McCoog, Thomas M (1984) The Society of Jesus in England, 1623-1688: An Institutional Study. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
![[img]](http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png) |
PDF (The Society of Jesus in England, 1623-1688: An Institutional Study)
2015_06_43.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (45MB) | Request a copy |
Abstract
From the Society of Jesus' first appearance in England in 1580, various political treatises, literary works, and theological discourses have attributed legendary plots, exploits, and malice to its members. For nearly two hundred years, the Jesuits were consistently portrayed as seditious regicides who would sacrifice all to regain England for Rome. Although modern scholarship has revealed the true nature of the myth of the evil Jesuits, few historians have attempted to explicate the reality. There have been biographies of individual sixteenth century Jesuits and studies of the Society's conflicts with the English secular clergy and of their pretended plots against the government but there has been no investigation of the English Jesuits as members of an international religious order. The Society of Jesus had a "pathway to God" in its Institute (that is, its Constitutions, decrees, and rules) which became more complicated throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Could it be adapted to the special conditions of England? Were the practices of the Jesuits there harmonious with those prescribed in the Institute? Or was England so singular that dispensations and concessions left the Society there scarcely recognizable as such to other Jesuits? Centring on the period from 1623 to 1688, from the initial enthusiasm at the erection of the province to the debacle of James II's collapse and flight, this thesis will consider the English Jesuits in the context of the Society's Institute. Not bound by any monastic vow of stability, the early Jesuits were dispersed throughout the world. The preservation and the confirmation of union among such members was a constant concern of St Ignatius Loyola and the early Society. Out of this concern evolved much of the Society's Institute and its ordinary manner of government, which are topics of the first chapter. Although the mission was opened in 1580, England did not become a fully constituted province until 1623. During the intervening forty three years, the mission survived on the institutional fringe of the Society. It was the Society's first independent, permanent mission and, as such, was an exception to the customary style of government. Condemned as a novelty, the mission withstood the threats and objections of other provinces. Once erected, the English province was remarkably resilient in its adjustments to the vicissitudes of the English political scene. As the number of Jesuits increased, "colleges" and "residences" were established in England. The precise meaning of both terms has long eluded recusant historians and can only be understood fully if seen in the context of the Institute. Although most Jesuits lived with recusant families, there was a consistent effort to have a specific Jesuit house within each college and residence. Restricted by the Society's teachings on poverty and threatened by the penal laws, the province had to be very careful about its financial arrangements. The Society's Institute placed serious restrictions on the provincial institutions. Working within those limitations, the province was able to protect most of its capital and much of its real estate against theft, confiscation, and apostasy through lay trustees and a complex system of interlocking trusts.
| Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BX Christian Denominations |
| Divisions: | Jesuitica |
| Depositing User: | JHI Africa |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Jun 2015 12:43 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Mar 2018 12:08 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/192 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |