Abstract

GARCIA-GARCIA, Jorge Armando. The Fathers of the Church, the Nascent Printing Press and its Influence on Spanish Theology. Rev. Guillermo Ockham [online]. 2023, vol.21, n.1, pp.205-217.  Epub Jan 26, 2023. ISSN 1794-192X.  https://doi.org/10.21500/22563202.5394.

This article tries to move on two great poles of the 16th century: spiritual theology at the helm of Spain and the incursion of the printing press and its contribution to the theological science of the time. The first part of the article analyzes the circumstances that influenced the development of Theology after the meeting of the two worlds. The emphasis is on Spiritual Theology that will be mistress and mistress of these years and that has Spain its most propitious environment, since even Catholic kings consider themselves sent by the Holy Spirit, not only to rebuild Spain, but to save the Church that was losing strength and credibility. The second part describes how the nascent printing press manages to catapult Theology and spiritual ideas through three great works: the dissemination of the Church Fathers, the Bible and the Breviary. The critical historical hermeneutics on which this study is based, resorted to the analysis of sources that provided information about the spirituality of the 16th century, centered in Spain, and the influence of the printing press on theological works. It is concluded then, that the spirituality of this time, influenced by the humanism that invited to return to the sources, has to resort to the Holy Fathers who before -their manuscripts- belonged only to religious characters or communities; but with printing -although expensive- they spread more widely, enriching the life of prayer attested in the enormous diffusion of the Breviary.

Keywords : Printing; Theology; Spirituality; Patrology; Humanism; Papacy; Enlightenment; Bible; Breviary.

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