Disguise
In the Middle Ages, the taking of the veil marked the admission of a widow, usually of a higher rank, to the church class of widows. A widow who is a consecrated life decided was from a priest or bishop , the widow consecration received without in a convent to enter.
The widow promised celibate chastity , humility (humilitas) , obedience (obedientia) , charity (caritas) and good works (bonorum operum) . At the ceremony, her clothes were blessed and she put on a veil that made her stand visible to the outside world. Well-known women who belonged to the class of widows were the Empress Agnes von Poitou , the Queen Richenza of Poland and the Margravine Judith von Baden.
Widow ordination was preserved in the Orthodox churches . For some years now, women have been ordained widows again in the Latin Church , with reference to the apostolic letter of John Paul II, Vita Consecrata .
“Today the ordination of widows and that of widowers, already known at the time of the apostles (cf. 1 Tim 5,5-10 EU ; 1 Cor 7-8 EU ) , is performed again . By pledging eternal chastity as a sign of the kingdom of God, these persons sanctify their status in order to devote themselves to prayer and service to the Church. "
literature
- Mechthild Black-Veldtrup : Empress Agnes (1043-1077). Source-critical studies. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne 1995, ISBN 3-412-02695-6 (especially on p. 369 ff.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vita Consecrata , No. 7