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The quarterly judgment: The 24 elders of the Book of Revelation as figures of late medieval piety
Markus Zimmermann
; Institut für Kirchengeschichte, Graz, Österreich
Sažetak
In the year 1419 scholars of the Theological Faculty of Vienna wrote a tract (contra errorem adorationis viginti quatuor seniorum) to condemn a local cult of the so called 24 elders of the Book of Revelation (4.5).
According to the Viennese theologians this deviant form of late medieval piety can be described shortly in this was: Quarterly Gods judgments takes place in conjunction with the counseling of the 24 elders. Together they decide if the individual human will die or stay alive and if he/she is fortuned or not in the close future. Against the usual interpretation of Gods judgments as an event at the end of times, the focus in this alternative cult is on present occurrences. The role of the figures from the Book of Revelation is a special one (speciales santos), because they seem to be consultants and mighty intercessors at God's court. To venerate the 24 elders they were named in a mystical way and characteristics were attributed. In practice parts of the clergy performed the ritual and liturgical dimension of the cult, e.g. with the special masses and sermons. Finally the tract censured the visualization of these figures and forbid giving them names and qualtiy characteristics.
The paper wants to demonstrate how these apocalyptic figures were decontextualized, personalized and adored as saints. They were decontextualized out of the intention of the Book of Revelation, the symbolic figures of the 24 elders were personalized through name giving and they received a sacral role as counselors at God's quarterly judgment.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
100386
URI
Datum izdavanja:
3.12.2012.
Posjeta: 1.796 *