Session 1
June 15, 2023
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 2
June 22, 2023
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 3
June 29, 2023
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 4
July 6, 2023
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 5
July 13, 2023
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 6
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 7
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 8
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 9
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 10
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 11
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 12
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 13
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 14
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 15
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 16
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 17
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 18
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 19
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Session 20
7.00pm - 8.00pm

Online Course Details    

Meeting ID 889 7046 2708 Passcode 035412

The medieval polymath and woman mystic, St Hildegard of Bingen, is an intriguing figure. She is perhaps best known today for her talent and formidability: her visionary theology once commanded her the ear of popes and emperors; and her artistic output remains striking and beautiful even today.

She is also a deep and rich thinker, weaving together a lush view of the cosmos in which the soul, aided by the virtues and glimpses of higher realities in the world around it, seeks to return to God through living a rigorous moral life.

 

She was also a woman of her time, and her view of the world is in many ways strange to the modern reader. Yet this only serves to make her all the more beguiling, if perhaps at times also frustrating, calling us to see the world through eyes separated from us by almost a millennium of social transformation.

 

Join us as we explore Hildegard’s visionary theology, focusing on her first major work, the Scivias. Experiencing the texts and images, we will attempt to cross the gulf of time and culture, and explore how Hildegard can touch us even today.

 

This course revolves around reading Hildegard’s Scivias. For copyright reasons we are not able to provide scans of each week’s reading, so students will have to provide their own copy. We will be using the Classics of Western Spirituality (Paulist Press, 1990)edition

 

Students are advised to leave sufficient time for their copy to arrive before the start of the course, which will begin with a reading set a week in advance of the first session.

 

Students will also benefit from owning a copy of Sarah Salvadori’s Hildegard Von Bingen :A Journey Into the Images (Skira, 2019), which includes high-quality annotated versions of the images in the Scivias. However, this is not a requirement.

 

For students in the London area, copies of both books are available for loan from the Heythrop Library. 

 

Week 1
The Redeemer and the Trinity

This week will focus on the first two visions of book two of the Scivias. These explore the nature of the Trinity and Christ as redeemer.

Students will also have an optional lecture which will help to contextualise Hildegard’s work and introduce them to the basic ideas that underlie her theology. This latter material is optional, but highly recommended for students who did not attend the prior course, as well as those who simply wish to recap this material.


Week 2
The Church and Confirmation

This week will focus on the second two visions of book two of the Scivias. These explore the nature of the Church and the sacrament of confirmation.

 

Week 3
The Orders of the Church

This week will focus on the fifth vision in book 2 of the Scivias. This explores the distinctive natures of priesthood, professed religious life, and lay life, as well as questions of authority, obedience, and discipline.

Week 4
Christ’s Sacrifice and the Church

This week will focus on the Scivias book2 vision 6, which covers the relationship between the Church and the Passion, including a focus on the Eucharist, priesthood, and the sacrament of Penance.

 

Week 5
The Devil

In this session, we will look at the final vision of the Scivias, book 2, which focuses on the Devil and his temptations.

Course
Resources

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Tutors

Dr Nicolete Burbach

Dr Nicolete Burbach is the Social and Environmental Justice Lead at the London Jesuit Centre. Her PhD thesis looked at Pope Francis’ hermeneutics of uncertainty, and her research focuses on resourcing Pope Francis to think through issues of alienation and disagreement, with a particular focus on navigating the difficulties around trans inclusion in the Church. Previously, she has taught modules on postmodern theology and Catholic Social Teaching, both at Durham University.

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