- Early Medieval Monasticism, Late Antiquity, Early Medieval Studies, Early Christianity, Archaeology of churches, Cult of Saints, and 7 moreEarly Christian Archaeology, Late Antique Hagiography, Medieval Monasticism, Patristics and Late Antiquity, Priesthood, Later Roman Empire, and Late Antique Religionedit
- Jerzy Szafranowski is a member of the Faculty of History at the University of Warsaw. He has recently defended with h... moreJerzy Szafranowski is a member of the Faculty of History at the University of Warsaw. He has recently defended with honours his PhD thesis “Presbyters and deacons in the monastic communities of Late Antique Gaul”, written under Robert Wiśniewski’s supervision. Former member of the research project “Presbyters in the Late Antique West” (http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/).edit
This article shows the impact of clerical ordinations of monks on monastic communities of the late antique Latin West. Its first part demonstrates how the clerical hierarchy introduced by monk-presbyters and monk-deacons challenged the... more
This article shows the impact of clerical ordinations of monks on monastic communities of the late antique Latin West. Its first part demonstrates how the clerical hierarchy introduced by monk-presbyters and monk-deacons challenged the purely monastic power structure – based, above all, on the abbot’s supreme authority. It turns then to three organizers of monastic life active in the sixth century – Eugendus of Jura, Aurelian of Arles, and Benedict of Nursia – who, each in his own way, ensured that the appointment of monks to clerical ranks would leave the monastery’s hierarchy intact – or even reinforce it. In conclusion, it is argued that the problems provoked by monastic clergy were alleviated by the strict separation of monastic and ecclesiastical hierarchies, which is demonstrated particularly in the Benedict’s of Nursia Rule. This, in turn, contributed to the steady process of the clericalization of Western monasticism.
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This article challenges the belief – popular in modern scholarship – in the predominantly lay character of monastic communities before the 7th century. A closer look at the early 6th century Life of the Jura Fathers shows monasteries rich... more
This article challenges the belief – popular in modern scholarship – in the predominantly lay character of monastic communities before the 7th century. A closer look at the early 6th century Life of the Jura Fathers shows monasteries rich in monks who were at the same time presbyters and deacons. The paper investigates the reasons behind the clerical ordinations of monks and examines the various roles of presbyters and deacons in their monasteries. Finally, it considers the ways in which the ordained monks could have destabilized the community and the measures employed to counter their negative influence.
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Studia Patristica XCVII, Leuven 2017
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At the forthcoming International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo (10-13 May 2018) the Presbyters in the Late Antique West project is sponsoring two sessions on the role of the lower and middle clergy in the ecclesiastical and... more
At the forthcoming International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo (10-13 May 2018) the Presbyters in the Late Antique West project is sponsoring two sessions on the role of the lower and middle clergy in the ecclesiastical and social life of the late antique West.
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The Presbyters in the Late Antique West is a 5-years project, run at the University of Warsaw and investigating the role of the middle clergy in the Church and society. Our team has been collecting the evidence concerning clerics withina... more
The Presbyters in the Late Antique West is a 5-years project, run at the University of Warsaw and investigating the role of the middle clergy in the Church and society. Our team has been collecting the evidence concerning clerics withina searchable database, accessible on-line: http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/. The project is drawing to an end at its closing conference, “Clerics in Church and society up to AD 700” is aiming to achieve a broad picture of the ecclesiastical, economic, and social activity on the lower and middle clerics. We will deal with their ritual role and piety, judicial expertise and legal situation, position in monasteries and local communities, economic status and revenues. All interested are welcome, but please register here: http://clericsconference.ihuw.pl/.
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At the upcoming 54th International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo (9–12 May 2019) the ‘Presbyters in the Late Antique West’ Project (University of Warsaw) organizes a session on the emergence of Christian clergy as a separated... more
At the upcoming 54th International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo (9–12 May 2019) the ‘Presbyters in the Late Antique West’ Project (University of Warsaw) organizes a session on the emergence of Christian clergy as a separated social group.
