CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Belucz, Mónika |
|---|---|
| Title | SAINT PATRICK AND MONASTICISM. THE FIGURE OF THE MONK-BISHOP |
| Summary | Saint Patrick the “apostle of Ireland” presents himself in his writings – the Confessio and the Epistola ad Milites Corotici – as a monk-bishop. It seems that Patrick’s defence in the Confessio against different accusations is based on mixing different models of bishoprics: the monk-bishop and the aristocratic bishop. Seemingly Patrick mixed the models to please all his critics or rather to justify his office with both ascetic and pragmatic authority. Previous research usually agrees that Patrick valued asceticism, but it has never been suggested that he was introducing himself as a monk-bishop, a new phenomenon of fifth-century ecclesiastical leadership. Moreover, it has not been discussed that he might have mixed different models of bishoprics when writing about his office and his Irish mission. This thesis compares Patrick’s perception of his mission and position in the Church with other bishops of the fifth century: his possible role-models. The examination focuses on questions of authority and education in the first chapter. In the second chapter I place Patrick’s missionary work in line with other evangelizations of the fifth century and examine the role of heresies in the lives of fifth-century bishops. In the final chapter I point out the ascetic practices present in Patrick’s writings –fasting, praying, fighting against Satan and the role of the desert in ascetic life – in order to show that Patrick was either a bishop with monastic training or at least a bishop who valued the monastic lifestyle. The conclusion is that Patrick was aware of popular ascetic trends in Gaul and he seems to present himself not only as a good ascetic, but as a monk-bishop as well. Even though he could not perform his mission as a monk, he incorporated the practices and values of monasticism into his office, introducing the monk-bishop model to the Irish. |
| Supervisor | Marianne Saghy, Volker Menze |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/belucz_monika.pdf |
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