Publication details
Preaching against Heresy inside the monastic walls: Two sermons of Geoffrey of Auxerre´s Super Apocalypsim
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Modern historiography has pointed that the topics of the monastic sermons were merely centred around the life inside the monastic walls and their goal was to contribute to the spiritual progress of the monks. With some notably exceptions, the life outside the monastery was generally absent from the monastic sermons (Kienzle: 2000). Focusing on the Cistercian Order, Bernard of Clairvaux, for example, not only did he preach against heresy in front of non monastic audience during his preaching mission, but also in his sermons on the Song of Songs, dealt with the problem of heresy. Another Cistercian abbot, who preached his monastic audience about the “problem” of religious dissidents was Geoffrey of Auxerre, an important but nevertheless underestimated figure in the history of the Order, as he often seems to be overshadowed by Bernard's personality. His two sermons on heresy, a part of his compilation Super Apocalysin have so far served to illuminate the early history of the Waldensians or the successes of Henry of Marcy. Having as point of departure Gastaldelli´s remark that Geoffrey´s personality is far more complex than what we have as yet assumed (Gastaldelli: 2001), in this paper, I would address a question that, I believe, warrants further investigation, namely how and why heresy, an issue of the outside world, became a topic of Geoffrey's monastic sermons. The answers to this inquiry will not only shed light on the abbot's personality and theology but will also illuminate how the monastic sermon could fulfil its moral aim to reform the monks. |