Instruments of immolation: Giorgio Agamben and the Eucharistic reformations of the sixteenth century
Throughout the Homo Sacer series, Giorgio Agamben takes seriously the political and philosophical significance of Christian ritual in his archaeology of Western political discourse. In Opus Dei, Agamben argues for the sacrifice of the Mass as the paradigm for the ontology of effectivity, an ontology...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2021
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| In: |
Critical research on religion
Year: 2021, Volume: 9, Issue: 1, Pages: 48-64 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Agamben, Giorgio 1942-, Homo sacer
/ Agamben, Giorgio 1942-, Opus Dei
/ Catholic theology
/ Liturgy
/ Mass
/ Priest
/ Reformation
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| RelBib Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism AD Sociology of religion; religious policy CB Christian life; spirituality KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance RC Liturgy |
| Further subjects: | B
Protestant Reformation
B Giorgio Agamben B Martin Luther B Eucharist B Huldreich Zwingli |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Throughout the Homo Sacer series, Giorgio Agamben takes seriously the political and philosophical significance of Christian ritual in his archaeology of Western political discourse. In Opus Dei, Agamben argues for the sacrifice of the Mass as the paradigm for the ontology of effectivity, an ontology he sees as still regnant in the West. This ontology depends on the discourse of duty or office, and it begins with the priestly office. The priest’s duty is to be an “animate instrument” in the Mass. However, Agamben’s archaeology contains a massive gap between scholastic theology and Enlightenment political theory—the Protestant Reformation. I argue that Agamben’s hypothesis requires attending to the reformation of the Mass. Examining the works of Luther and Zwingli, I show that in spite of their rejection of the priesthood, the discourse of duty and operativity not only persists but expands through their respective sacramental theologies. |
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| ISSN: | 2050-3040 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Critical research on religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/2050303220952877 |