Perceptions of Ecclesia
Church and Soul in Medieval Dedication Sermons
By (author) Ruth Horie
The medieval laity’s understanding of the church and their own role within it was largely shaped by preaching. How did preachers actually define the word ‘church’, and what was the essence of their ecclesiological teachings? Sermons for the dedication of a church reveal that the term ecclesia had numerous connotations. Three key ideas recur with particular frequency: the material church, the Christian community, and the church of the soul. The physical church building held an important place in medieval society as a tangible connecting link between ordinary people on the one hand and saints, angels and the divine presence on the other. Yet perhaps more significantly, it stood as a symbol for the human soul. Preachers treat the dedication of the physical church as an elaborate metaphor for the spiritual consecration of the soul. The prominent interest in the concept of the soul as church, which is reflected in sermons, suggests a much more individual, less community-oriented focus in medieval spirituality than has been generally assumed.
- By (author) Ruth Horie
Other Titles in this Series
The Destruction of Jerusalem and Anti-Jewish Commonplaces in Model Sermon Collections (1100-1350)
Volume 19
Preaching the Word in Manuscript and Print in Late Medieval England
Essays in Honour of Susan Powell
Volume 11
Circulating the Word of God in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
Catholic Preaching and Preachers across Manuscript and Print (c. 1450 to c. 1550)
Volume 17
Preaching and Political Society
From Late Antiquity to the End of the Middle Ages / Depuis l'Antiquite tardive jusqu'a la fin du Moyen Age
Volume 10
Predigen im Karolingerreich
Die homiletischen Sammlungen von Paulus Diaconus, Lanthpertus von Mondsee, Rabanus Maurus und Haymo von Auxerre
Volume 18
A Mendicant Sermon Collection from Composition to Reception
The 'Novum opus dominicale' of John Waldeby OESA
Volume 7
Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Preaching in the Mediterranean and Europe
Identities and Interfaith Encounters
Volume 15
A Repertorium of Middle English Prose Sermons
Part 1: Introduction, and Cambridge University Libraryto London, British Library (Additional)
Volume 1
Preaching the Memory of Virtue and Vice
Memory, Images, and Preaching in the Late Middle Ages
Volume 4
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