ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the apophatic dimension of contemplative prayer alongside the controversial presence of 'secrecy' surrounding Kierkegaard's treatment of the Akedah in Fear and Trembling. It then attempts a theological and philosophical reflection upon the problematic forms of Silence both before God and before the other. The chapter discusses 'the mystical' dialectically in terms of both interiority and exteriority: that is, as at once revealed and concealed, hidden and disclosed, as a disruption of ego/alter-centric relations between self and Other. It also explores the 'space' of the mystical relation through the hermeneutic lenses of secrecy and (inter-)subjectivity. The metaphorical notion of a secret 'space' of loving union with the divine is also given prominent expression in Spanish Carmelite tradition: specifically in the writings of the founder of the Discalced Carmelites Teresa of Ávila and her fellow reformer John of the Cross.