Christians are called to proclaim 'the glorious liberty of the children of God' to all men and women in the world. With this in mind, the enclosure of cloistered nuns, the apparent renunciation of personal freedom in order to live within the walls of a monastery for the rest of one's life, is often regarded as a sign of contradiction. How can such a life be justified in view of the Gospel, which invites Christians to become a light to the world and to proclaim the good news to all peoples? This unique book, written by cloistered nuns themselves, provides answers to this and many other questions. Far from being an invention of the Middle Ages which was imposed on women by a male-dominated Church and society, enclosure was in fact freely chosen by nuns themselves from the very beginning and only later became an object of canonical legislation. Drawing on the riches of Christian traditions, this book examines enclosure from a biblical, historical, spiritual and theological perspective, showing how it aids the prayer-life and mission of cloistered nuns. Dom Jean Prou (1911-1999) was fifth Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes and Abbot-President of the Solesmes Congregation from 1959 until his retirement in 1992. His high esteem for the vocation of enclosed nuns led to an invitation to oversee the international team of clostered Benedictine nuns from France, Canada and England who cooperated to write this book.
Excerpts from the novels, plays, and poems of the French convict, prostitute, and literary artist join notes from his film, The Penal Colony, letters, essays, and a rare interview, all edited by a contemporary biographer.
Reprint of the original, first published in 1871. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.
These two public letters are Calvin’s first publication for a wider audience since his arrival in Geneva. Its preface is dated on 12 January 1537. After years of scholarly activity and travelling in anonymity Guillaume Farel forcefully committed him to the church of Geneva. The young author of the Institutes (1536) was at Farel’s and Viret’s side at the Disputation of Lausanne. He broke any allegiance with the Circle of Meaux and sided wholeheartedly with the reformed cause. The contents of the Epistolae duae, drafted in Ferrara, reveal that Calvin must have revised the manuscript to give testimony to the appeal of the Disputation to the roman catholic clergy. The first letter challenges Christians to break away for idolatry and confess publicly. The second letter is a challenge to the clergy either to reform or lay down their offices. The Epistolae duae are the opening move in the exchange among the reformers on nicodemism. Calvin, as ghost writer of Farel, breaks with the reform movement of Meaux, France. That was what the reformed position in October 1536 had implied. Calvin’s two minor contributions to the Disputation of Lausanne have been added to the present edition.
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