th - 21st centuries, in alphabetical order)

• Rut Björkman , author
• Henri Boulad , Egyptian Jesuit, Caritas director and book author
• Madeleine Delbrêl , “Mystic of the Street”, a French writer and Catholic social worker
• Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle
• Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961), an independent Swedish State Secretary, second UN Secretary General, Nobel Peace Prize winner ; left the spiritual diary Vägmärken ("Signs on the Way"), which was only known and published after his death and which revealed an explicitly mystical content
• Thomas Keating , co-founder of Centering Prayer
• Frank Laubach
• Peryt Shou
• David Steindl-Rast
• Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
• Simone Weil
• Francisco Whitaker Ferreira , a liberation theologically oriented Catholic activist from Brazil, co-founder of the World Social Forum and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award

In the German-speaking area, for example:

• Carl Albrecht , a prominent Bremen doctor who, through his work with autogenic training, came to pioneering philosophical-phenomenological studies of mystical states of consciousness and who in the course of time changed from a scientifically skeptical researcher of the phenomenon of mysticism to one of the most important Christian mystics of the modern age
• Franz Bernhard Ammann
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Anselm Grün , who speaks of the “inner space of silence in which God is born in us”, which creates freedom when you come into contact with him (Anselm Grün, Der Glaube der Christisten, p. 149). Furthermore, for him, mysticism is one with God, with oneself and with all people. Such moments of oneness put an end to the inner turmoil and are moments of self-development or individuation in the sense of CG Jung (ibid., P. 149). Mysticism is a way of real human incarnation that leads us to our true selves, and a way of deeper experience of God (ibid., P. 150).
• Willigis Jäger , a Benedictine monk and also a Buddhist teacher
• Gustav Landauer , skeptic as well as mystic, fundamentally as a form of "atheistic theology" less confessionally bound
• Rupert Lay , Jesuit and author
• Fritz Mauthner , godless mysticism (1923)
• Christian Morgenstern
• Dorothee Sölle
• Edith Stein , canonized Carmelite and philosopher who was murdered in the concentration camp and converted from Judaism
• Charles Waldemar
• Gerhard Wehr , author
• Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker , natural philosopher
• Jörg Zink

Islamic mystics

• see: Category: Sufi
• see also: Sufism

Jewish mystics

• see also: Kabbalah
• see also: Hasidism

Shimon ben Jochai (2nd century AD)

Abraham Abulafia (1240 – after 1291)

Mosche de Leon (around 1250–1305)

Isaac Luria (1534–1572)

Baal Schem Tow (around 1700–1760)

Rabbi Nachman von Brazlaw (1772–1810)

Zemach Zedek (1789–1866)

Abraham Isaak Kook (1865-1935)

Friedrich Weinreb (1910–1988)

Etty Hillesum (1914–1943), Jewish teacher from the Netherlands who was murdered in the concentration camp

Hinduism

• See also: Hinduism

Shankara (788-820)

Andal (8th / 10th century?)

Lalleshwari (1320-1392)

Chaitanya (1486-1533)

Mirabai (1498-1546)

Tukaram (1608-1649)

Ramakrishna (1836-1886)

Vivekananda (1863-1902)

Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)

Yogananda (1893-1952)

Anandamayi Ma (1896-1982)

Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981)

Gopi Krishna (1903-1984)

Mooji (1954)

Sikhism

• see also: Sikhism

The "ten gurus" are:

Nanak Dev (1469-1539)

Amar Das (1479–1574)

Angad Dev (1504-1552)

Ram Das (1534–1581)

Arjan Dev (1563-1606)

Har Gobind (1595-1644)

Har Rai (1630-1661)

Har Krishan (1656-1664)

Tegh Bahadur (1621-1675)

Gobind Singh (1666-1708)

Other mystics

Coming from other traditions, independent or not clearly assignable:

Plotinus (around 205 – around 270)

Kabir (1440-1518)

Shiv Dayal Singh (1818-1878)

Beinsa Duno (1864–1944)

Aurobindo Ghose (1872–1950)

Mira Alfassa (1878–1973)

Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986)

Georges Bataille (1897–1962)

David R. Hawkins (1927-2012)

Osho (1931-1990)

Eckhart Tolle (1948)

OM C. Parkin (1962)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gerhard Wehr : The German mysticism: life and inspiration of godly people in the Middle Ages and modern times. Anaconda, Cologne 2006, ISBN 3-938484-86-1 .