Sophia: The Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton [Hardcover]

Christopher Pramuk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0814653901 | ISBN-13: 978-0814653906 | Edition: First Edition (1 in number line)

While numerous studies have celebrated Thomas Merton's witness as an interfaith pioneer, poet, and peacemaker, there have been few systematic treatments of his Christology as such, and no sustained exploration to date of his relationship to the Russian "Sophia" tradition. This book looks to Thomas Merton as a "classic" theologian of the Christian tradition from East to West, and offers an interpretation of his mature Christology, with special attention to his remarkable prose poem of 1962, Hagia Sophia. Bringing Merton's mystical-prophetic vision fully into dialogue with contemporary Christology, Russian sophiology, and Zen, as well as figures such as John Henry Newman and Abraham Joshua Heschel, the author carefully but boldly builds the case that Sophia, the same theological eros that animated Merton's religious imagination in a period of tremendous fragmentation and violence, might infuse new vitality into our own. A study of uncommon depth and scope, inspired throughout by Merton's extraordinary catholicity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Pramuk's work is, far and away, the most sophisticated theological study ever done on the writings of Thomas Merton. It sets a very high bar for anyone else who intends to comment on the writings of the monk whose writings, nearly a half century after his death, still exert such a powerful influence on contemporary religious seekers." --Lawrence S. Cunningham, John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology, The University of Notre Dame

Christopher Pramuk's Sophia: the Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton is, dare it be said, a gorgeous book. Its beautifully crafted pages are full of insight about Merton and his "sapiential" theological method, the poetical and mystical manner in which he lived into the rich symbolic matrix of faith and drew from it living wisdom, made luminous by his engagement with non-western religions, Eastern Orthodox thought and the kataphatic and apophatic modes of knowing of his own tradition. Moreover, Sophia invites the reader into a compelling meditation on the doing of theology in the contemporary world. It affirms the need for a bold theological imagination and a faith intensely aware of Sophia, the divine presence alive in the world. --Wendy M. Wright, Professor of Theology, John C. Kenefick Faculty Chair in the Humanities, Creighton University

Without a doubt, this is the most important piece of Merton scholarship, and the most elegant, beautifully styled and discerning study of Merton's thinking in many, many years. . . Christopher Pramuk, I believe, has changed the way we look at Thomas Merton's theological work. Others to be sure, have grasped at some of the lines of this sketch, but no one has been able to connect so many apparently disparate images and impressions, to see a real direction to Merton's creative, certainly non-academic approach. Not only do we receive a powerful interpretation of much of Merton's thinking, we also find ourselves connected very beautifully to the man, the person, and the experiences of his life. This is a marvelous book. --Michael Plekon, Professor, Sociology/Anthropology, Program in Religion & Culture, Baruch College of the City University of New York, St Gregory the Theologian Orthodox Church, Wappingers Falls NY

About the Author

Christopher Pramuk holds a PhD in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame and teaches at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the author of two books exploring young adult spirituality and numerous essays in the areas of Christology and theology of religions, Black theology and race relations in the United States, and sexuality in Christian spirituality.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Liturgical Pr; First Edition (1 in number line) edition (October 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814653901
• ISBN-13: 978-0814653906
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher Pramuk lives with his wife Lauri, a pediatrician, and their four children in Cincinnati, where he teaches theology and spirituality at Xavier University. His award-winning essays have appeared in America magazine, Theological Studies, Cross Currents, and the prayer journal Give Us This Day. He is the author of four books, including "Hope Sings, So Beautiful: Graced Encounters Across the Color Line" (Liturgical, 2013) and "Sophia: The Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton" (Michael Glazier, 2009), which was awarded the International Thomas Merton Society's 2011 "Thomas Merton Award," a.k.a. "The Louie," its highest honor. A lifelong musician and student of African American history and spirituality, Pramuk's present work focuses on racial justice and interracial solidarity in society and church.

