J. Gerson’s De arte moriendi – a Medieval Anachronism or a Gift for Contemporary People? An Attempt of Analysis in the Light of Document Some current questions in Eschatology Released by International Theological Commission (1992)

Abstract

Death is a part of human life – a part which cannot be deleted. Both earlier and nowadays it pushes people to ask about its reason, consequences, nature and how to get ready for it. The response for the ultimate question were books about the art of dying, which first of all were written in the Middle Ages.

People are dying also today, so there is a need to work out a “new art of dying”, which is compatible with the mentality of a contemporary human being. The first step is to analyse if and how medieval texts can help or explain it. An analysis in the light of contemporary eschatology of one of such texts: De artre moriendi written by J. Gerson is the point of the following article. The first chapter is about the final things in human life such as death, paradise, purgatory and hell, which are described by Gerson. In the second chapter there is presented the teaching of the International Theological Commission concerning those issues enclosed in the document Some current questions in Eschatology (1992). The third chapter is an attempt to compare the eschatology of both texts.

 The study allows to draw a conclusion that the medieval treatise of Gerson is not an anachronism, but might be a precious inspiration for contemporary theologians. Eschatology included in that treatise is faithful to contemporary eschatology, so it is possible, after doing some revisions and additions, to build ars moriendi for contemporary human based on it.