My name is Sister Anastasia and I am a member of the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great of Egypt, in Phoenix, Arizona. Following my conversion to Christianity from deep immersion in pagan religions and secular ideology, the Lord blessed me with the opportunity of writing about my encounter with Him, which turned into a recently published book, You Are Mine (SVS Press).
Apocalypse, a weekly newsletter that reflects on the inner experience of the mystical life, with a particular focus on the blessed release from the prison of addiction that Christ has bought for us through His crucifixion, builds on the topics touched on in the book, bringing them into the communal, online space of Substack.
Apocalypse? It’s not what you’re thinking. Although, of course, some of the themes associated with the sci-fi genre are theological in origin, apocalypse (from the Greek, apokalúptein, “to reveal, uncover”) in this context is signalling the revelation of hidden mysteries, which are unveiled layer by layer, on the path to holiness.
The purpose of this newsletter is to communicate the fact that sanctification is a process, and one that is gradually accessed by way of, experienced through, and has significant effects on, our bodies and the shifting thoughts, emotions, impulses, drives, behaviors and beliefs that erupt out of them.
Thus, this newsletter is a practical, experiential guide of sorts, to the interior experience of mystical theology and the elevation into grace that it offers, to those who approach it with an open heart. A “practical guide to mystical theology” is, however, a misnomer, because the practical is the mystical and the mystical is the practical: they are one and the same thing. The point it action. Doing.
Exploring the variety of experience that constitutes encountering and knowing God, and the peace, joy, purity and freedom that come as a result of breaking our superficial attachments to the things of the world, I will examine and describe the different things that we are taught to do, in order to make these blessed states a consistent part of our embodied life on Earth.
These weekly studies of the mystery of life in Christ are aimed at your heart and are written from mine, with the intention of drawing us both, ever deeper, into the divine darkness that rests in the silent center of the heart of God.
Note: The newsletter is free for everyone! Paying, in the case of this Substack, therefore, means making a charitable donation to support this literary mission. Regardless of which format you choose to pursue, your support is very much appreciated.
