medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Is not the bit about the Holy Spirit "chrisming" the River Jordan at Christ's baptism a bit Arian?
Jim
From the Patrologia Latina Database:
1. Vol. 57
Maximus Taurinensis:
Meg,
No, but i have not looked very far.
Tom
Thanks Tom,
This is very interesting because it also seems to pull in another part of my text. Do you happen to know where Richard of Middleton might have gotten it from?
Meg
Richard of Middleton on the consecration of the waters:
Richard of Middleton, Scriptum super quarto sententiarum (Venice, 1489), sig. n 4ra, “ad hoc vt fit huius sacramenti materia. quam ordinationem Christus instituit suo facto. ad cuiusmodi similitudinem dicitur aquas consecrasse quando fuit baptizatus. eo quod illo facto aquam ordinauit ad hoc vt esset materia sacramenti baptismatis.”
Tom IzbickiI wonder if any list-member is aware of homilies, encyclopedia discussions, etc. on the following beliefs concerning the River Jordan, all of which appear in a passage I am translating which contains much derivative material. The rest pf the passage looks
like it could also be derived from a homily, or maybe several. I´d be happy to send the entire passage to anyone interested.
Water in general is important as being involved in Christ's first miracle in which he turned water into wine, thus sanctifying it.
By being baptized in the River Jordan, Christ sanctified all the water in the world, making it suitable for baptizing people anywhere in the world. This idea appears in fact to be fairly common. My passage maintains that the entire river is holy, not just the spot where Christ was baptized. However, the author will not commit himself how far out to sea the sanctity extends.
However, it is Jordan water that springs forth from the earth in natural water sources such as springs and rivers.
The dove of the Holy Spirit (or sometimes John the Baptist) chrismed the river when Christ was baptized.
The River Jordan is the ‘original’ river created in Paradise which subsequently divides into the four rivers named in the Bible
Water (presumably because it is all derived from the River Jordan) is the most noble of the four elements, even more than fire which closely resembles the Holy Trinity
Not only does its water purify people in baptism, the water in their bodies purifies them when it emerges as tears of repentance. It is also the last element to depart the body, as everyone who has seen a corpse can attest. (That last is my source's comment, not mine!)
Many thanks for any suggestions,
Meg