Religious anthropology of ascetic experience in the philosophical dimension of spirituality

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the genesis of asceticism as a spiritual and philosophical phenomenon, which was formed within the framework of pre-Christian traditions and found its fullest expression in Christian ascetic practice. The study reveals the philosophical and religious content of asceticism as a multi-level process of self-improvement, encompassing the moral, social, ritual, ontological and mystical dimensions of human existence. It is emphasized that asceticism in its original meaning appears as a way of spiritual purification of life, aimed at harmonizing a person with the transcendent. The distinction between the ritual and ceremonial forms of Old Testament asceticism and the philosophical and ethical practices of antiquity, which laid the foundations of a spiritual discipline focused on inner freedom and moral improvement, is established. It is proven that Hellenistic and Old Testament asceticism had a common vector of development aimed at purifying human nature from passions and directing it to a higher spiritual reality. The conceptual difference between the pre-Christian and Christian understanding of asceticism is revealed. The first was a form of ritual purity or moral self-control, the second is transformed into an ontological path of deification, merging with the Divine through love, self-denial and spiritual perfection. Christian asceticism is viewed as a metaphysical imitation of Christ, in which a person overcomes the dualism of spirit and body, earthly and heavenly, achieving a state of spiritual fullness. It is emphasized that as a result of the evolution of ascetic practices, a new anthropological paradigm is formed, in the center of which is a person as a being called to freedom, moral integrity and communion with the Absolute. Christian monasticism, which arises on the basis of this tradition, expresses the spiritual maturity of religious experience, in which asceticism becomes not an external requirement, but a form of internal ontological dialogue between the human and the divine. Thus, asceticism is interpreted as a universal philosophical and religious model of the spiritual formation of man, which ensured continuity between ancient spiritual practices and the Christian ideal of holiness.