Does the History of Christian Spirituality Matter?
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 May 2023) | Viewed by 356
Special Issue Editor
2. Tilburg School of Catholic Theology, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands
3. Ruusbroec Institute, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
Interests: history of Christian mysticism; medieval mysticism; Jesuit history and spirituality
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The focus of this special issue of the journal Religions is the question of how the history of Christian spirituality matters. In the contemporary study of theology, Church and cultural history, spirituality is often discussed, but usually as an additional fact, which is certainly interesting, but could also be left out. However, there are several points in the history of Christian spirituality when the specific role of it has been decisive for later cultural and religious developments. Christian spirituality is then not a phenomenon that follows developments in Church and society, but one that gives these developments a specific direction. A well-known example of this, discussed at length by Henri Bremond (1865-1933) in his book Histoire du sentiment religieux en France (vol. 8/II, 228ff.), is the decision in 1575 of the Superior General of the Jesuit Order, Everard Mercurian (1514-1580), that Jesuits were no longer allowed to read mystical authors such as Tauler, Herp or Ruusbroec without special permission from the superior. The crisis of mystical spirituality – and its place in the general culture – has thus gained momentum, and this fact has strongly influenced the further development Modernity and its culture. There are several other crucial moments in which Christian spirituality as such has had a clear influence on social and cultural developments, in patristic antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Modern period, and in the contemporary times. This Special Issue wishes to explore this domain further, in the different periods. We are looking for contributions that either develop a case study of this phenomenon in its historical context, or that explore a fundamental reflection on it, or that investigate the methodological aspects of such research.
Prof. Dr. Rob Faesen
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- history of Christian spirituality
- church history
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