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At the next Medieval Congress in Leeds (2–5 July 2018), Jerzy Szafranowski of the ‘Presbyters in the Late Antique West’ Project (University of Warsaw) organizes a session on the intertwinement between the monastic and clerical orders in... more
At the next Medieval Congress in Leeds (2–5 July 2018), Jerzy Szafranowski of the ‘Presbyters in the Late Antique West’ Project (University of Warsaw) organizes a session on the intertwinement between the monastic and clerical orders in the Latin West of the first millennium.
The session is co-sponsored by the Network for the Study of Late Antique and Early Medieval Monasticism.
The session focusses on monks in holy orders and on monastic influences within secular clergy.
The session is co-sponsored by the Network for the Study of Late Antique and Early Medieval Monasticism.
The session focusses on monks in holy orders and on monastic influences within secular clergy.
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At the next Medieval Congress in Leeds (2–5 July 2018), Jerzy Szafranowski of the ‘Presbyters in the Late Antique West’ Project (University of Warsaw) organizes a session on the intertwinement between the monastic and clerical orders in... more
At the next Medieval Congress in Leeds (2–5 July 2018), Jerzy Szafranowski of the ‘Presbyters in the Late Antique West’ Project (University of Warsaw) organizes a session on the intertwinement between the monastic and clerical orders in the Latin West of the first millennium.
The session is co-sponsored by the Network for the Study of Late Antique and Early Medieval Monasticism.
The session focusses on monks in holy orders and on monastic influences within secular clergy.
The session is co-sponsored by the Network for the Study of Late Antique and Early Medieval Monasticism.
The session focusses on monks in holy orders and on monastic influences within secular clergy.
Research Interests:
At the forthcoming Medieval Congress in Leeds (3-6 July 2017) the team of the 'Presbyters in the Late Antique West' Project, based at the University of Warsaw, organizes a strand on the income and property of clergy. In most literary and... more
At the forthcoming Medieval Congress in Leeds (3-6 July 2017) the team of the 'Presbyters in the Late Antique West' Project, based at the University of Warsaw, organizes a strand on the income and property of clergy. In most literary and normative sources we usually see clerics entirely dependent on diverse types of subsidies related to their ecclesiastical office. But some casual remarks and documentary evidence show that the reality was more complicated. The actual sources of income of clerics were diverse. This session will seek to answer the following questions:
• How much did the clerics rely on church property and revenues?
• What were other sources of their income, either those linked with the religious expertise or unconnected with ecclesiastical activity?
• How the frontiers were fixed between the private property and revenues of clerics and those of the church, but also between the resources of diverse groups of clerics?
Those interested in presenting papers on such topics, particularly if focused on the period before c. 900, are requested to send the title and a short abstract (ca 100 words) to Robert Wiśniewski (r.wisniewski@uw.edu.pl) by 20 September 2016. Please, note that unfortunately the project is unable to fund speakers' expenses.
• How much did the clerics rely on church property and revenues?
• What were other sources of their income, either those linked with the religious expertise or unconnected with ecclesiastical activity?
• How the frontiers were fixed between the private property and revenues of clerics and those of the church, but also between the resources of diverse groups of clerics?
Those interested in presenting papers on such topics, particularly if focused on the period before c. 900, are requested to send the title and a short abstract (ca 100 words) to Robert Wiśniewski (r.wisniewski@uw.edu.pl) by 20 September 2016. Please, note that unfortunately the project is unable to fund speakers' expenses.
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An information about the session at the Leeds International Medieval Congress 2016
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Welcome to the Presbyters in the Late Antique West database. This database collects all the literary, epigraphic, and documentary evidence concerning Christian presbyters in the Latin-speaking provinces of the Roman empire and the... more
Welcome to the Presbyters in the Late Antique West database. This database collects all the literary, epigraphic, and documentary evidence concerning Christian presbyters in the Latin-speaking provinces of the Roman empire and the successor kingdoms up to ca 700. Each piece of evidence is quoted, translated, and tagged. You can search the records by region, time, type of evidence, author, and, above all, tags, which refer to different spheres of clerical life.