F.H. Manga (Francois)
Buitenpromovendus - Tekstuele, historische en systematische studies van het Jodendom en Christendom
Erasmusplein 1
6525 HT NIJMEGEN
Postbus 9103
6500 HD NIJMEGEN
After my Master (MA) at RU Nijmegen and my Research Master (MRes) at KU Leuven, I joined the Graduate School for the Humanities at the Radboud Universiteit as External PhD Researcher with the research topic: "Jan Pascha's Spiritual Pilgrimage: A Mystagogical Text."
At the ending edge of the Middle Ages, Jan Pascha (+1539) published a book on a virtual pilgrimage, that is a mental travel throughout a written document from the reader’s residence to Jerusalem. About a pilgrimage, Ute Luig explains that, it is a journey that follows “a trajectory from the secular to the spiritual world and back”, while mental pilgrimages consist of performing the ritual without moving from the usual dwelling place. What is very practical for people who had little chance of physically visiting the Holy Land, Rome or Santiago for instance.
A theological, historical and literary scrutiny, and comparison of Pascha’s book with the Mystagogical Catechesis of Cyril of Jerusalem could probably reveal many similar points on the perspective mystagogy, that is guiding method used by Church’s Fathers, mystagogy refers to an initiation and transformation process developed in order to make people more receptive to God.
Therefore, my research question is: Are they mystagogical elements inside Pascha’s Spiritual Pilgrimage? Since my answer is affirmative, the details of the thesis will unveil those mystagogical aspects within the text of Pascha. In order to address that issue, I choose to make a comparative exploration of two works because I suggest that there could effectively be many resemblances between Pascha’s guidance technique and Cyril’s Mystagogical Catechesis. In the development of my thesis, the main question is surrounded by five sub-questions whose answers will compose the various chapters of my essay.
My Supervisors are:
Prof dr Christoph Hübenthal
and dr. Elisabeth Hense