Brethren of the Common LifeThe Brethren of the Common Life (Latin: Fratres Vitae Communis, FVC) was a Roman Catholic pietist religious community founded in the Netherlands in the 14th century by Gerard Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religious experience and preached a life of simple devotion to Jesus Christ.
Geert GrooteGerard Groote (October 1340 – 20 August 1384), otherwise Gerrit or Gerhard Groet, in LatinGerardus Magnus, was a DutchCatholicdeacon, who was a popular preacher and the founder of the Brethren of the Common Life. He was a key figure in the Devotio Moderna movement. BiographyBirth and educationHe was born in the Hanseatic city Deventer in the Bishopric of Utrecht, where his father held a good civic position.
Christian meditationChristian meditation is a form of prayer in which a structured attempt is made to become aware of and reflect upon the revelations of God. The word meditation comes from the Latin word meditārī, which has a range of meanings including to reflect on, to study, and to practice. Christian meditation is the process of deliberately focusing on specific thoughts (such as a Bible passage) and reflecting on their meaning in the context of the love of God.
Florens RadewynsFloris Radewyns (Latinized as Florentius Radwyn; c. 1350 – 24 March 1400) was a Dutch Catholic priest and the co-founder of the Brethren of the Common Life. LifeRadewyns was born at Leerdam, near Utrecht, about 1350. He passed a brilliant university course and took his M.A. degree at the University of Prague. Returning home, he was installed as canon of St. Peter's, Utrecht. For some little time, Radewyns led a life of pleasure, until converted by a sermon of Geert Groote.
Congregation of WindesheimThe Congregation of Windesheim (Latin: Congregatio Vindesemensis) is a congregation of Augustinian canons that regularly takes its name from its most important monastery, which was located at Windesheim in the Netherlands. The congregation was founded as an offshoot of the Brethren of the Common Life and played a considerable part in the reform movement within the Dutch and German Catholic Church in the century before the Protestant Reformation.
The Imitation of ChristThe Imitation of Christ is a Christian devotional book by Thomas à Kempis, composed in Medieval Latin as De Imitatione Christic. 1418–1427. The devotional text is divided into four books of detailed spiritual instructions: (i) "Helpful Counsels of the Spiritual Life", (ii) "Directives for the Interior Life", (iii) "On Interior Consolation", and (iv) "On the Blessed Sacrament".
Thomas à KempisThomas à Kempis (c. 1380 – 1 May 1471; German: Thomas von Kempen; Dutch: Thomas van Kempen) was a German-Dutch Catholic canon regular of the Augustinians and the author of The Imitation of Christ, one of the best known Christian devotional books. His name means "Thomas of Kempen", Kempen, Germany, being his home town. He was a member of the Congregation of Windesheim, which was part of the Modern Devotion, a reform movement during the late medieval period.
LatinLatin (lingua Latina or Latinum) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language in the Italian Peninsula and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire.
Beguines and BeghardsThe Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christianlayreligious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take formal religious vows. Although they promised not to marry "as long as they lived as Beguines", to quote an early Rule of Life, they were free to leave at any time.
Low CountriesThe Low Countries is a historical and geographically coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Benelux" countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Also sometimes included are parts of France (such as Nord and Pas-de-Calais) and the German regions of East Frisia, Guelders and Cleves.
Reformation16th-century movement in Western Christianity*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.