Which denominations consider it commendable to pursue a profound mystical union with God?
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If an individual earnestly hungers for deep spirituality, including a desire for attaining a profound degree of sanctification and consecration, but also for a profound, mystical, supernatural relationship with God, which denominations would find this attitude commendable?
My educated guess is that at least Eastern Orthodoxy would.
I say this having in mind saints such as [Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porphyrios_of_Kafsokalyvia) , of whom books have been written, including [*Elder Porphyrios Testimonies and Experiences*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/9606890236) :
> *"Elder, where can we find the solution to our problems?"*
>
> *"Only holiness will solve your problems."*
>
> The realm of the sacred and the transcendent, as expressed by that
> child of God and true man, Elder Porphyrios, belongs to the category
> of the unbelievable. It can however become believable because, «sin
> does not prevail where grace abounds”. Elder Porphyrios was a person
> filled with grace, a bearer of the power of the Holy Spirit, a child
> of the Kingdom, a genuine and true tree of paradise.
>
> Whoever wishes to speak about the inner spiritual life of a saint,
> must be a saint himself. We, the writers of this book, are not saints.
> We are confined to what we saw and what we heard. We are amongst those
> many others, who, as St. Luke the Evangelist says, have “taken in hand
> to set in order a narrative.” We are not trying, with our poor and
> futile speech, to describe the life of a contemporary saint, but
> rather we are falteringly trying to express our joy in having met a
> saint; our joy that Christ lives yesterday, today and forever; our joy
> that holiness is not a thing of the past, that grace can be felt next
> to us, that our hands touched a “little father” who really lived the
> expression “I no longer live, for Christ lives in me.”
>
> Until the Lord reveals the servant who was Elder Porphyrios’
> eye-witness, who observed him throughout his life and in all his works
> and will write about his life accurately and fully, we are forgiven.
> For we have only seen “in part.” We describe, write about and speak of
> the miraculous things that God did for us through His servant,
> Porphyrios.
Is my educated guess correct? Which other denominations share the same sentiment?
---
For a discussion of the meaning of *Christian mysticism* and its biblical basis, see https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/98050/61679 . A closely related concept is *Theosis*: https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/98106/61679 , https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/98092/61679
Asked by user61679
Dec 6, 2023, 08:34 PM
Last activity: Dec 27, 2023, 05:02 PM
Last activity: Dec 27, 2023, 05:02 PM