Cornelius Jansen
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Cornelius Jansen
OR:
Cornelius Jansen on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Cornelius Jansen (, ;
Latinized name Latinisation (or Latinization) of names, also known as onomastic Latinisation, is the practice of rendering a ''non''-Latin name in a Latin style. It is commonly found with historical proper names, including personal names and toponyms, and in ...
Cornelius Jansenius; also Corneille Jansen; 28 October 1585 – 6 May 1638) was the Dutch
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
bishop of Ypres The former Roman Catholic Diocese of Ypres, in present-day Belgium, existed from 1559 to 1801.Ypres (Ieper) (Diocese) atholic-Hierarchy]">Ypres_(Ieper)_(Diocese)_[Catholic-Hi_...
_in_Flanders.html" ;"title="atholic-Hierarchy]/ref> Its seat was Saint Martin's Cathedral">atholic-Hierarchy]">Ypres (Ieper) (Diocese) [Catholic-Hi ...
in Flanders">atholic-Hierarchy]/ref> Its seat was Saint Martin's Cathedral">atholic-Hierarchy]">Ypres (Ieper) (Diocese) [Catholic-Hi ...
in Flanders and the father of a theological movement known as Jansenism.


Biography

He was born of humble Catholic parentage at Acquoy (then in the province of Holland, now in Gelderland), the Netherlands. In 1602 he entered the Old University of Leuven, University of Leuven, then in the throes of an ideological conflict between the Society of Jesus, Jesuit – or scholastic – party and the followers of Michael Baius, who swore by
St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
. Jansen ended by attaching himself strongly to the latter "Augustinian" party, and presently made a momentous friendship with a like-minded fellow-student,
Jean du Vergier de Hauranne Jean du Vergier de Hauranne, the Abbé (Abbot) of Saint-Cyran, (1581 – 6 October 1643) was a French Catholic priest who introduced Jansenism into France. Life Born in the city of Bayonne to a noble family, Vergier studied theology at the Cath ...
, afterwards ''Abbé de Saint-Cyran''. After taking his degree he went to Paris, partly to improve his health by a change of scene, partly to study Greek. Eventually he joined Du Vergier at his country home near
Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine r ...
, and spent some years teaching at the bishop's college. All his spare time was spent in studying the early
Fathers A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...
with Du Vergier, and laying plans for a reform of the Church. In 1616 he returned to
Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...
, to take charge of the college of St Pulcheria, a hostel for Dutch students of theology. Pupils found him a somewhat choleric and exacting master and a great recluse from academic society. However, he took an active part in the university's resistance to the Jesuits, for they had established a theological school of their own in Leuven, which was proving itself a formidable rival to the official university faculty of divinity. In the hope of suppressing their encroachments, Jansen was sent twice to
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, in 1624 and 1626; the second time he narrowly escaped the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
. He warmly supported the Catholic
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
archbishop ( apostolic vicar) of the Catholic
Holland Mission The Holland Mission or Dutch Mission ( or ') (1592 – 1853) was the common name of a Catholic Church missionary district in the Low Countries during and after the Protestant Reformation. History Pre-reformation diocese and archdiocese ...
in the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...
,
Philippus Rovenius Philippus Rovenius ( nl, Filips van Rouveen; baptised 1 January 1573, in Deventer – 10 October 1651, in Utrecht) was apostolic vicar of the Dutch Mission from 1614 to 1651. Life Rovenius studied in Leuven, and was ordained priest in 1599. In 1 ...
, in his contests with the Jesuits, who were trying to evangelize that country without regard to the archbishop's wishes. He also crossed more than once the Dutch
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
–
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
champion, Gisbertus Voetius, still remembered for his attacks on
René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Ma ...
. Antipathy to the Jesuits brought Jansen no nearer to
Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
; on the contrary, he yearned to beat them with their own weapons, chiefly by showing them that Roman Catholics could interpret the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
in just as mystical and pietistic a manner. This became the great object of his lectures, when he was appointed regius professor of scriptural interpretation at Leuven in 1630. Still more was it the object of his ''
Augustinus Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
'', a bulky treatise on the theology of St. Augustine, barely finished at the time of his death. Its preparation was his chief occupation since his return to Leuven. He had introduced in this treaty a long development favourable to
contrition In Christianity, contrition or contriteness (, i.e. crushed by guilt) is repentance for sins one has committed. The remorseful person is said to be ''contrite''. A central concept in much of Christianity, contrition is regarded as the first st ...
(IIIrd part, ''De gratia Christi salvatoris'', book V, chap.XXI–XXV). In its appendix, titled ''Erroris Massiliensium, et opinionis quorumdam recentiorum parallelon et statera'', he harshly condemned the
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
s, in particular Luis de Molina, Gabriel Vasquez and Leonardus Lessius. But Jansen, as he said, did not mean to be a school-pedant all his life; and there were moments when he entertained political ambitions. He looked forward to a time when Flanders would throw off the Spanish yoke and become an independent Catholic republic, possibly even
Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
-ruled, according to the model of the Protestant United Provinces. These ideas became known to his Spanish rulers, and to assuage them he wrote a philippic called the ''Mars gallicus'' (1635), a violent attack on French ambitions generally, and on
Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
's indifference to international Catholic interests in particular. The ''Mars gallicus'' did little to help Jansen's rather persecuted theological friends in France, but it reversed Madrid's wrath with Jansen; in 1636 he was appointed bishop of Ypres (Ieper) in
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 ...
by the
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
and the Spanish Court. Within two years he was however cut down at age 52 by a sudden illness; the ''Augustinus'', the book of his life, was published posthumously in 1640. Opposed to Jansenism, a little group of theological doctors from the Sorbonne extracted 8 propositions of Jansenius's ''Augustinus'', later reduced to 5, treating of the problems concerning the relation between nature and
grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...
. They accused Jansenius of having misinterpreted St. Augustine, conflating Jansenists with
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
s. This led
Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in Januar ...
to condemn in 1653 these 5 propositions in the papal bull '' Cum Occasione'', without attributing them to Jansenius in particular. The 5 propositions were condemned again by
Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...
three years later in the apostolic constitution '' Ad sanctam beati Petri sedem''. The Jesuits, who then enjoyed predominant political and theological power (including a personal confessor to the King of France), then persuaded the Pope to force all Jansenists to sign a formulary leading them to admit the papal bull and to confess to their errors. The formulary controversy led
Pascal Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to: People and fictional characters * Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name * Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** Blaise Pascal, Frenc ...
to write the famous '' Lettres provinciales'' (1657) in which he harshly attacked the Jesuits and their moral, in particular their
casuistry In ethics, casuistry ( ) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve moral problems by extracting or extending theoretical rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in applied ethics and ju ...
. Following this anonymous publication, the King sent spies everywhere, condemned the librarians and successfully attempted to discover the author of the ''Lettres provinciales''. The Jansenists of
Port-Royal Port Royal is the former capital city of Jamaica. Port Royal or Port Royale may also refer to: Institutions * Port-Royal-des-Champs, an abbey near Paris, France, which spawned influential schools and writers of the 17th century ** Port-Royal Ab ...
,
Antoine Arnauld Antoine Arnauld (6 February 16128 August 1694) was a French Catholic theologian, philosopher and mathematician. He was one of the leading intellectuals of the Jansenist group of Port-Royal and had a very thorough knowledge of patristics. C ...
, Pierre Nicole, la Mère Angélique, Soeur Agnès, etc., were forced to sign the formulary. Although ostensibly obeying Papal authority, they added that the condemnation would only be sensible if the 5 allegedly heretical propositions were in fact found in Jansenius' ''Augustinus'', and claimed that they did not figure there. The Jansenists' reasoning was that the Pope had of course the power to condemn heretical propositions, but not to cause that which did not figure in Jansenius' ''Augustinus'' to actually be there. This strategy would impose decades of theological disputes and debate. On the other hand, Pascal and some other Jansenists adopted a radical strategy, alleging that condemning Jansenius was equivalent to condemning the Father of the Church, St. Augustine himself, and adamantly refused to sign the formulary, with or without reserve. This in turn led to the further radicalization of the King and of the Jesuits, and in 1661 the Convent of Port-Royal was closed and the Jansenist community dissolved – it would be ultimately razed in 1710 on orders of
Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...
. The controversy did not involve only Papal authority, but rather his authority concerning
Biblical exegesis Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...
. Further controversy led to the bull '' Unigenitus'', issued by
Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...
in 1713, which marked the end of Catholic toleration of Jansenist doctrine. The bull '' Unigenitus'', dated 8 September 1713, was produced with the contribution of , a lector at the College of Saint Thomas, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'', fostered the condemnation of Jansenism by condemning 101 propositions from the ''Réflexions morales'' of
Quesnel Quesnel or Quesnell means "little oak" in the Picard language, Picard dialect of French language, French. It is used as a proper name and may refer to: Places * Le Quesnel, a commune the Somme department in France * Quesnel, British Columbia, a c ...
as heretical, and as identical with propositions already condemned in the writings of Jansen. Up until the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, Jansenism would live on as a political force in France, supported by some chairs in the parlements of Paris. Anonymous Jansenists published a magazine called Nouvelles ecclésiastiques, which frequently featured anti-Jesuit propaganda. Eventually, Jansenists would collaborate with independent-minded Gallicanists in promoting the Jesuits' expulsion from France in 1764.Dale Van Kley, The Jansenists and the Expulsion of the Jesuits from France 1757–1765


See also

* Ultrajectine * Jansenism * Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands


Notes


References

* * Sainte-Beuve, Charles Augustin, ''Port-Royal'' (5 vols., 1840–1859).


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Cornelius * 1585 births 1638 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Ypres 16th-century Dutch Roman Catholic theologians People from Geldermalsen Old University of Leuven alumni Old University of Leuven faculty 17th-century Dutch Roman Catholic theologians