Militia of Jesus Christ

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Logo of the international association "Militia Jesus Christ"

The Militia of Jesus Christ ( English : Militia of Jesus Christ ; French : Milice de Jésus-Christ ; Abbreviation: MJC ) is an international association of believers recognized by the Holy See since November 21, 1981 , which has its origins in a during the Albigensian Wars for the military fight against the Cathars in Occitania leads back the religious knightly order which, according to legend, was founded by St. Dominic . The former knightly order, revived after 1870 and restructured in the 1960s, today has around 500 female and male members spread across nine countries worldwide.

history

During the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) there were - possibly several times - initiatives on the part of spiritual and military leaders of the Catholic party to found a military knightly order modeled on the Templars , which especially in the critical phases of the war regardless of the fluctuating influx of Crusaders, who often stayed in the theater of war for a short time, and who left Languedoc after their vows had expired. The best-known attempt of this kind was driven by Konrad von Urach , a Cistercian abbot who between 1220 and 1223 for three and a half years as a papal legate in southern France, the interests of Pope Honorius III. perceived. Like the Templars, the knightly order he designed was to be closely aligned with the Cistercian ideal of monks. However, Konrad, who was related to the aristocratic family of the crusade leader Simon de Montfort , who died in June 1218 before Toulouse and advised his son Amauri , also appeared as a supporter of the later Dominican preachers' brotherhood , which was emerging at the same time, and worked with him like Dominic himself Bishop Fulko of Toulouse , who may also have been involved in such founding projects. The establishment of an order militia for the Albigensian War envisaged by Konrad was essentially unsuccessful and was not resumed later, since the Pope's influence on southern French politics only began in the mid-1220s after the intervention of the French King Louis VIII in the Albigensian War played a subordinate role.

Nevertheless, a knightly order formed as part of these efforts survived at least formally and was supported by the popes for several centuries. The organization, which was in fact never active as a military combat force, was composed of devout lay people who pursued the spiritual ideal of the monk knight propagated by Bernhard von Clairvaux and saw themselves as " milites christiani ".

The work of Dominic, who died in 1221 and was canonized in 1234 , was shaped by the struggle against the Cathar heresy in southern France, where he mainly worked as a traveling preacher before the outbreak of the Albigensian War around 1208 , cared for religious women's communities and gathered a community of like-minded clerics around him. Dominikus pursued his plans in close coordination with the Bishop of Toulouse and was later also associated with the leader of the crusade Simon de Montfort, but stayed relatively seldom in the war zone and probably only participated sporadically in the acts of war that led to his conversion and Preaching activities severely disabled and at times practically brought to a standstill. Instead, he made frequent visits to Rome in the 1210s, overseeing his early companions' studies at the University of Paris, and trying to establish his community elsewhere as well. He was first associated in the 14th century by Raimund von Capua with the founding of the knightly order of the "Militia of Jesus Christ". Raimund officiated from 1380 until his death in 1399 as general master of the Roman Dominican order and was in relationship with Catherine of Siena , who was a member of the "Militia of Christ" and as a lay Dominican felt at the same time connected to St. Dominic.

In 1870 , during the First Vatican Council (1869-1870) in Rome , in connection with the fall of the Papal States , to whose military the order was counted, a complete restructuring and re-establishment of the order. At that time only a small group of papal officials belonged to the members . Pope Pius IX (1846–1878) and the Dominican order master Vincent Jandel (1850–1872) tried to revive the spirit of the old institution.

About 100 years later, between 1957 and 1973, another process of change took place, in the course of which the organizational form of the order of knights was given up and the institute was converted into a spiritual community in which the lay apostolate was given priority. This change, which, ultimately, from the consulting decisions of the Second Vatican Council was an adult, took place on November 21, 1981 its financial statements, as the "Militia of Jesus Christ" by the Pontifical Council for the Laity , the decree of approval as a private lay Association received.

Self-image

The members are committed to the spirit of Christian values . They live according to their status of life according to the evangelical counsels and stand up for the spirit of chivalry . The practiced Marian piety supports them in their faith and ecumenism . For this purpose, the MJC forms three fields of action, which are named departments, each of which is headed by a director. The three fields of action are the “Department of Truth”, the “Department of the Rosary” and the “Department of Hospitality”.

Structure and distribution

The range of tasks of the three main departments includes, firstly, the education of the members who are familiar with the philosophy and theology of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) aligns; second, cultivating Marian piety through rosary prayer , retreats and meditation . Finally, the third department takes care of the organization and implementation of conferences and the operation of the affiliated plants. The MJC maintains and operates the initiatives Parrains pour le Liban (sponsors for Lebanon) to help young Lebanese students and Marie porte du Ciel (Mary, gate of heaven) for evangelization in Brazil and for the provision of palliative medicine .

At the local level, the members meet in houses, the houses of a country form provinces , the highest organ is the general assembly , from which the overall leadership is elected. The governing body consists of the general master, the general assistant and a master's council with the general secretary , the provincial delegates and the department directors. Ecclesiastical Ordinarius is always the Archbishop of Sens (since 2004 Yves Patenôtre ). The members are divided into "Ordinary Members" who live in the spirit of the community, but without commitment; the “committed members” bind themselves for a limited period; the third group is made up of the “ consecrated members ” who have made the temporary or perpetual vow to live according to the evangelical counsels . The MJC has 506 members spread across nine countries in Africa , Europe , the Middle East , North America and South America . The headquarters are in Versailles .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alexandre Vincent Jandel OP [1]
  2. ↑ Militia Christi in the Archdiocese of Sens-Auxerre Archived copy ( Memento from February 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive )