Christological Accents in "The Lives of Saints" and Their Impact in the Social and Religious Formation of Believers

Abstract

In the history of literature, hagiography is taken as a literary rudimentary-religious dowry through which the foundations of later literature are set. Usually, these writings are given a mythological-historical value which is why they are not considered clear segments of literature, while from the perspective of literary historians, they are not acknowledged as sacred writings either. The present research provides a meeting point between the Protestant dogmatic theology and the lives of saints. That is, a general observation on how the lives of saints (and not only) contain the traits of the holy man and the characteristics of holiness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Given the importance that Jesus Christ gives to holiness, this article will show how the Holy Spirit has maintained in the saints the existential character of our Lord Jesus Christ and the basic paradigms of the life He desired. In the conclusions of this study we will report the perspective of Jesus Christ on holiness and the life of repentance, and the way in which the Tradition preserved them. Details on how the life of St. Gerard of Cenad preserved and gave new insights to holiness and to the social life preached by Jesus Christ will also be presented.