The Franciscan Intellectual Tradition - a Tradition "Turned Upside Down"
"The Franciscan Intellectual Tradition - a Tradition 'Turned Upside Down'" by Johannes Freyer, OFM, is the latest lecture of the Franciscan Zoom Lecture Series, hosted by the Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego.
Following the Gospel in the midst of his ordinary life, St. Francis started to see reality from a different point of view, a world turned upside down. By seeing from “down below” rather than from “up above,” his dispositions and feelings changed. “Upside down” he followed the footsteps of Jesus Christ in poverty and humility and with simplicity. This standpoint of Francis and his brotherhood soon began to influence the intellectual world of newly founded universities. This presentation outlines the distinct concepts and thought patterns that emerged when the Franciscan form of life interacted with the patristic tradition and the newest scholastic theology.
Johannes Freyer, OFM
Visiting Professor
Br. Johannes Freyer, OFM, was born in Waldshut (Germany) and entered the Franciscan Order after training as a bank clerk. After his philosophical and theological studies, he earned a doctorate in spirituality and a post-doctorate (Habilitation) in theological anthropology and the history of theology. He was active in education and taught for 22 years at the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome, of which he was President (Rettore Magnificus) for 2 sessions. In the last years he was also Theological Adviser of the aid-agency Franziskaner-Helfen seated in Bonn, Germany. Since 2012, he has been teaching as a visiting professor at the Franciscan School of Theology.