Nuns Are Literally the Brides of Christ? wedding gown?

[Chris_McAvoy]

I am uncertain where exactly this post is better off going to, Traditional Catholicism or Eastern Catholicism, or an Orthodox forum.

I have encountered criticism before of a certain practice that seems to have become common among certain groups of religious sisters/nuns within the latin catholic church by about 1300. The tradition is an idea that there is a very dramatic ritualistic wedding ceremony with the postulants acting out that they are marrying Christ. Sometimes at least in the 1300’s much emotion was put into it which can seem to be to be a bit…over-sentimentalising of religion. In my belief this may be a possible feminization of religion, which reminds of a wonderful lecture by Frederica Matthewes-Green titled “Why are More Men Becoming Orthodox Christian?” based on a book by Dr Leon Poddles (who is Catholic) of New Oxford Review titled “The Church Impotent: Feminization of Christianity”
What exactly is the history of the tradition

according to a review of Dr. Poddles book (which apparently has its flaws but plenty of substance):

In Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches (at least according to Podles) men participate in services and other religious activities as much or more than do women, while in Latin Catholic and Protestant churches the women outnumber the men, sometimes by wide margins.

Podles does not believe sociology can explain this disparity. Instead he argues that Christianity itself has become “feminized.” During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, he says, Christian piety underwent a dramatic change, so that where before it appealed to masculine ideals, it has appealed to feminine ones ever since. Podles attributes this change to St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s introduction of bridal mysticism, a way of praying in which the believer uses “erotic” language from the Song of Songs to express his love for Christ. Bridal mysticism appealed to women very much; from the thirteenth–century explosion of women’s orders until today, the image of being the spouse of Christ has been a favorite of Christian women. To men, however, praying as if one were the bride of a male Christ took on “sexual overtones that sound peculiar to the masculine ear.” As more women filled the pews, and as the more masculine realm of theology became too scholarly for use in homilies, Podles believes, preachers leaned on bridal mysticism to appeal to their congregations, thereby perpetuating the feminization of Christian piety begun by St. Bernard.

However the review continues to mention that:

Bridal mysticism can be found in the patristic period in both the Greek and Latin Churches, and has its roots in Scripture (especially in the Song of Songs and 2 Corinthians 11:2). If bridal mysticism is responsible for scaring men away from the Church, then it should have done so much earlier than the twelfth century, and in the Eastern Churches as well. Furthermore, it cannot be the explanation for the “feminization” of twentieth–century mainline Protestantism, which lacks any hints of bridal mysticism, except, perhaps, in some forms of feminism.

Another interesting thing is that I remember seeing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Byzantium: Faith and Power” 2 volume books a stone carved image from around Thessaloniki circa 1100 which was like a funeral effigy of a nun , very fine craftsmanship, and it had some quote in greek mentioning something along the lines of her being a bride of Christ. So some idea of this seems to have clearly existed in the East in the past and probably continues today, however it may be a less developed and less emotional idea?

So here below are the quotes I see from this form of tradition continuing in the present day. How widespread is this for female religious/monastics within the Latin Church of today or past?

Do any Eastern Churches have a practice like this? Do they appeal to the Eastern Tradition, either Catholic or Orthodox?

“As the reception day neared, the day when we were to exchange a white wedding gown for the plain, blue serge habit of a novice, I began to reconsider my commitment”

"Check out the beautiful photos of the postulant in her wedding gown during her simple-vows: wearing of a wedding gown during simple vows is a Poor Clare Colettine tradition! "

poorclarecolettines-cleveland.org/vocation_3.htm

canticleofchiara.blogspot.com/2007/01/poor-clare-colettines-in-cleveland.html

 

[KingAlfred]

I am uncertain where exactly this post is better off going to, Traditional Catholicism or Eastern Catholicism, or an Orthodox forum.

I have encountered criticism before of a certain practice that seems to have become common among certain groups of religious sisters/nuns within the latin catholic church by about 1300. The tradition is an idea that there is a very dramatic ritualistic wedding ceremony with the postulants acting out that they are marrying Christ. Sometimes at least in the 1300’s much emotion was put into it which can seem to be to be a bit…over-sentimentalising of religion. In my belief this may be a possible feminization of religion, which reminds of a wonderful lecture by Frederica Matthewes-Green titled “Why are More Men Becoming Orthodox Christian?” based on a book by Dr Leon Poddles (who is Catholic) of New Oxford Review titled “The Church Impotent: Feminization of Christianity”
What exactly is the history of the tradition

according to a review of Dr. Poddles book (which apparently has its flaws but plenty of substance):

However the review continues to mention that:

Another interesting thing is that I remember seeing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Byzantium: Faith and Power” 2 volume books a stone carved image from around Thessaloniki circa 1100 which was like a funeral effigy of a nun , very fine craftsmanship, and it had some quote in greek mentioning something along the lines of her being a bride of Christ. So some idea of this seems to have clearly existed in the East in the past and probably continues today, however it may be a less developed and less emotional idea?

So here below are the quotes I see from this form of tradition continuing in the present day. How widespread is this for female religious/monastics within the Latin Church of today or past?

Do any Eastern Churches have a practice like this? Do they appeal to the Eastern Tradition, either Catholic or Orthodox?

poorclarecolettines-cleveland.org/vocation_3.htm

canticleofchiara.blogspot.com/2007/01/poor-clare-colettines-in-cleveland.html

I think it’s a case of taking a religious metaphor too far.