The Ladder of Divine Ascent (Climacus)

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · John Climacus (John of Sinai) · 640 · Mount Sinai

What it is

The Ladder is a seventh-century ascetical treatise written by a monk of Mount Sinai at the request of the abbot of the neighbouring Raithu monastery. It sets out the spiritual life as 30 steps (logoi), each treating a particular vice or virtue, rising from renunciation of the world to a life of…

Format

• The tradition's structure (three stages; grouping per Benedict XVI and EBSCO):
• How it is used in practice. In monasteries, read through from the start of Great Lent; by laypeople, read straight through or step by step, ideally with a spiritual father; John Mack's Ascending the Heights is a commentary written to help non-monastics apply the steps. The tradition does not…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• the client seeking absolution or spiritual rulings from you. Working: clear roles.
• endless deliberation (possible OCD doubt). Working: decisions are reached and owned.
• dissociation, shutdown, compliance. Working: the client can approach faith themes with choice.
• reassurance-seeking about salvation (possible scrupulosity). Working: less harshness, more hope.
• the clinician imposing their own frame; missing benefits of faith. Working: a shared formulation that honours both.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.