ABSTRACT
As it progresses in the life of praxis, the soul is gradually raised from merely external observation of things to the contemplation of their spiritual essences, the logoi. This is what Evagrius calls qewri¿a fusikh¿, ‘natural contemplation’. Just as in the Eucharist the physical bread and wine are sacramentally changed, so in natural contemplation the mind’s eye perceives the materiality of the universe become transfigured by grace. The universe is then revealed as the locus, at once physical and spiritual, of God’s graceful self-revelation. Through contemplation, the seeing mind interiorizes the cosmic drama, thus, from an observer, becoming a participant and finally the locus par excellence of God’s encounter with the universe. In this way the mind is transformed into the ‘true church’ of God, where the cosmic liturgy takes place. In this encounter, both the corporeality and immateriality of the universe and of man are inseparably intertwined. The idea of matter that emerges from this conception of natural contemplation is overwhelmingly positive. Matter is hallowed; it is spiritual; it is transformational. Like the Eucharist and the Scripture, the material universe is sacramental.
