ARTICOLI / 4 / Anna Rodolfi /
Ecstasy of God and human rapture in the theology of Albert the Great
In chapter four of the commentary on Dionysius’s De divinis nominibus, Albert the Great explains that ecstasy, understood as a phenomenon that originates from love, belongs only to God, properly speaking. Divine ecstasy takes on a cosmological dimension through which world’s creation can be understood as exclusive effect of God’s absolute goodness. Even if the ecstasy belongs properly only to God, Albert remains deeply interested in those experiences of elevation to the limit of himself that man viator can experience. Experiences of this kind are contemplation, raptus, prophecy and the beatific vision. By examining the quaestio de raptu and commentary on Dionysius’ Mystica theologia, the essay investigates the relationships and differences between ecstasy, rapture and mystical contemplation in Albert’s thought..
