Stephanus Gerardus Axters (1901–1977) was a Belgian scholar with a particular interest in the history and literature of

Christian mysticism Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...

Life

Axters was born in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

West Flanders West Flanders ( nl, West-Vlaanderen ; vls, West Vloandern; french: (Province de) Flandre-Occidentale ; german: Westflandern ) is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the No ...

(

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

) on 15 October 1901. André Demedts
Pater Stefanus Axters
''

Vlaanderen Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture ...

'', 20:123 (1971), 1-2. He joined the

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and Mysticism, mystic Saint ...

at the age of 20, in 1921, and studied in Rome.Wij huldigen / wij gedenken
''Vlaanderen'' 26:158 (1977), p. 162. After early work on

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, Dominican Order, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino, Italy, Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest who was an influential List of Catholic philo ...

and

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church ...

, he became an expert on the history of Flemish mysticism, publishing a four-volume history and numerous articles on the subject, as well as founding the periodical ''Tijdschrift voor Geestelijk Leven'' (1945). A.A. Keersmaekers
Herdenking Stephanus Gerard Axters, O.P.
''Verslagen en mededelingen van de Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse taal- en letterkunde'' (1979), pp. 71-75. On 30 November 1957, he became a member of the Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature.

Works

A bibliography of his writings was published in 1971 to mark his 70th birthday. ''Stephanus G. Axters, O.P.: bibliografie (1922-1971)'' (Ghent, Koninklijke Vlaamse academie voor taal- en letterkunde, 1971). It enumerates 286 items. His most important works are: * ''Scholastiek Lexicon, Latijn-Nederlandsch'' (1937) * ''Het Nederlandsche mystieke proza'' (1944) * ''De Nederlandsche mystieke poëzie'' (1946) * ''Geschiedenis van de vroomheid in de Nederlanden'' (4 vols., 1950–1960) * ''Inkeer'' (1967) * ''Inleiding tot een geschiedenis van de mystiek in de Nederlanden'' (1967) * ''Bibliotheca Dominicana Neerlandica manuscripta 1224-1500'' (1970) * "Waartoe mystiek?", ''Verslagen en mededelingen van de Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse taal- en letterkunde'' (1972), pp. 132-138.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Axters, Stephanus 1901 births 1977 deaths Belgian Dominicans Belgian historians of religion