John Colet, Preaching and Reform at St Paul's Cathedral, 1505-19

Abstract

As a Christian humanist, Colet attempted clerical reform partly by means of preaching. Evidence from Colet's ecclesiastical life as dean of St Paul's suggests that his success was limited by the inappropriate expression of his idealistic ecclesiology, which demanded perfection. Although Colet's passion for preaching was shared and admired by humanist colleagues, his sermons received negative reactions from his cathedral clergy, the Bishop of London and Henry VIII.The intellectual basis for Colet's ecclesiology was a combination of Pauline theology and Dionysian spirituality, which created a vision of Church perfection by means of purification and illumination. However, Colet sought a spiritual and moral revival, not a fundamental change to the structure of the Catholic Church. Colet's humanist success was achieved mainly outside the ecclesiastical world.