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"Contemplative reading is a spiritual practice developed by Christian monks in sixth- and seventh-century Mesopotamia. Mystics belonging to the Church of the East pursued a form of contemplation which moved from reading, to meditation, to prayer, to the ecstasy of divine vision. The Library of Paradise tells the story of this Syriac tradition in three phases: its establishment as an ascetic practice, the articulation of its theology, and its maturation and spread. The sixth-century monastic reform of Abraham of Kashkar codified the essential place of reading in East Syrian ascetic life. Once established, the practice of contemplative reading received extensive theological commentary. Abraham's successor Babai the Great drew upon the ascetic system of Evagrius of Pontus to explain the relationship of reading to the monk's pursuit of God. Syriac monastic handbooks of the seventh century built on this Evagrian framework. 'Enanisho' of Adiabene composed an anthology called Paradise that would stand for centuries as essential reading matter for Syriac monks. Dadisho' of Qatar wrote a widely copied commentary on the Paradise. Together, these works circulated as a one-volume library which offered readers a door to "Paradise" through contemplation. The Library of Paradise is the first book-length study of East Syrian contemplative reading. It adapts methodological insights from prior scholarship on reading, including studies on Latin lectio divina. By tracing the origins of East Syrian contemplative reading, this study opens the possibility for future investigation into its legacies, including the tradition's long reception history in Sogdian, Arabic, and Ethiopic monastic libraries."

Spiritual life --- Contemplation --- Eastern churches --- Mental prayer --- Prayer, Mental --- Contemplative orders --- Meditation --- Mysticism --- Prayer --- 281.049 --- 271 <1-11> --- 248.212 --- 248.212 Contemplatie. Extatische vereniging. Geestelijk huwelijk. Gelukzalige aanschouwing --- Contemplatie. Extatische vereniging. Geestelijk huwelijk. Gelukzalige aanschouwing --- 271 <1-11> Kloosterwezen. Religieuze orden en congregaties. Monachisme--Oosten --- 271 <1-11> Ordres religieux. Congregations religieuses. Monachisme--Oosten --- Kloosterwezen. Religieuze orden en congregaties. Monachisme--Oosten --- Ordres religieux. Congregations religieuses. Monachisme--Oosten --- 281.049 Vie monastique dans les Eglises orientales --- 281.049 Monastiek leven in de Oosterse kerken --- Vie monastique dans les Eglises orientales --- Monastiek leven in de Oosterse kerken --- Church history --- Syrian Orthodox monasticism and religious orders --- Monastic and religious life --- Books and reading --- Église --- Églises orientales --- Monachisme et ordres religieux jacobites --- Vie religieuse et monastique --- Livres et lecture --- Religious aspects --- Christianity --- Histoire --- Aspect religieux --- Christianisme --- Church of the East