From Monasticism to Reformation

 

We retain the Christian, orthodox, and catholic faith whole and unimpaired… Nor do we approve of the Roman clergy who have recently passed off only the Roman Church as catholic.

-          Henrich Bullinger and the Second Helvetic Confession (1562 / r.1564)

The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, by Matthew Barrett

Barrett sets out to demonstrate that the Reformation represented both a continuity and a discontinuity – a “yes” and a “no.”  The Reformation ratified a revision, but also a renewal – a renewal of old patristic and medieval paths.  He begins this examination with a look into monasticism.

He attributes the beginnings of monasticism to the end of martyrdom – martyrdom ending when the Roman emperor first permitted, then adopted, Christianity.  What did it mean to pick up one’s cross when there was no cross to pick up?

Some went to the wilderness – following the example of Christ’s forty days.  Lay people in society idolized these ascetics, only widening the divide between the average Christian and these of superior spirituality.  Even the priest who ministered to the people was considered inferior to the monastic.

Monasteries were founded to house those ready to devote every waking moment to disciplines like fasting, prayer, and physical labor. 

Barrett will examine the Cistercians, Dominicans, and Franciscans.  The details of each of these orders are secondary to my purpose, so a simple overview will suffice.  To be clear, these are generalities; many exceptions existed and certainly exist today.

The Cistercians focused on association, not instruction.  Instruction brings wisdom, but association in religious life penetrates into it.  Yet, this did not mean a total rejection of Scholasticism, or Aristotelian categories of efficient and final cause. 

The goal of the Christian life, then, is to ascend into the life and love of God.  one does not ascend merely by gaining knowledge; rather, ascent comes by desire.  Faith is not merely assent to religious facts but a religious experience itself.

When the Christian has little thought of himself and finds his identity in God, one has arrived at the destination.

The Dominicans were founded with a commitment to poverty and preaching – a lifestyle of begging for food as a thirteenth-century street preacher.  This represented a deviation from traditional monasticism – a return to society.

They were dedicated to scholarship – their most famous example being Thomas Aquinas.  However, the study of Scripture and theology was not an end in itself, but a means to proclamation – preaching.  At the same time, they participated in the Inquisition – targeting the heretics. 

The Franciscans were also dedicated to poverty and preaching, however Francis, at least, was not sympathetic with Scholasticism; later Franciscans would embrace this method.  Further, Francis would soon enough step down as the order would find ways to justify owning property without technically owning property. 

This brings us to the German mysticism of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.  Names like Meister Eckhart, John Tauler, and Thomas à Kempis are part of this story.  They gave birth to a German piety – not uniform, not under a single institution or structure, no single leader or faculty of professors.  However, like the early monastics, they withdrew from the world for the sake of spiritual ascent.

Internal regeneration, as opposed to externals such as church office, sacraments, and flagellation, was primary: the conversion of the heart toward love of Christ.  They took to the vernacular – language the laity could understand. 

While Eckhart’s theology was controversial (and remains so), he would influence Tauler – who would, through others, greatly influence Martin Luther.  Out of this influence, a prominent work of mysticism, A German Theology, would be written.  Luther would place this work with the Scripture and Augustine in his formation.  Barrett summarizes:

That way to salvation is none other than Christ.  Although sinners are dead in Adam, they are made alive in Christ.  Born again, they have been liberated.

Works do not contribute to justification; rather they represent the glad obedience of those set free.  This brings us to the idea that the Reformation offered a revival of traditional monasticism – not the monasticism of the late Middle Ages, but from the formation of the various orders.  To summarize: a return to piety.

The monasteries, having been granted privileges by the pope, would become supporters of the papacy.  Monks would lead the Inquisition and the elimination of heresy.  They were elevated above other ecclesiastical offices.  Where they once represented a withdrawal from the world, they would come to serve the pope’s reach for political power.

And in this environment, the return to piety.  Thomas à Kempis would write:

“What good does it do you to be able to give a learned discourse on the Trinity, while you are without humility and, thus, are displeasing the Trinity?  Esoteric words neither make us holy nor righteous; only a virtuous life makes us beloved of God.  I would rather experience repentance in my soul than know how to define it.”

The primary concern is transformation, an inner change.  Kempis would find the desert fathers as the most perfect example of those who renounced worldly cares and were dedicated to contemplating God.  faithfulness was to be found in Christ, not in ourselves.  At the same time, he saw a role for hard penances. 

There are parts of this to be found in Luther, but also places of meaningful divergence.  For example, Luther would see engagement with the world, in whatever manner, as being useful to God’s kingdom. 

Conclusion

A revival of traditional monasticism; a return to a simple, communal life of self-denial.  What we call piety was, in fact, something approaching the life of a traditional monastic. 

Epilogue

Pope Innocent III (1198 – 1216) would move beyond a vicar of Peter, instead claiming he represented Christ on earth.  By this, he was challenging every emperor, king, and prince for supreme authority.  This view held no room or tolerance for dissent.

This challenge was exemplified in his engagement with King John of England.  John would back Stephen Langton as the new archbishop of Canterbury.  Innocent disapproved, and said if John didn’t change his mind, the pope would ban all church services in England. 

John didn’t back down; the church services were halted for six years!  This would only harden the stalemate.  Excommunication came next – damnation to an eternity in hell.  Innocent called a crusade against John.  Seeing he had no way out, John was forced to submit. 

In the wake of this, the Fourth Lateran Council.  Salvation could not be located outside of the Church; transubstantiation was publicly sanctioned; this miracle was in the hands of the priest.

During this time, the Waldensians and Albigensians.  A crusade lasting from 1209 – 1229.  A brutal massacre, with no mercy afforded.  The crusade was successful in one thing – further consolidation of papal authority.