Tuesday, January 28, 2025

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 28th of January 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Today’s show is brought to you by the words: “Jubilee,” “Pilgrimage,” and “Indulgence,” three fancy church history words that all come together on this, the 28th of January on the anniversary of the marriage of these ideas (we will explain them) in the Papal Bull “Unigenitus” proclaimed by Pope Clement on this day in 1343.

First things first- if you were to look up the papal bull (that is, official pronouncement) and the word “Unigenitus,” it might take you to the year 1713- when another bull was called “Unigenitus”, in fact, all Papal Bulls have strange Latin sounding names because they get their name from the first word or words from the text. Truly a terrible way to name things… oh well.

This Bull of 1343 called for a Jubilee- and your Old Testament ears perk up that was an idea from the book of Leviticus- the radical idea that after 7 years of 7- or 49, in the 50th year, debts would be erased, slaves let free… a radical leveling. There is no “New Testament” call for the people of God, but in 1299, Pope Boniface VIII, who was in a pickle (it’s a long story, but the pope before he retired, and Boniface was afraid the old pope would want his job back)- so Bonny 8 called for the first church “Jubilee” to be held during the year 1300.

For this and other Jubilees, there was no literal debt erasing, but instead, in exchange for a pilgrimage to a holy site (in this case, the tombs of Peter and Paul in Rome) would receive an indulgence.

A pilgrim is a traveler, one who travels in foreign lands. Abraham and the Israelites were all “pilgrims.” In the New Testament, we are called “pilgrims” insofar as we are “traveling through” a foreign land on our way to the heavenly city. The idea of going somewhere specific for religious purposes is a later development- post-New Testament. They became popular during the Crusades- you went as a pilgrim/soldier and received an “indulgence”- a word which sounds like “indulgent,” and that’s a good way to think of it. It is “over and above,” and the idea was that the “merits” of Christ- his good works- over and above what was needed to save the world were to be doled out by whoever held the “power of the keys” (see Matthew 16)- in our case in the Medieval West, that would be the Pope.

So, an indulgence for pilgrims was granted for the year of Jubilee in 1300. And that Pope Boniface VIII called for there to be a Jubilee like this every 100 years.

This is strange because, in the Old Testament, it was 50. In 1343, the Pope- now Clement VI was also in a pickle- he was an “Avignon” Pope- the Papacy had been exiled from Rome- Rome was in distress, and so Clement VI decided to help them by calling for a Jubilee (the pilgrimages to Rome would be helpful for them) to be held not in 100 years- the biblical Jubilees were every 50 and so he declared with the Bull Unigentus on this day in 1343 that the Jubilee would come in 1350 and then every 50 years after that. 

Pope Urban VI, seeing the popularity in shortening the time between Jubilees, shortened it from 50 to 33 (after the years of Christ on earth), and then Pope Paul II moved it from 33 to 25… that was 1470, and we are still holding on that although Pope Francis called a special Jubilee 10 years ago and the regular one just started this year.

The Bull Unigenitas, which proclaimed this on this day in 1343, would come up in the early years of the Reformation when Luther was contesting the indulgence system and was found guilty of denying this Papal Bull- but there was the rub, that was considered “checkmate” by his opponent but Luther denied that the Pope ever had such powers- and therein we find the nut of the whole Reformation debate- who has the authority- or what does- to make these interpretations?

We remember the year of Jubilee, which called for a Pilgrimage to get an indulgence…. And now that makes sense to you on this the anniversary of the Papal Bull Unigenitas on this day in 1343.

 

The last word for today from the daily lectionary- let's go to Psalm 119 and from verse 89 and the good folks making metrical psalms at psalms.seedbed.com: 

Eternal is Your word, O Lord;
In heaven firm it stands.


Your faithfulness lasts for all time;

Like earth formed by Your hands.

Your laws endure until this day,

For You’re served by all things.


Had Your law not been my delight,

I’d die from suffering.

I’ll not forget Your precepts, for

by them my life’s revived.


Preserve me, I am Yours; for by

Your precepts I’ve survived.

The wicked wait to kill me, but

Your statutes I’ll hold fast.


To all perfection, there’s an end,

But Your commands are vast.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 28th of January 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who thought unigentas was prescribed for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who was always a fan of “Jubilation Lee,” Aka- the X-Men’s Jubilee. 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.