St Oswald of Worcester at Evesham Abbey: Cult and Concealment

2002 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-285
Author(s):  
DAVID COX
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Current Case ◽  
The Church

In the twelfth or thirteenth century the monks of Evesham Abbey, an ancient Benedictine foundation in Worcester diocese, seem to have altered their domestic chronicle so as to conceal the decisive role of Oswald, bishop of Worcester, in the tenth-century reform of their house; after c. 1100 the abbey was anxious to suppress evidence of Evesham's early dependence on the church of Worcester lest the post-Conquest bishops should use it in the papal courts to refute Evesham's current case for exemption. Privately, however, the monks continued to honour St Oswald and their relic of his arm; he had become a political embarrassment, but in heaven he remained their spiritual friend.

Saint Francis of Assisi’s Repair of the Church

2008 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 46-61
Author(s):  
Anne Kirkham
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Religious Conversion ◽  
Religious Orders ◽  
The World ◽  
Fourth Lateran Council ◽  
Words And Images ◽  
Saint Francis ◽  
The Church

A round 1230 Burchard of Ursperg, a Premonstratensian canon, writing about the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), reported that ‘with the world already growing old, two religious orders arose in the Church – whose youth is renewed like the eagle’s’. The success of the Franciscans in contributing to what Burchard saw as the renewal of the Church’s youth was simultaneously assisted and celebrated by documenting the life of the founder, Francis (1182–1226), in words and images soon after his death and throughout the thirteenth century. Within these representations, the pivotal event in securing Francis’s religious ‘conversion’ was his encounter with the decaying church of San Damiano outside Assisi. His association with the actual repair of churches in the written and pictorial accounts of his life was a potent allegorical image to signal the revival of the Church and the role of Francis and his followers in this. This essay focuses on how references to the repair of churches were used to call attention to the role of the Franciscans in the revival of the Church in the thirteenth century.

The Name-Glorifiers (Imiaslavie) Controversy

2020 ◽  
pp. 326-342
Author(s):  
Scott M. Kenworthy
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Religious Experience ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Religious Symbols ◽  
Jesus Prayer ◽  
The Church

In 1912–1913, a controversy erupted first among the Russian monks on Mount Athos of the claim in one book on prayer that ‘the Name of God is God Himself’. The so-called ‘Name-Glorifiers’ teaching would be condemned by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, leading Russian religious thinkers, especially Sergius Bulgakov, Pavel Florenskii, and Aleksei Losev, would take up the issue. The very nature of the controversy would provoke these thinkers to reflect broadly on the philosophy of language in general. More specifically, they also reflected on the nature of religious symbols and the role of religious symbols such as language in mediating religious experience between the person in prayer and God. This chapter surveys the genesis of the debate and its treatment within the Church. The debate itself originated in connection with the practice of hesychastic spirituality and the Jesus Prayer, but the Church authorities reacted in a swift way, without fully understanding the issues at stake. One important consequence of the controversy was the revival of the theology of St. Gregory Palamas, the Byzantine theologian who had defended the hesychasts in the thirteenth century, but whose theology had largely been forgotten in Russia. Although the debate erupted on the eve of the revolution and therefore was forgotten by many, the reflections on language and symbols by thinkers such as Florenskii and Losev would have a broader resonance in later Russian thought, not only with regard to language but even in mathematics.

scholarly journals “Mercy of the prince has confirmed Boniface as bishop of the city of Rome”: Emperor Honorius and the Legitimacy Crisis in the Church of Rome in 419

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-26
Author(s):  
Mikhail V. Gratsianskiy ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
The Right ◽  
Legitimacy Crisis ◽  
The City ◽  
Personal Decision ◽  
The Church

