canonical christian mysticism Greek

Anabasis ἀνάβασις

ascent (default in Christian contemplative usage; Moses's ascent of Sinai as the type)

Anabasis (ἀνάβασις) — The Sinai ascent (Exodus 24, 33-34) read typologically by Gregory and Pseudo-Dionysius as the structural figure of every contemplative itinerary. Distinguished from katabasis (descent). The ascent of Moses into the gnophos is the canonical Christian-apophatic anabasis.

Etymology

[STUB: editor to author etymology, root, and morphological notes.]

Cross-tradition resonance

Related terms across traditions (each relation is a stub the editor expands):

  • Merkavah (jewish-mysticism) — [STUB: editor to expand — parallel-contemplative-ascent-tradition]
  • Miraj (islamic-mysticism) — [STUB: editor to expand — parallel-prophetic-ascent]

Primary sources

[STUB: editor to list locus classicus and other canonical attestations.]

Scholarly literature

[STUB: editor to list standard secondary scholarship.]

Tradition
christian mysticism
Language
Greek
Script
Greek
Last revised
2026-05-02

Hekhal Editorial

Cite this page

Stable URLs are part of the editorial commitment. This address will not change.

Hekhal Editorial. "Anabasis." Hekhal: An Open Reference for Esoteric Tradition. Last modified May 2, 2026. https://hekhal.org/lexicon/anabasis.