Origen and the Mystical Tradition

1. Follows Plotinus' concepts, slightly Christianized, of God – Ideas/Word – All-Soul – individual souls (pre-existent and immortal)

2. We have a kinship with divinity.

3. In present state, contemplation of God occurs through Christ, the Word (Logos)

4. Scripture is thus the path to mystical union with God.

5. Three stages of soul's ascent: moral (purgative), natural (illuminative), contemplative (unitive)

6. The soul in mystical union is what it contemplates.

7. Spiritual senses aid one in soul's journey to God, analogous to physical senses

8. Three-fold meaning of scripture: literal, spiritual, mystical (Song of Songs)

9. The Song of Songs is a metaphor for the union between God and the soul (individual) rather than for the love of God for the Church (communal).