Giving Ignatian Exercises at ecclesial frontiers

<p>The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, presuppose Roman Catholicism, but are today made by many who are not Catholics. Moreover, even Roman Catholics who make Ignatian Exercises often are not spontaneously inclined to obey Roman ecclesiastical author...

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Main Author: Heiding, S
Other Authors: Endean, P
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2011
Subjects:
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author Heiding, S
author2 Endean, P
author_facet Endean, P
Heiding, S
author_sort Heiding, S
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description <p>The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, presuppose Roman Catholicism, but are today made by many who are not Catholics. Moreover, even Roman Catholics who make Ignatian Exercises often are not spontaneously inclined to obey Roman ecclesiastical authority. Neither avoiding the ecclesial dimension nor an authoritarian ‘follow the rules!’ provides spiritual directors with adequate orientation when working with issues at Church frontiers. This dissertation in pastoral theology seeks to navigate a middle position by moving beyond the individualism and the a-historical assumptions of the existing relevant literature.</p><p>The dissertation remains close to the Ignatian primary sources, in the awareness that the Ignatian tradition needs to be constantly updated and that the contemporary ecclesial frontiers are not fully foreseen in the canonical texts. The main hypothesis is that a notion is needed of a ‘pilgrim Church’ in space and time, with Christians who are related to one another in a deep and fundamental sense. The minor hypothesis is that the individual needs to be open towards and prepared to learn from the Roman Catholic Church, in order to understand and to be profoundly moved by these exercises, but not necessarily to become a Roman Catholic.</p><p>Having presented and discussed various approaches in the writings of twentieth-century and recent thinkers, this thesis puts forward its own ecclesiological position informed by Charles Taylor, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Karl Rahner. The aim is to take Ignatian studies forward by combining relational anthropology, hermeneutics and a sacramental understanding of the Church, and to apply this synthesis to the practice of giving Ignatian Exercises. The final chapter discusses a selection of cases in the light of my ecclesiological position. The synthesis and application claim originality.</p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:246e4d6d-14a7-44c2-88f5-a292c8ebf2e52024-12-01T18:44:10ZGiving Ignatian Exercises at ecclesial frontiersThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:246e4d6d-14a7-44c2-88f5-a292c8ebf2e5Modern theologyChurch historyChristianity and Christian spiritualityEnglishOxford University Research Archive - Valet2011Heiding, SEndean, P<p>The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, presuppose Roman Catholicism, but are today made by many who are not Catholics. Moreover, even Roman Catholics who make Ignatian Exercises often are not spontaneously inclined to obey Roman ecclesiastical authority. Neither avoiding the ecclesial dimension nor an authoritarian ‘follow the rules!’ provides spiritual directors with adequate orientation when working with issues at Church frontiers. This dissertation in pastoral theology seeks to navigate a middle position by moving beyond the individualism and the a-historical assumptions of the existing relevant literature.</p><p>The dissertation remains close to the Ignatian primary sources, in the awareness that the Ignatian tradition needs to be constantly updated and that the contemporary ecclesial frontiers are not fully foreseen in the canonical texts. The main hypothesis is that a notion is needed of a ‘pilgrim Church’ in space and time, with Christians who are related to one another in a deep and fundamental sense. The minor hypothesis is that the individual needs to be open towards and prepared to learn from the Roman Catholic Church, in order to understand and to be profoundly moved by these exercises, but not necessarily to become a Roman Catholic.</p><p>Having presented and discussed various approaches in the writings of twentieth-century and recent thinkers, this thesis puts forward its own ecclesiological position informed by Charles Taylor, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Karl Rahner. The aim is to take Ignatian studies forward by combining relational anthropology, hermeneutics and a sacramental understanding of the Church, and to apply this synthesis to the practice of giving Ignatian Exercises. The final chapter discusses a selection of cases in the light of my ecclesiological position. The synthesis and application claim originality.</p>
spellingShingle Modern theology
Church history
Christianity and Christian spirituality
Heiding, S
Giving Ignatian Exercises at ecclesial frontiers
title Giving Ignatian Exercises at ecclesial frontiers
title_full Giving Ignatian Exercises at ecclesial frontiers
title_fullStr Giving Ignatian Exercises at ecclesial frontiers
title_full_unstemmed Giving Ignatian Exercises at ecclesial frontiers
title_short Giving Ignatian Exercises at ecclesial frontiers
title_sort giving ignatian exercises at ecclesial frontiers
topic Modern theology
Church history
Christianity and Christian spirituality
work_keys_str_mv AT heidings givingignatianexercisesatecclesialfrontiers