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Abstract
The origins of the Enneagram are a constant point of fascination and discussion. Uncovering the source of this remarkable oracle provides for both a deeper personal understanding and the means by which to interpret the enneagram system with legitimate authority. In the last few decades, Evagrius of Pontus has emerged as a seminal figure within mystical Christianity and mystical Islam. His influence upon the psychology and mysticism of Eastern and Oriental Christianity is immense. Much of his writing had been considered lost in antiquity, but in some remarkable recent discoveries in the libraries of Mt. Athos new light has been shone upon the Evagrian Corpus. Among the recovered writings is a letter to the monk Eulogios that describes a psychological system of nine passions and their corresponding virtues dating back to the fourth century CE. Their arrangement and description provide remarkable and groundbreaking new insights into the Enneagram. This article explores the new discoveries from Mt. Athos, and for the first time it reveals the nine passions of Evagrius of Pontus. The article then compares the Evagrian system with the modern Enneagram with a view to interpreting the Enneagram in a new and contemporary way.
Setting the context
I offer this biographical information at the outset, to place the present theoretical work in context, that is to let the reader know when and how it evolved in relation to my studies of the Enneagram and Evagrius.
I first came across the Enneagram while studying theology at the AustraUan CathoUc University in 1988, and I began a more intensive study of the system in spiritual direction with Tony Hempenstall CFC, who had previously been a student of Jerry Wagner in Chicago. I finished my formal Enneagram studies in 1994 with Helen Palmer and David Daniels near San Francisco.
It was shortly thereafter that I came across a number of articles by the Irish Salesian, the late Eddie Fitzgerald SDB, who first introduced me to the work of Evagrius ofPontus, and in particular, his descriptions of the nine principal logosmoi, or thoughts. My study on Evagrius continued as part of my Ph.D. thesis on Denys the Areopagite, and also my study of the Ufe and writings of Thomas Merton, the American mystic and monk....