Ascending the Heights: A Layman's Guide to the Ladder of Divine Ascent

by John Mack

A layman's guide to "The Ladder of Divine Ascent". In the sixth century, a monk named John wrote a book outlining the stages of the spiritual life. He based his entire work on the image of a ladder of thirty rungs, stretching from earth to heaven. Each rung described a step in the pursuit of virtue and the spiritual life. Since it was first written, "The Ladder of Divine Ascent" has been an essential part of the formation of Orthodox monastics, and a mainstay of Orthodox ascetic spirituality. But it is not just for monastics. This book is written to help those in a non-monastic setting understand how to apply "The Ladder of Divine Ascent" to their lives. Each chapter contains many direct quotes from St. John's writings, in addition to commentary on St. John's words. This book, therefore, should be used as a primer to the Ladder--as a helpful tool for ascending the spiritual heights.

Genres: Christianity, Religion, Christian, Nonfiction, Theology

175 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 2000

Reviews

[Tom Schmdit]

A good companion for the Ladder of Divine Ascent. I tried to read both at the same time, using this a sort of Cliff Notes for St. John's classic.

[Joshua Coolman]

Loved this little book. It's author distills the essence of St. John's Ladder of Divine Ascent and puts it in a readable and helpful way.

[Felix]

I really enjoyed this book. It is not perfect. But, it is probably the best book I have ever read on being a Christian. I would have given it 5 stars; but I thought it could be written a tad better. Still, I can think of no better book to read, and read again!

[Kit]

An excellent read for Lent.