The Church and Spiritual Franciscans

Question 1

Francis

Answer 1

Founder of the Franciscan order, who dictated a testament and encouraged strict and literal observance of the rule.

Question 2

Regula Bullata

Answer 2

1223 papal decree that forbade Franciscan friars from owning property and owning money.

Question 3

Quo Elongati

Answer 3

Gregory IX’s 1227 decree that permitted Franciscans the moderate use of goods, but not ownership (dominium or propietas).

Question 4

John of Parma

Answer 4

Leader of the Franciscan order who accused some brothers of neglecting their spiritual duties and hoarding wealth.

Question 5

Bonaventure

Answer 5

Scholastic theologian and minister general of the Franciscan order who sought a compromise between the “Spirituals” and “conventuals.”

Question 6

Spiritual Franciscans

Answer 6

A radical minority loyal to Francis’ exact words who associated Franciscan poverty with Joachim of Fiore’s prophesied age of the Holy Spirit.

Question 7

Joachim of Fiore

Answer 7

Influential apocalyptic prophet whose ideas influenced the Spiritual Franciscans’ belief about poverty.

Question 8

Peter Olivi

Answer 8

Franciscan friar and theologian who argued for stricter poverty than outlined in Quo Elongati and reflected Joachite beliefs in his Commentary on the Apocalypse.

Question 9

John XXII

Answer 9

Pope who condemned the Spiritual Franciscans and labeled the Franciscan claim that Christ and his apostles owned nothing as heresy.

Question 10

Impoverishment

Answer 10

The discussion and impasse caused by competing notions of authority and obedience about how to define and embody impoverishment in the world.

Question 11

Key Idea: Francis’ Testament

Answer 11

In 1226, shortly before his death, Francis dictated a testament recording his memories of the order and requesting that it be always kept with and read with the Rule without any glosses or interpretations.

Question 12

Key Idea: Franciscan poverty

Answer 12

In 1223, the Regula Bullata forbade Franciscan friars from owning property and money. Four years later, Gregory IX’s decretal of Quo Elongati institutionalized Franciscan poverty, permitting only the usus moderatus of goods, not dominium or proprietas.

Question 13

Key Idea: Tension within the order

Answer 13

By the 1250s, the Order was polarizing into a conventional majority and a radical minority loyal to Francis’ exact words, causing tension between Francis’ original ‘High Poverty’ and the growing demand for a spiritual institution to serve Christian spiritual needs.

Question 14

Key Idea: Leadership struggles

Answer 14

Crescentius of Iesi solicited fancy buildings and financial donations, causing leadership struggles. John of Parma and Bonaventure took charge in quick succession.

Question 15

Key Idea: Spiritual Franciscans

Answer 15

The debate over propietas and dominium split the order into “Spirituals” and “Conventuals”. The Spiritual Franciscan belief, influenced by Joachim of Fiore, took on an apocalyptic dimension, associating poverty with the prophesied age of the Holy Spirit.

Question 16

Key Idea: John XXII’s condemnation

Answer 16

In 1318, John XXII condemned the Spirituals for criticizing the Church’s modifications of usus pauper. In the same year, four Spirituals were burnt in Marseilles. In 1323, John XXII’s Cum inter nonnullos labelled the Franciscan claim that Christ and his apostles owned nothing, either individually or collectively, as heresy.

Question 17

Key Idea: Discussion of poverty

Answer 17

The issue was how to embody and define impoverishment in the world, causing a discussion due to competing notions of authority and obedience.