José Eduardo Franco presents the project to prepare the Global History of Spirituality and Mysticism in Portugal and a dictionary on the topic. Photo © Bernardes Franco/Ecclesia
The 1st International Congress on Spirituality of Mysticism, which ended yesterday, April 27th, was the stage for the presentation of the project of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Catholicism and Globalization (IEAC-GO) to prepare the Global History of Spirituality and Mysticism in Portugal and a dictionary on the topic, which will include 4000 entries.
Eugénia Abrantes, who presides over the IEAC-GO and coordinates the work with José Eduardo Franco, told the ECCLESIA Agency that the first volumes of the History of Spirituality and Mysticism, presented in five volumes and seven volumes, will be released during this period. year. “Most of the volumes are already finished, others are in the text revision phase and, during this year, we are ready to start releasing the first volumes and volumes”, said Eugénia Abrantes.
The president of IEAC-GO also indicated that the dictionary is a work with 4000 entries, which are being written by 500 researchers from more than 20 nationalities. “This project is no longer a national project, it is quite universal. This means the appreciation of this theme, as well as the trust of many academic centers in these bodies, not only the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, which is the identity that supports this project, but also the IAC-GO, which signs the scientific responsibility”, she stated.
The Global History of Spirituality and Mysticism in Portugal and the dictionary on the subject are being supported by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), not only monetarily, but also in its rediscovery of History, from the 13th century to the 21st century. Speaking to the ECCLESIA Agency, Father Manuel Barbosa, secretary of the CEP, refers to the importance of the work for the History that it presents on the subject in the Catholic Church, in other religions and also in other “cultural spaces”, which “have a lot to say” . “CEP thought it was an interesting project to investigate and publicize. It is currently being done, and the work already produced is very advanced. It is a project that will have a dimension in the Church and Portuguese culture”, says the CEP secretary and spokesperson.
For the president of CEP, D. José Ornelas, the project being developed “is fundamental for any field of culture”. “This work that is being born, that will begin to appear, has to do with our being Portuguese”, says the president of CEP.
The congress also made it possible, according to Eugénia Abrantes, who was also the president of the event’s Scientific Committee, to promote more awareness of the “great Portuguese spiritual masters”, who cannot remain “in the shadow”. “We don’t know the Portuguese mystics, the great spiritual masters. Some internationals end up being better known, but not at national level”, said Eugénia Abrantes to the ECCLESIA Agency.
For the theologian, “spirituality and mysticism is still today almost a sub-theme within the framework of Theology” and it is necessary to publicize the influence of Portuguese mystics in different social areas. “Knowing how much mystics have an enormous influence in different social areas, from politics, Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy, History and also within Theology itself… It is a shame that this is lost, that this remains in the shadow”, regrets.
The 1st International Congress of Spirituality and Mysticism, which took place in the city of Braga, in Bom Jesus, between the 24th and 27th of April, had the theme “In search of non-limits” and was promoted by the Institute of Christian History and Art (IHAC ) and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Catholicism and Globalization (IEAC-GO).
The Congress, which had the support of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, addressed the theme of spirituality and mysticism in different scientific areas, namely Theology, Sciences of Religions, History, Philosophy, Anthropology, Medicine, Psychology, Sociology, Architecture, Arts, Sciences of Education, presented in more than fifty communications.
On Antena 1’s 7MARGENS program, the Congress and the History and Dictionary publications were already the subject of recent debate, which can be heard on RTP Play: https://www.rtp.pt/play/
