Originally published in French in 2000, The Spirituality of Martyrdom is a brief and accessible yet sweeping study of the spiritual significance attached to martyrdom in the early centuries of the Christian Church. Although studies of early Christian martyrdom have proliferated in recent decades, this book stands out by conveying to a wider audience the essence of this spirituality in its relevance to both theology and the life of every astute Christian today. Pinckaers looks at the period from the New Testament through Augustine, with a concluding chapter tying in the theology of Thomas Aquinas. The volume is generally arranged chronologically, but also includes chapters on the 'Definition of Martyrdom,' 'Martyrdom as Eucharist' and 'Martyrdom and Eschatology' as well as more author-focused studies of the theologies of martyrdom of Ignatius of Antioch, Clement of Rome, Tertullian, and Augustine. An up-to-date bibliography on the topic is also provided by the translators to supplement the original citations. This book aims to illuminate the intelligibility of the Church's veneration of martyrs in relation to its fundamental beliefs and practices, and seeks to relate this intelligibility to the broader Catholic moral tradition. The introduction by Patrick Clark highlights how this volume is specifically oriented towards the fields of moral theology and Thomistic ethics in light of the other key contributions that the late Fr. Pinckaers has made to those disciplines.

The Spirituality of Martyrdom: to the Limits of Love

History

Pinckaers OP, Servais

World

The Catholic University of America Press

"This magnificent work has all the beauty of a late career book written by a master who speaks about his area of expertise simply and wisely. This is not a heavily detailed and footnoted argument. It is a book about the virtues and passions by someone so steeped in the thought of Aquinas that he can approach his topic creatively and boldly, and yet still be firmly rooted in the Angelic Doctor's thought." – Theological Studies "This was the last book written by the respected Belgian Dominican moral theologian Servais Pinckaers before his death in 2008will be of interest to the libraries of major seminaries and to academic libraries with moral theology collections." – Catholic Library World "This is an accessible treatment of a complex subject from an undisputed master of the field. Less a scholarly work than a profound, personal reflection on a topic of perennial significance. Recommended." – Choice "[Passions and Virtue] is brief, and printed in a small format. Each short chapter is divided into smaller sections, and given a subtitle. This means that it is read profitably in shorter sections, interspersed with longer periods of reflection on the content, keeping an eye on the overall thread of the bookan important addition to the Pinckaers English-language canon. One can hope that it will be read by a wider audience, and will serve as a means of introducing his other works to the uninitiated, and that his thought will become accepted as essential reading in seminaries and places where Catholic theology is taught and studied. To this end, the more material available in English the better." – New Blackfriars

Passions and Virtue

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

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