Friday, July 12, 2024

It is the 12th of July 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

We continue our summertime trip through some of the biggest names and events in the history of the church- from Scopes to Henry VIII and Constantine to religion and the American Republic.

Today, we remember a man who, if you don’t know, can help you understand the late Medieval church- a sometimes foggy era- but, importantly, the church on the eve of the Reformation.

But instead of the story of the Middle Ages being that of a dying institution, a moral morass with naughty popes and corruption everywhere, we might look at a positive figure, a churchman and theologian helping to set the church up for the coming age. He was Jean Gerson- a theologian, mystic, chancellor of the University of Paris, and noted defender of Joan of Arc.

Who was this man whose life reflects a sometimes blurry time in Church History?

Jean Gerson was born in the village from whence we got his surname in 1363- the oldest of 12 children, he was destined for a career in church work. But his early brilliance was seen at the University of Paris, and he made a path from his first degree in 1381 to his lecturing on Peter Lombard by 1390, preaching before the Pope in 1387, and earning his doctorate in 1394 at the age of 30. He would have been happy to retire to the life of a scholar. Still, he found himself elected the Chancellor of the University of Paris in a time-tossed about by a myriad of controversies- these included the following:

• A battle between the scholastics and the mystics
• A brouhaha over the Virgin Mary
• And finally, the great Western Schism when the church found herself with 3 popes, all claiming to be the 1 true pope.

Despite his learning and teaching Peter Lombard’s Sentences (that was the textbook for scholastic theology) Gerson was firmly in the camp of the mystics. He believed that affective (“experienced”) theology trumped mere head knowledge. His great work is “On Mystical Theology” which posits the distinctions between the scholastics and the Christian mystics.

He affirms the scholastics for their desire to attain truth and knowledge of God but then affirms that it is mysticism which desires not just God as “true” but also God as “good” and “personal”. He also noted that while mystics are accused of merely following emotion he believed that a true mystic needed to be guided by true doctrine.

He had also been a leading figure in the debate with the Dominican’s over the supposed “Immaculate Conception” of Mary- that is, her own birth without sin. Gerson would argue against the Dominican’s who rejected this doctrine and thus we see in Gerson the important development of Marian theology in the late Middle Ages into the Reformation.

But the elephant in the room was the Great Schism (begun in 1378) that resulted in rival Popes at Rome and Avignon and then by a third in Pisa.

Gerson would lead the group headed to the Council of Constance in 1414, known as the Conciliarists. These men posited that the Pope did not have some unreserved and unchecked authority because they were called by the Councils. This was a major breach in the wall of Papal supremacy that served as a key moment in the lead-up to the Reformation.

Gerson argued from, among other people, Aristotle, who believed that the best forms of governance are “mixed” with elements of democracy- and the conciliar elections of Popes are key to this. 

We can link his own populist form of theological mysticism (that is, you needn’t be a scholastic to fully understand the faith) to this kind of “democratic” approach to the papacy whereby cardinals, voting together, can check the Papal will.

His mystical theology and erudite defense of it caused some to believe he was the author of the landmark late medieval text “The Imitation of Christ,” although it is assuredly Thomas A’Kempis. However, it is with another historical figure that he is sometimes cross-referenced. His role as Chancellor in Paris made him an important political and church figure in the 100 Years' War underway with England and the question of Joan of Arc. Gerson would become a central figure defending the Maid of Orleans and her eventual rehabilitation and canonization.

Jean Gerson, an epitome of the late Middle Ages- born in 1363 died on this, the 12th of July in 1429 he was 65 years old.

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary- and while my bible has this portion from Colossians 4 as “additional instructions,” I think this benediction from Paul is a good word to us, too: 

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 12th of July 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose conversation is seasoned with the savory umami flavors from snacking on msg packets… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who thanks you for asking, but honestly, I cannot remember the dumb Gillespie joke I extricated from an earlier show- I deleted it on purpose, perhaps. I’m  Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.