Quietism (Christian philosophy)

Quietism (from Latin quietus, " calm " ) refers to a special form of Christian mysticism, theology and asceticism. The quietism has its roots in the Catholic area, but was rejected by the Magisterium as heresy and false form of life.

Content

Key message is that first the man should be I completely give up and handed over to God, then to live in complete peace and equanimity. Once this state is reached in the inner prayer in the sight of God, external ascetic practices are more of a hindrance. The quietism of prayer therefore also rejects vocal prayer, the sacraments, in general, all external religious forms from, the quietism of life, the importance of the virtue striving and struggle against sin ( asceticism ).

This basic conception is attributed by some historians to the Orthodox Hesychasm of Gregory Palamas. Less controversial origins are in the minds of the brothers and sisters of the free spirit, and parts of the Alumbrados. In the 17th century, the quietism used mainly in France, Spain and Italy. Important representatives are, inter alia, J. Falconi de Bustamante, Francois Malaval, Miguel de Molinos and Madame Guyon. The French Archbishop François Fénelon adjusted the teaching of content, who spoke out against a moral life, and spoke esp. for a selfless love. But because he fell so in a rigor, rejecting the Magisterium under Pope Innocent XII. 1699 his statements as Semiquietismus.