"Ekstasis" as (beyond?) "jouissance": sex, queerness, and apophaticism in the Eastern Orthodox tradition
Ekstasis (ecstasy) is central to Eastern Orthodox theology, an encounter that sets the self on the way towards knowledge of and union with God. Ekstasis is fundamentally apophatic - achieved through the eschewal of cognitive knowledge, and experiential - precipitated by practices that foster self-re...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2015]
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| In: |
Theology & sexuality
Year: 2014, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 89-107 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Orthodox theology
/ Queer theory
/ Ecstasy
/ Apophatic theology
/ Enjoyment
/ Sexual behavior
/ Sexuality
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| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality FD Contextual theology KDF Orthodox Church |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Ekstasis (ecstasy) is central to Eastern Orthodox theology, an encounter that sets the self on the way towards knowledge of and union with God. Ekstasis is fundamentally apophatic - achieved through the eschewal of cognitive knowledge, and experiential - precipitated by practices that foster self-renunciation and transcendence. This article examines how this notion of ecstasy, as narrated in the Orthodox theology of Staniloae and Lossky, can aid, and be aided by, queer theoretical claims regarding sex. Through examining Lacan's notion of jouissance and Bersani's utilization of it, as well as Williams's analysis of sex as "the body's grace," this article explores how sex, particularly orgasm, can function as a spiritual resource, as a site of and practice towards ecstasy. This article concludes with a brief examination of the ethical implications of this frame. |
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| ISSN: | 1355-8358 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Theology & sexuality
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1179/1355835815Z.00000000044 |