Perfect Fools: Folly for Christ's Sake in Catholic and Orthodox Spirituality

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1 University Press Scholarship Online You are looking at 1-10 of 14 items for: keywords : holy folly The Holy Fool Michael W. Dols and Diana E. Immisch in Majnūn: The Madman in Medieval Islamic Society Published in print: 1992 Published Online: ISBN: eisbn: acprof:oso/ The holy fool was an individual who outwardly behaved in an eccentric manner by the commonly accepted standards of his society; inwardly he pursued a religious ideal or was enlivened by mystical experience. Although holy folly is frequently encountered in many cultures, the ideal of cultivating a highly personal spiritual life to the disparagement of mundane existence is most forcefully displayed in the early Christian Church. The Christian promotion of the holy fool surely had its precedent in the Old Testament prophets, whose outrageous behavior came to be considered symbolic of their divine mission. Perfect Fools: Folly for Christ's Sake in Catholic and Orthodox Spirituality Item type: book acprof:oso/ This book tells the story of those who have taken Jesus and his apostles at their word and have received from God the rare and terrible charism of holy folly. The book encounters a wide variety of fools for Christ's sake: the wild men of Byzantium, Russia, and Ireland, whose apparently outrageous and provocative behaviour masks a deeper sanctity; the merry men of the Middle Ages, God's jongleurs, who proclaim the Gospel of Good Humour ; and finally, those who have gone the darker and more perilous way of being written off by the world as mad and contemptible but who rejoice and are glad. It is not argued that all the saints of God conform to one or other of these categories, nor is it claimed that folly for Christ's sake is itself a homogeneous phenomenon. Page 1 of 5

2 The book is concerned with the fools for Christ's sake in the Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions only. Folly in the Orthodox East acprof:oso/ In the Holy Orthodox Churches of the East fool for Christ's sake is a hagiographical category like martyr, virgin, or confessor. The salos or yurodivy (the Greek and Russian technical terms for holy fool ) is regarded as one called by God to obey the words of the apostle: if any among you thinks that is he wise in age, let him become a fool that he may become wise (1 Cor.3:18). Folly for Christ's sake is an integral part of Orthodox spirituality, consciously celebrated and revered, and the fools are among the most beloved saints of the East. In recognizing holy folly as a true form of sanctity, Eastern Orthodoxy provides a technological schema for the study of this phenomenon in the west. This chapter tells the story of the holy fools of the East, from their first appearance in the deserts of Egypt and Syria to their spiritual invasion of Holy Russia. Bretons, Bards, and Buffoons acprof:oso/ In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, mystics frequently emerged among racial and cultural minorities, and in the France of this period many of the centres of spirituality appeared at the geographical periphery. This is certainly so in the case of holy folly. This chapter focuses on the resurgence of this phenomenon, and the continuing influence of the school of Père Lallemant, in the Celtic northwest of France. La Bretagne mystique produced many of the outstanding spiritual writers of the century. Through its re-evangelization by a group of priests trained in the Lallemant tradition, Brittany became a centre of spiritual renewal. Page 2 of 5

3 The Golden Age acprof:oso/ The 13th century was the beginning of the golden age of the fools, both sacred and secular. Henceforth the fool is well established; he has arrived. In the alehouse or the palace, fools, buffoons, and jongleurs are a familiar sight. Whether their sage-folly be greeted with anger or delight, it now has a recognized place within medieval society. This is as true of the fools for Christ as it is of the court fools. In the later Middle Ages there is an unselfconscious revelling in the mirth, joy, and good humour of life in Christ. The star of the fools will be in the ascendant for the next three centuries. This chapter traces the journey of the fools from the world in which they had a fixed and honourable place to the harsh age which regarded them as fit only for Bedlam. God's Jesters: The Cistercians acprof:oso/ Holy madness for the Cistercian Fathers, the rationale of their extremist renewal, is grounded in the dogmas of the Incarnation and Redemption. Thus union with God, growth in grace, and sanctification must involve an increase in these hard virtues and participation in the excess and foolishness of God. This chapter explores the mystery of holy folly in models or archetypes of Christian perfection which Cistercian Fathers saw in the child, the idiot, the pauper, the humiliated man, and the fool. Folly to Greeks acprof:oso/ Page 3 of 5

4 This chapter discusses the Christian tradition of the holy fool, which began with the teaching and experience of the apostle Paul. He first used the phrase fool for Christ's sake, and constantly alluded to the theme of holy folly, in the midst of his turbulent relationship with the Christians at Corinth. He was constantly accused of being mad and his preaching of the resurrection was mocked by the wise men of Athens. Conclusion: Perfect Fools acprof:oso/ Discussions in this book ranged from those on undoubted fools for Christ's sake to a more general consideration of the motif of holy folly in authors quite remote from the Eastern paradigm of folly. This chapter seeks to clarify the relationship between Christian perfection as such and the particular vocation of holy folly. Folly from East to Far West acprof:oso/ This chapter discusses the connection between Irish and Eastern folly. Early Christian Ireland had the most thoroughgoing monastic Church in Christendom. Folly became a feature of its spirituality and fools the regular companions of monks. The constant association of monks with fools, lepers, and outcasts preserved a sense of monastic marginality, a fervent resistance to conformity to the wisdom of the world. This is one of the key elements in Eastern folly, and it may be this generalized sense, rather than a completely developed hagiographical category of holy fool, which is most characteristic in early Irish Christianity. Page 4 of 5

5 Jean-Joseph Surin: Schizophrenia or Spirituality acprof:oso/ This chapter focuses on the first of Lallemant's disciples, Jean Joseph Surin. He was one of the most prolific spiritual writers of the 17th century, but for twenty years he suffered a mental illness with many of the symptoms of catatonic schizophrenia. The most promising Jesuit of his generation, he was brought to a condition of total mental collapse following his traumatic experiences as an exorcist Loudun. Later restored to health, he became an indefatigable correspondent and author and, in his later years, an active apostle around Bordeaux. Surin is a classical example of a fool for Christ's sake. It is true that this madness was involuntary and caused him great pain. But by humbly enduring it, he became a witness and prophetic sign. Page 5 of 5