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Great Christian Thinkers - 42 John Scotus Erigena
Great Christian Thinkers - 42 John Scotus Erigena
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
John Scotus Erigena Though a noteworthy thinker of the Christian West, John Scotus Erigena’s origins are nonetheless obscure. He certainly came from Ireland, where he was born at the beginning of the ninth century. But we do not know when he left his island to cross the channel a…
Great Christian Thinkers - 43 Sts. Cyril and Methodius
Great Christian Thinkers - 43 Sts. Cyril and Methodius
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Sts. Cyril and Methodius Saints Cyril and Methodius were brothers by blood and in the faith, the so-called Apostles to the Slavs. Cyril was born in Thessalonica to Leo, an imperial magistrate, in 826 or 827. He was the youngest of seven. As a child, he learned the Slavonic langua…
Great Christian Thinkers - 44 St. Odo of Cluny
Great Christian Thinkers - 44 St. Odo of Cluny
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Odo of Cluny We resume the presentation of important writers of the Eastern and Western Church in the Middle Ages because in their lives and writings we see, as in a mirror, what it means to be Christian. One such luminous figure is St. Odo, abbot of Cluny… Taken from Great C…
Great Christian Thinkers - 45 St. Peter Damian
Great Christian Thinkers - 45 St. Peter Damian
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Peter Damian One of the most significant figures of the eleventh century, St. Peter Damian, was a monk, a lover of solitude, and at the same time a fearless man of the Church. He was also committed personally to the task of reform, initiated by the popes of the time… Taken fr…
Great Christian Thinkers - 46 Symeon The New Theologian
Great Christian Thinkers - 46 Symeon The New Theologian
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Symeon The New Theologian Also bearing reflection from this period is an Eastern monk, Symeon the New Theologian, whose writings have had a notable influence on the theology and spirituality of the East, in particular with regard to the experience of mystical union with God… Take…
Great Christian Thinkers - 47 St. Anselm
Great Christian Thinkers - 47 St. Anselm
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Anselm The Benedictine abbey of Sant’Anselmo (St. Anselm) is located on the Aventine Hill in Rome. As the headquarters of an academic institute of higher studies and of the abbot primate of the Confederated Benedictines, it is a place that unites within it prayer, study, and …
Great Christian Thinkers - 48 Peter the Venerable
Great Christian Thinkers - 48 Peter the Venerable
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Peter the Venerable Peter the Venerable takes us back to the famous abbey of Cluny, to its decor (“decorum”) and nitor (“clarity”), to use terms that recur in the Cluny texts - a decorum and splendour that were admired especially in the beauty of the liturgy, a privileged way for…
Great Christian Thinkers - 49 St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Great Christian Thinkers - 49 St. Bernard of Clairvaux
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Bernard of Clairvaux St. Bernard of Clairvaux is often called “the last of the Fathers” of the Church because once again in the twelfth century he renewed and brought to the fore the important theology of the Fathers… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 50 Bernard and Peter Abelard: Two Contrasting Theological Models
Great Christian Thinkers - 50 Bernard and Peter Abelard: Two Contrasting Theological Models
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Bernard and Peter Abelard:Two Contrasting Theological Models In my last chapter, I presented the main features of twelfth-century monastic theology and scholastic theology which, in a certain sense, we might call respectively “theology of the heart” and “theology of reason.” Amon…
Great Christian Thinkers - 51 Hugh and Richard of Saint-Victor
Great Christian Thinkers - 51 Hugh and Richard of Saint-Victor
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Hugh and Richard of Saint-Victor I have been presenting exemplary figures of believers dedicated to showing the harmony between reason and faith and to witnessing with their lives to the proclamation of the gospel… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 52 William of Saint-Thierry
Great Christian Thinkers - 52 William of Saint-Thierry
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
William of Saint-Thierry The biographer of Bernard of Clairveaux, and a friend who esteemed him, was William of Saint-Thierry, on whom I reflect in this chapter… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 53 St. Hildegard of Bingen
Great Christian Thinkers - 53 St. Hildegard of Bingen
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Hildegard of Bingen In 1988, on the occasion of the Marian Year, Venerable John Paul II wrote an apostolic letter titled Mulieris Dignitatem on the precious role that women have played and play in the life of the Church… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XV…
Great Christian Thinkers - 54 John of Salisbury
Great Christian Thinkers - 54 John of Salisbury
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
John of Salisbury We shall become acquainted here with John of Salisbury, who belonged to one of the most important schools of philosophy and theology of the Middle Ages, that of the Cathedral of Chartres in France. Like the theologians of whom I have spoken in the past few chapt…
Great Christian Thinkers - 55 Peter Lombard
Great Christian Thinkers - 55 Peter Lombard
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Peter Lombard Peter Lombard, a theologian who lived in the twelfth century, enjoyed great fame because one of his works, titled the Sentences, was used as a theological manual for many centuries… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 56 St. Francis of Assisi
Great Christian Thinkers - 56 St. Francis of Assisi
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Francis of Assisi Here I present the figure of Francis, an authentic “giant” of holiness, who continues to fascinate a great many people of all age groups and every religion… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 57 St. Clare of Assisi
Great Christian Thinkers - 57 St. Clare of Assisi
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Clare of Assisi One of the best-loved saints is without a doubt St. Clare of Assisi, who lived in the thirteenth century and was a contemporary of St. Francis. Her testimony shows us how indebted the Church is to courageous women, full of faith like her, who can give a crucia…
Great Christian Thinkers - 58 St. Dominic De Guzman