No description available

No description available

The doctrine of purgatory - the state after death in which Christians undergo punishment by God for unforgiven sins - raises many questions. What is purgatory like? Who experiences it? Does purgatory purify souls, or punish them, or both? How painful is it? Heaven's Purge explores the first posing of these questions in Christianity's early history, from the first century to the eighth: an era in which the notion that sinful Christians might improve their lot after death was contentious, or even heretical. Isabel Moreira discusses a wide range of influences at play in purgatory's early formation, including ideas about punishment and correction in the Roman world, slavery, the value of medical purges at the shrines of saints, and the authority of visions of the afterlife for informing Christians of the hereafter. She also challenges the deeply ingrained supposition that belief in purgatory was a symptom of barbarized Christianity, and assesses the extent to which Irish and Germanic views of society, and the sources associated with them - penitentials and legal tariffs - played a role in purgatory's formation. Special attention is given to the writings of the last patristic author of antiquity, the Northumbrian monk Bede. Heaven's Purge is the first study to focus on purgatory's history in late antiquity, challenging the conclusions of recent scholarship through an examination of the texts, communities and cultural ideas that informed purgatory's early history.

The Letters of Gregory the Great, pope from 590 to 604, have long been viewed as an indispensable resource for scholars of the early medieval period. John Martyn’s knowledge of these letters is well nigh unsurpassed, In this book he turns his attention to a hitherto neglected subject; those letters of Pope Gregory which pertain to nuns and convents. Despite the fact that scholarship on the Middle Ages has in the last thirty years been transformed by feminist contributions, and there has developed, as a result, a heightened awareness of the presence of women in medieval life, both secular and religious, only two of the thirty-six letters identified by Martyn have previously been discussed by scholars. This edition of the letters in both Latin and English is therefore of inestimable value to scholars and will act as a spur for further research. This sizeable collection of letters are analysed in company with other, better-known, writings about nuns from Gregory’s dialogi. In the introduction Martyn argues that his upbringing, dominated by his mother and four devout aunts, might reasonably have inculcated in him a deep and abiding concern for women, the religious in particular. This is evidenced by his friendships with Theoctista and Gordia, the sisters of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice, and with his wife, the pious Constantina. and with a number of abbesses, including Respecta (from Marseilles) and Talasia (from Autun). Gregory’s deep interest in the religious life of women, and his concern for their safety and wellbeing, are apparent throughout the letters. Martyn’s translations are clarified and enhanced by a commentary.

Monastic spirituality has much to offer Christians who live far beyond monastery walls. In Saint Benedict's Wisdom Luigi Gioia, OSB, demonstrates that monastic spirituality is a gift for the whole Church. Because monastic vows are fundamentally a deep dive into one's baptismal commitments, monastic experience speaks to all the faithful who wish to do the same within different lifestyles. As an expression of divine wisdom, monasticism offers a way of deeply integrating spirituality with the rest of life, teaching us to seek holiness, not only in prayer, but also through work, sharing of food, sleep, and life in community. Written by one of the most insightful commentators on monastic life today, Saint Benedict's Wisdom shines the light of monasticism on many aspects of contemporary Christian living, including evangelization, leadership, suffering, authentic chastity, the experience of God, reform of structures, and the practice of theology. It will appeal to anyone seeking to live a more authentic Christian life in addition to vowed monastics, monastic oblates, and associates.

This book dispels the widely-held view that paganism survived in Russia alongside Orthodox Christianity, demonstrating that 'double belief', dvoeverie, is in fact an academic myth. Scholars, citing the medieval origins of the term, have often portrayed Russian Christianity as uniquely muddied by paganism, with 'double-believing' Christians consciously or unconsciously preserving pagan traditions even into the twentieth century. This volume shows how the concept of dvoeverie arose with nineteenth-century scholars obsessed with the Russian 'folk' and was perpetuated as a propaganda tool in the Soviet period, colouring our perception of both popular faith in Russian and medieval Russian culture for over a century. It surveys the wide variety of uses of the term from the eleventh to the seventeenth century, and contrasts them to its use in modern historiography, concluding that our modern interpretation of dvoeverie would not have been recognized by medieval clerics, and that 'double-belief' is a modern academic construct. Furthermore, it offers a brief foray into medieval Orthodoxy via the mind of the believer, through the language and literature of the period.

This book examines one aspect of the life and thought of Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan monastic order. Contemporary interest in Francis has focused on his attitude toward nature. Sorrell argues persuasively that Francis' ideas can only be properly understood in their thirteenth-century context. Through close analysis of Francis' writings, Sorrell shows that many of Francis' beliefs concerning the proper relation of man to the natural world have their antecedents in scripture and in the medieval monastic tradition. Other Franciscan ideas and practices, however, appear entirely original; his nature mysticism, his concept of familial relationships with created things, his extension of Christian almsgiving to creatures. Sorrell insists, however, that only by seeing Francis in terms of the Western traditions in which he arose can we appreciate the true originality of this extraordinary figure, and the relevance of his thought to modern environmental concerns.

It argues that through their depictions of animals, medieval writers were not only able to reflect upon their own humanity, but were also able to explore the meaning of more abstract values and ideas (such as civility, sanctity and nobility) that were central to the culture of the time."--BOOK JACKET.

The Medieval Church: A Brief History argues for the pervasiveness of the Church in every aspect of life in medieval Europe. It shows how the institution of the Church attempted to control the lives and behaviour of medieval people, for example, through canon law, while at the same time being influenced by popular movements like the friars and heresy. This fully updated and illustrated second edition offers a new introductory chapter on ‘the Basics of Christianity,’ for students who might be unfamiliar with this territory. The book now has new material on some of the key individuals in church history: Benedict of Nursia, Hildegard of Bingen, Bernard of Clairvaux and Francis of Assisi as well as a more comprehensive study throughout of the role of women in the medieval church. Lynch and Adamo seek to explain the history of the Church as an institution, and to explore its all-pervasive role in medieval life. In the course of the thousand years covered in this book, we see the members and leaders of the Western Church struggle with questions that are still relevant today: What is the nature of God? How does a church keep beliefs from becoming diluted in a diverse society? What role should the state play in religion? The book is now accompanied by a website with textual, visual, and musical primary sources making it a fantastic resource for students of medieval history.

Stephen Barton has commissioned social scientists, philosophers of religion, feminists, biblical scholars, historians, moral theologians and systematic theologians - international experts from a wide range of theological and related disciplines - to reflect on "holiness."The book is divided into four parts: the idea of holiness, holiness and scripture, holiness and Christian tradition, and holiness and contemporary issues. The contributions are inter-denominational and inter-religious. There is nothing comparable on "holiness" available at present, so this collection fills a significant gap in the literature. Its comprehensive range and its interdisciplinary style will make it an important resource for students and scholars in theology, church history, ethics and religious studies.