ABSTRACT
Studies of charisma in Christianity have often been confined to Pentecostal/evangelical movements, or so-called “charismatic Christianity.” This chapter broadens the scope by discussing how charismatic ritual is also a feature of Christian monasticism and other contemplative forms of Christianity. Despite clear aesthetic differences between ecstatic, word-oriented Pentecostal/evangelical Christianities and enstatic, mystery-oriented contemplative Christianities, participants from both varieties use ritual to invoke socially and phenomenologically transformative charismatic energy. Assisted by the performative knowledge of ritual adepts, the silence and stillness of contemplatives and the exuberance of Pentecostal/evangelicals manifest in a unifying charismatic force that practitioners interpret as a sign of divine presence.
