The Franciscan Order; A Victim of its own Success Essay -- essays rese

The Franciscan movement was a religious hunting lodge that arose out of one mans ideologies and beliefs. St. Francis of Assisis ideals of absolute poverty, obedience, humility, and simplicity were uncomplicated and basic, but during his smell and even suddenly by and by his death these ideologies were gradually shifting and causing a colossal amount of debate. The immense size of the Franciscan ramble combined with the potentiometer amount of popularity that the Order gained made changes in the ideology and objectives of Francis messages and teaching virtually an inevitable necessity. Some could argue that in many ways the Franciscan Orders original ideologies were a victim of the movements success. This is evident in the main rules of the Order, what the rules were initially like during the life of Francis, and what they became after his death.Saint Francis of Assisi was born in 1182 into a wealth family. His father was barb Bernardone, a wealthy cloth merchant. Throughout Francis childhood he experience many of the physical pleasures in life however, gradually he began to be possessed of visions from the divine. The first vision appeared when he was fighting with knights against Assisis enemies, the second during a night of merriment and celebration, and a third when he was praying at the undone Church of San Damiano. During the latter vision, Francis heard a voice coming from the rood-tree telling him to rebuild the Church. Francis sold many of his fathers assets and gave the currency to San Damiano, but his father was unimpressed. Francis publicly denounced his father, striping naked and throwing his clothes at his father, saying that his sole(prenominal) father from that point on was the divine. For a condemnation Francis wandered unsure of what to do, until he had his fourth divine vision on February 28, 1206. He realized that his true mission in life was the imitation of the life of Christ. Francis took to begging, and wandering from tow n to town, caring for those less fortunate than himself, and taking only what was necessary for his survival. After a time, Francis accumulated a small turning of followers and soon realized that some rules would have to be explicate to govern his order. On April 6th 1209 the order began when Francis said, He that will come on after me, let him deny himselfThis, my brothers, is our life and rule and that of all those who shall wishing to join... ... and also made the Order increasingly difficult to govern. This difficulty in governance often forced the Order to turn to the Pope for guidance, then creating a dangerous reliance on the Pope and making the order submissive to a potentially oppressive and dogmatic power. Likewise, the popularity of the movement contributed to its size. The much popular the Order was the more people joined it. The popularity also contributed to the reposeful of the standards of poverty, humility and simplicity. Money and gifts were given to the Ord er, jobs with a degree of power and prestigiousness were offered to members of the Order by the Pope, and many other circumstances. The Order itself had become a worldly institution rather than a wandering group of unworthy friars as Francis had intended. With such undermining of the original ideals and objectives of St. Francis, a split in the Order seems almost inevitable.Final Word Count 2971 Sources/ Works CitedBurr, D. Olivi and Franciscan mendicancy The Usus Pauper Controversy. Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989.Moorman, J. A History of the Franciscan Order. UK Oxford University Press, 1968.