Links to his blog and many essays can be found at www.HopeSingsSoBeautiful.org.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 64 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Astounding. Merton for the 21st century and beyond November 11, 2009

By D. Kovacs

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

After reading Merton's biography, I was especially intrigued with his prose poem "Hagia Sophia" and was sad to find that there was not much further information available regarding this "secret" work, as Merton characterized it. With the publication of this astonishingly good book, that is no longer the case. The author Christopher Pramuk delves into the heart of Merton's mystical approach to theology, places it within the context of the Church's tradition, and shows us why it merits sustained consideration in the Church today. While thorough scholarship is evident throughout, it is definitely not a dry read as it imaginatively takes us through lessons from Newman and Heschel as well as the Russian theologians Soloviev and Bulgakov. This book powerfully conveys to the reader the reality of the "sacramental imagination" as experienced by Merton and reminds us that the forms which guided him on the journey (scripture, liturgy, iconography, sacred music, poetry, theology) are there to guide us too. For help along the way, you couldn't ask for better companions than Merton's writings and this book. It is an astounding gift to those who truly wish to live hidden in Christ.

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Christ, Russia, and a strange poem by Merton May 24, 2010

By John C. Marshell Jr.

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

There are many fine books available about Thomas Merton. There is of course the "official" biography by Michael Mott entitledThe Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton, William Shannon's Silent Lamp: The Thomas Merton Story, and Basil Pennington's more personable reflection in Thomas Merton: MY BROTHER, all these titles have their merits and insights into one of the most interesting spiritual writers of the 20th century. But like most biographies, their overriding concern is chronology and narrative; they dwell briefly or only sketch Merton's intellectual life and theological interests. Finding books that discuss Merton in depth is harder to do. If you seek a more analytical and critical investigation into Merton's thinking, I would recommend Christopher Pramuk's fine effort to investigate Merton's Christology.

One of the great myths of Merton's life concerns his interests in Buddhism and Taoism. You can still meet people who think Merton was going to renounce Christianity and become Buddhist, and that his travels to Asian countries indicates a break in his life with Christianity and his monastic community. Pramuk's book illustrates pretty clearly that Merton had from the middle 1950's until his death firmly grounded his spiritual life in patristics and the Russian theological tradition, and that Christ, not Siddartha Gautama, was the focus of his spiritual interests. His deep interest in the Sophiological tradition and his readings in Bulgakov, Evdokimov, Soloviev, as well as his relationship with Boris Pasternak are reviewed and examined in some detail by Pramuk and reveal a monk immersed in his Christian theology, not simply an intellectual understanding, but a well integrated and dynamic interaction with Wisdom in the Trinity and reflected in the world. This theological growth coincided with Merton's growth as a poet and produced the prose poem "Hagia Sophia." Until I read Pramuk's book, I did not fully understand the significance of this somewhat odd piece in the Merton corpus, but his skillful investigation makes clear that it reveals much of Merton's thinking and should not escape the attention of those wishing to understand Merton's Christianity and his inner life. Though there are theological issues with the Sophiological tradition (How orthodox is it?), Pramuk explores these concerns and finds Merton was pretty good at maintaining a sound theological footing despite the pitfalls.

My criticism of the book? Pramuk's writing style is a little "heavy" and geared for the educated reader, not the sort of writing a casual Christian can warm to. If you are not well versed in Merton, don't buy this book until you have become more familiar with him. Sometimes Merton gets "hidden" in Pramuk's efforts to analyze him. Pramuk can cite and quote theologians as diverse as David Tracy, Cardinal Newman, and Abraham Heschel in the course of a few pages. There is also an incompleteness to Pramuk's analysis, and despite all the name dropping, Pramuk appears to have little concern for genuine influences in Merton's evolution that mirror the Sophiological tradition. Notably, Pramuk neglects English Romantic poets and the Franciscan spiritual tradition, both of which Merton was well versed. A good book to reference in this regard is Ross Labrie'sThomas Merton and the Inclusive Imagination. Though it is an academic work as well, Labrie, I think, does a much better job for the general reader in revealing Merton's intellectual influences. Also, Merton's interpretation of Evagrius' theoria physike could have been a little clearer, and I think the Pennington book cited above may provide a better explanation of Merton's understanding of this concept. Pramuk also delves into Merton's "robust doctrine of the 'true self,'" but I felt that the uninitiated reader may not fully understand its importance. There is a book (I think now out of print) by Thomas King,Merton: Mystic at the Center of America (Way of the Christian Mystics), that disusses Merton's concepts of the self and could really be helpful in this regard.

Pramuk's study is as much a literary analysis as it is a theological investigation, and you will find some interesting insights into Biblical interpretation, hermeneutics, and symbolism. Overall, a good book if you are ready for it.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!!! August 27, 2012

By Robert W. McCormick

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Excellent book, highly recommend reading this book as it is a wonderful look into the writings of Thomas Merton and who he is and what he is all about.