This article examines the circumstances behind Boniface I’s ascension (418–422) to the See of Rome which was accompanied by rivalry between two candidates. Since his rival Eulalius had been initially approved as a legitimate bishop by Emperor Honorius (395–423), Boniface had to go through a complicated procedure of legitimation, whose decisive factor was the position of the emperor. The article examines the role of institutional factors in the legitimisation of church authority, in this case in relation to the See of Rome. By institutional factors the author means, first of all, state power represented by its regional and central authorities and the community of bishops united by the principle of conciliar functioning. The article examines the approaches of the imperial power to resolving the crisis of legitimacy of the Roman bishop. Based on the presentation of source data, it is demonstrated that Emperor Honorius intended to resolve the crisis through a deliberation by a council that was to include representatives of both prefectures of the Western Roman Empire. Despite his initial intention, the emperor was forced to resolve the crisis on his own and Boniface was confirmed as bishop of Rome by his personal decision. The author of the article draws a conclusion that the decisive role in the sphere of church administration belonged to the emperor and that the Roman bishop did not have an exceptional position among the bishops of the Western Roman Empire: the affairs of the See of Rome could be transferred by order of the emperor to the court of Western bishops, and the right of the final decision belonged to the emperor himself. Thus, the latter used the conciliar principle of administrating the church as a possible instrument for resolving internal church conflicts, but he also reserved the right of taking his own independent decisions in the ecclesial sphere, and the See of Rome was not an exception.

Roland and Crusade Imagery in an English Royal Chapel: early thirteenth-century wall paintings in Claverley church, Shropshire

2012 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 129-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
The North ◽  
The Status ◽  
North Wall ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Church

A frieze of mounted knights, over 15m long, dominates the nave of the church of All Saints, Claverley, Shropshire. It is part of an extensive mural scheme from the first quarter of the thirteenth century. For the first time the status of Claverley as a Royal Chapel is recognized and the royal and crusading character of the imagery is discussed. The emperors Constantine and Heraclius are identified as part of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross subject on the north wall, and the Holy Cross is suggested as the unifying theme, pre-dating the Florentine mural cycle by Agnolo Gaddi by some 170 years. Claverley is also shown to have the only medieval mural of Roland, hero of the Chanson de Roland, to survive in situ. The historical background of the early years of Henry iii is examined and the possible role of Ranulf de Blondeville, earl of Chester, in commissioning the frieze is considered.

A church with a Roman inscription in Tairia, Monemvasia

2002 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 469-490
Author(s):  
Alexander G. Kalligas ◽  
Haris A. Kalligas ◽  
Ronald S. Stroud
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Wall Paintings ◽  
Imperial Cult ◽  
Small Complex ◽  
The Church ◽  
Assumption Of The Virgin

In Tairia, at a distance of about 10 km from Monemvasia, is a small complex of two Byzantine churches, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin and Ag. Anna. Each has a simple one-aisled plan covered by a barrel vault with an intermediate arch. Wall paintings exist in both churches dating from the twelfth, the thirteenth century, and later. The church of the Assumption, or Theotokos, is older and could be dated to the tenth century and thus identified with the church mentioned in a contemporary source, the Life of St. Theodore of Kythira. Ag. Anna imitates the plan of the older church and seems to have occupied the place of earlier service buildings. Built in, on the top of the altar table in the church of the Assumption, is a marble slab with a completely preserved Greek inscription of the Roman period, consisting of five lines which cover the whole surface of the slab and commemorate the dedication to the deities of the Imperial cult (Θεοί Σεστοί) and to a πόλις, the name of which is not known, of a makellon by three Roman citizens out of their own funds. The most probable date for the inscription seems to be the second century AD, but, even though makella existed in few Peloponnesian cities, neither the polis where the establishment was erected is known, nor can the dedicators be safely identified.

The Mohammetan and Idolatry

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 89-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Bray
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Anglo Norman ◽  
The Church

The anachronistic ascription of membership of the Moslem faith to the persecutors of Christians in the period before the Peace of the Church appears in Anglo-Norman hagiography in the late twelfth century, or early thirteenth, and in English lives later in the thirteenth century. It may be, at least in part, the result of the corruption in meaning of a derivative of the word Mahomet, found in Anglo-Norman as mahumez in the early twelfth century and in English by the end of the same century in the form of maumez, idols. The confusion in identification was made possible by the attribution of the rôle of the Roman officials to the Moslems—both groups martyred Christians in large numbers—and by an association of practices and qualities based on the opposition, real or alleged, of both Romans and Moslems to the Christian faith.

