The spirituality of martyrdom ... to the limits of love

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. Since the publication in English of his masterwork, The Sources of Christian Ethics, Servais Pinckaers has become the preferred guide for English-speaking students of Catholic moral theology. This late Belgian Dominican has made themes such as Beatitude, happiness, virtue, and freedom for excellence standard features of classroom instruction in ethics, moral theology, and catechesis. Father Pinckaers's new directions in moral theology came none too soon to Anglo-American moral thought, which otherwise would have become submerged completely under the waves of one kind of relativism or another. Instead of enabling cheap escapes from moral truth, Father Pinckaers directs his students to the Sermon on the Mount. There they discover that those who suffer persecution for justice's sake are called blessed or happy. This suffering may even lead to death. The present volume completes Sources. It gives us a theological account of Christian martyrdom. Authentic martyrs testify to the highest meaning that God inscribes into the moral life. In a word, nothing should deter the Christian from choosing God. No one completes a Christian life without becoming, at least, a martyr for charity. -- from back cover Contents Translator’s Preface by Patrick M. Clark Foreword 1. An Overview of the Spirituality of Martyrdom 2. The Definition of Martyrdom: The Martyr Is a Witness 3. Martyrdom and the Eucharist 4. Martyrdom and Eschatology 5. The Summit of the Spirituality of Martyrdom 6. Clement of Rome’s ‘Letter to the Corinthians’ 7. Tertullian: The Treatise 'Ad Martyras' 8. The Spirituality of Martyrdom in St. Augustine 9. Martyrdom in the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas Selected Bibliography Index 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. It conveys to a wide audience the essence of this spirituality in its relevance to both theology and the life of every astute Christian today.