The Mystical Church – A Vision for the Future?

Summer Study 2024 Keynote Address by Prof. Volker Leppin.

The ranks of the “spiritual but not religious” are growing rapidly, and church institutions are shrinking. Christianity has rich historic traditions, particularly within mysticism, for personal spiritual practices. How might churches draw on this heritage in ways that both nourish individual spirituality and also draw people together in vibrant communities of faith?

Prof. Volker Leppin is the Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology at Yale Divinity School. His publications on late medieval church history have received many awards. His most prominent work examines Martin Luther against the background of medieval mysticism. His most recent book, "Ruhen in Gott: Eine Geschichte der christlichen Mystik" [Resting in God: A History of Christian Mysticism], analyzes the yearning for God as a centerpiece of Christian faith.

June 4, 2024
Yale Divinity School