Jesuit - who is this? History of the Jesuits

Today, many have heard the word "Jesuit", the significance of it has long had time to acquire additional facets, denoting not only belonging to one of the most famous and still influential orders of the Catholic Church, but also a crafty and dodgy man, who can not be trusted. However, these "dogs of the Lord" themselves have induced this, creating a unique, in fact, a system that is extremely simple in its basis, but has acquired a very ingenious and interesting form.

Jesuit, who is this? A bit of history

Like many orders, this one has its founder, who is now ranked as a saint. The history of the Jesuits has more than one century, the counting of which began from the first half of the 15th century, when the Spanish knight-dreamer Ignatius Loyola decided to radically change his life and devote the remaining years to the issues of the church, religion and faith, to create an original army of spiritual knights. And if at the beginning of the path practically no one knew what each Jesuit is, who it is and what the goals of the entire order are, now their mark in the history of all subsequent epochs can not be seen impossible, and not just that to a professional historian or churchman, but also to a dilettante- To the lover.

Origins of the Order

There is a "history of the dogs" of the Lord. The Jesuit order originated in 1534, when its founder, Loyola, along with his faithful friends and spiritual knights, vowed poverty, chastity and service to the glory of the Church, and three years later they took the dignity and became preachers, determined to follow the path of infidelity and custody Their believers. By 1539, the priests of this order (the future) were already in Rome, where they attracted universal attention with their ideas and faith in them, which was unique during the decline of monasteries and the Catholic Church as a whole. Perhaps, it was not the most advantageous position of the latter that prompted Pope Paul III to give a quick enough hand to the official creation of the Order, and in the future and in every possible way to patronize those who called themselves the Society of Jesus, but in reality they became soldiers of Christ in all senses.

Staff training

However, it was easy to get into the ranks of the Jesuits, perhaps, only at the very beginning. Perspicacious churchmen quickly realized that the world is ruled by information, and spared no time in training their adherents. That's why they taught at least 12 years: at least a minimum of two years of novitiate or obedience. Then followed the adoption of standard monastic vows: obedience, begging and celibacy, two more years taught languages - Latin, Ancient Greek (with obligatory reading of ancient authors - of course, in the original), a year - exact science (mathematics, physics). Then came the philosophy, and only then for another 4 years the novices taught the history of the church, theology, law, becoming coadjutors (clerics having the right to return to secular life). Only the zeal for study, diligence, natural abilities and successful final exams, which were shown during all stages, made it possible to proudly declare that yesterday the student of the college is now a Jesuit priest, with all the rights and duties.

The last vow

Now it was possible to accept the fourth and final vow, from which it was already impossible to refuse until the end of their days, a vow of unquestioning submission to the pope and only to him. Jesuits in small things are not exchanged and obeyed exclusively the charter of the order or directly pontiff. They did not recognize any other authority over themselves.

Prevalence and Abolition

The order was enough for a little more than a century to weave our networks both in the European states of that time, and in China, Japan, India, Paraguay, and the Philippines, did not forget to settle in Imperial Russia, which turned out to be very far-sighted. When in 1773 Pope Clement XIV was nevertheless forced to make a willful decision and everywhere to prohibit the "Society of Jesus" by the Dominus ac Redemptor Noster, only Catherine II refused to obey and allowed the Jesuits to continue their activities on the territory subject to the empress. The very abolition of the order lasted four decades, during which they were assigned to the parish clergy. But already in 1814 the Jesuits regained their rights and regalia.

Charter and discipline

The Jesuit charter consisted of 9 items, the essence of which was that its participants, in addition to binding monastic vows, also accepted a vow of unquestioning obedience to the rector of the society, as well as to the head of the Catholic Church. Moreover, there was virtually no way to retreat - becoming a Jesuit, a man lost the right to self-dispose of himself and was one of the links in the great system, however, working perfectly.

The Order also had very strict discipline and strict centralization, under which the supreme authority was in the hands of the general (from the "general mentor", not to be confused with the military), who was still secretly considered a "black dad" and was elected for life.

Role in the educational process

One of the main tasks that the Jesuits set themselves and successfully implemented was numerous educational institutions created in almost all missions. Thus, it was the Jesuit collegium that prepared for itself educated and well-trained novices, who for many years made "drill" into obedient dolls in the hands of the leadership. By the way, by the end of the 18th century, under their vigilant control, most of the higher and secondary educational institutions in Europe were located.

How to get out of the water - learn from the Jesuits

But the Jesuits were remembered not only with good intentions and enlightening activity, but also with an original theory that allows us to "justify ourselves" in the performance of any deeds, even very, very sinful ones, it is enough to assume that this was done for the sake of another, good purpose. And it was also possible to use the "mental reservation" and give false promises. Therefore, it's no wonder that to the question: "Jesuit - who is this?" - you could hear in response that this is a liar, a weaving network of intrigues.

Day today in the life of the Order

Centuries have passed, Ignatius Loyola has long been canonized and ranked as saints, and the current Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergolio) is just the representative of this order. In addition, there are about 17.7 thousand Jesuits in the world, which still obey strict discipline and hierarchy. The employees of the Catholic Church are trained in special colleges controlled by the "Society of Jesus." However, only time changes, people remain the same. And now the question of whether a Jesuit - who it is, practically no one is asking, since the answer is known to everyone.