Jansenuism

The course will have three sections: First under the heading ‘A plan for Reform’ we will examine the practical problem of grace in the 16th and 17th cc: salvation, mission to non-christians, bible and prayer, and ecclesial integrity. This becomes specific in the matter of the reform of the convent of Port-Royal and the emergence of the Petites Écoles and their writings of a spiritual and pedagogical nature. The matter of rigorism, with Antoine Arnaud following St Cyran leads to a treatment of matters in the second section: theologies of grace. This will start with the state of post-Tridentine theology, at Leuven in particular. Jansenius’ Augustinus 1640 will be understood as emerging from within these debates. The development of the themes of human sin, infinity and grace will be considered through the lens of the famous works of Blaise Pascal. The third section will cover the outworking of theological themes in terms of biblical translation and figural interpretation, catechisms, forms of spirituality (including theatre), the miraculous and continuing opposition to the Jansenist movement in response to its political vision.