The Alleged Exile of archbishop Edmund

1956 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-173
Author(s):  
C. H. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Church

The self-imposed exile of archbishop Edmund of Abingdon is part of the accepted account of his career. The incident provides an excellent example of the psychological gulf which separates the medieval hagiographer from the modem historian. For the historian tends to be unsympathetic towards acts of fugitive virtue, and the plain fact seems to be that the archbishop ran away from his responsibilities. Thus, in a century of great ecclesiastical leaders, St. Edmund is assigned the rôle of the gentle, pious, but ineffectual reformer, overwhelmed by forces which he was not strong enough to resist. But the thirteenth-century hagiographers had different criteria. In their view, the archbishop's exile was a flight from iniquity which vindicated the rights of the Church. It formed a splendid consummation of his career, as dramatic and meritorious as martyrdom. As St. Edmund's biographers were quick to point out, his exile and residence at Pontigny offered an obvious parallel to incidents in the lives of St. Thomas Becket and Stephen Langton. On this occasion, Pontigny, now the traditional refuge for fugitive archbishops of Canterbury, was handsomely rewarded with the bones of a saint.

English Reformation: Product of King or Minister?

1972 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-197
Author(s):  
Joseph D. Ban
Keyword(s):  
Decisive Role ◽  
Henry Viii ◽  
English Reformation ◽  
Central Administration ◽  
Prime Mover ◽  
National Sovereignty ◽  
Ecclesiastical Reform ◽  
Political Scene ◽  
The Church

Who was the prime mover in the English Reformation? Was it the sovereign, Henry VIII? Or was his minister, Thomas Cromwell, the originating force? According to G. R. Elton, Cromwell was the architect of English reform who spelled out the concept of national sovereignty, established royal supremacy over the church, set the locus of national sovereignty in Parliament, consolidated the national territory and reformed the central administration of government. Thus, Elton has credited Cromwell with the decisive role in creating the ecclesiastical revolution. J. J. Scarisbrick has sharply challenged Elton's thesis. His biography of Henry VIII, published in 1968, is a major contribution to the study of Tudor history. There Scarisbrick demonstrates that the king was committed to ecclesiastical reform well before Cromwell appeared on the political scene. Hence, there emerges a sharp conflict between two modern scholars regarding the role of Henry VIII in originating the reform of the English church.

Excavations at Winchester 1968: Seventh Interim Report

1969 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Biddle
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Interim Report ◽  
Open Area ◽  
The North ◽  
The Church ◽  
North End

SummaryRoman, Saxon, and medieval levels were examined in 1968. At Castle Yard the north end of the Norman andlater castle was uncovered. At Lankhills fifty fourth-century graves were excavated. In Lower Brook Street open-area excavation was continued into mid thirteenth-century levels on four house-plots and on St. Mary's Church, where twelve phases can now be recognized between c. 1250 and c. 1470. St. Pancras Church was located. On the Cathedral site no Belgic occupation was found. A late second- to early third-century addition to the forum was excavated, and much of its painted wall-plaster recovered. The structure was abandoned c. A.D. 300. A laterally apsed tenth-century crossing was found in the Old Minster linking two earlier buildings. After his translation in gjl from outside the church, St. Swithun's shrine appears to have stood within this link-building. At Wolvesey Roman buildings were excavated, and additions were made to the plan of the Norman palace. A second halljchamber-block of c. 1129–35 has been planned. In an appendix D. M. Wilson considers an important decorated bronze strap-end of c. A.D. 1000 found on the Old Minster site.

scholarly journals The circumstances of the origin and history of the development of the church schism of the Belarusian diaspora in the first half of the 1980s

2020 ◽  
pp. 66-79
Author(s):  
Aliaxandr V. Slesarau
Keyword(s):  
Church Leadership ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Church Schism ◽  
First Time ◽  
Church Governance ◽  
The Church

The article describes the history of the origin and development of the intra-confessional conflict that engulfed the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (BAOC) in the first half of the 1980s. For the first time, a conclusion is drawn regarding the decisive role of the ideological prerequisites for the emergence of a split, rooted in the difference in approaches to understanding the principles of church governance. If the highest church leadership was characterised by a commitment to the ideas of the key role of hierarchy (clericalism), then representatives of parishes and Belarusian sociopolitical organisations insisted on the obligation to implement the principle of collegiality. The conflict developed as a result of the structural and administrative division of the BAOC, mutual compromise of opponents, a significant reduction in the financial possibilities of parishes and the disintegration of the Belarusian diaspora. Unlike the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in exile, divided and weakened by internal contradictions, the BAOC was unable to expand its activities in Belarus in the late 1980s and 1990s.

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