JAN GRZESZCZAK, Fundamentum Doctrine Joachim. The Beginning of Research on the Vision of the History of Joachim of Fiore

Volume XXVI: 2020

Philosophy — Theology — Spiritual culture of the Middle Ages
ISSN 0860-0015
e-ISSN 2544-1000

SUMMARY

The article presents the first attempt at a comprehensive and critical view on the vision of the history of Joachim of Fiore (1135–1202), that is, the so-called “Protocol of Anagni” from the mid-13th century, a collection of the results of a papal commission convened by Alexander IV to examine the case of the Franciscan theologian Gerard of Borgo San Donnino. An analysis of a fragment of the “Protocol”, where the papal theologians presented the foundations of the doctrine of Joachim of Fiore, the Calabrian Abbot, was carried out. Attention was drawn to a precise selection of works by Joachim of Fiore, which the commission used to research the legacy of this author in the doctrinal aspect. Both the selection of the fragments of works by Joachim of Fiore, as well as the relatively brief period of time of a mere several dozen years after his death, make the Protocol of Anagni compelling research material, which cannot be overlooked in the study of Joachim’s legacy. This is the first in-depth and, more importantly, source-based presentation and critical assessment of the historical and theological vision of this 12th-century author, one that is astonishing in its vitality, stretching from the Middle Ages to modern times.