1. Angelus Silesius entered the Franciscans and was ordained a priest in 1661.
13 Facts About Angelus Silesius
1. 2.
An enthusiastic convert and priest, Silesius worked to convince German Protestants in Silesia to return to the Catholic Church.
3.
Angelus Silesius's poetry explores contemporary themes of the greatness of God, mystic interpretations of the Trinity, quietist practices, and pantheism within an orthodox Catholic context.
4.
Angelus Silesius's father, Stanislaus Scheffler, was of Polish ancestry and was a member of the lower nobility.
5.
Angelus Silesius subsequently studied medicine and science at the University of Strasbourg in Alsace for a year in 1643.
6.
However, this was probably an honorary position to offer some official protection against Lutheran attackers, as Angelus Silesius never went to Vienna to serve the Imperial Court.
7.
Angelus Silesius had begun writing poetry at an early age, publishing a few occasional pieces when a schoolboy in 1641 and 1642.
8.
Angelus Silesius attempted to publish poetry while working for the Duke of Wurttemberg-Oels, but was refused permission by the Duke's orthodox Lutheran court clergyman, Christoph Freitag.
9.
When his friend Sebastian von Rostock became Prince-Bishop of Breslau, Angelus Silesius was appointed his Rath und Hofmarschall.
10.
Angelus Silesius's poetry directs the reader to seek a path toward a desired spiritual state, an eternal stillness, by eschewing material or physical needs and the human will.
11.
Several of the poems of Angelus Silesius have been used or adapted as hymns used in Protestant and Catholic services.
12.
In many early Lutheran and Protestant hymnals, these lyrics were attributed to "anonymous", rather than admit they were penned by the Catholic Angelus Silesius, known for his criticism and advocacy against Protestantism.
13.
Verses by Angelus Silesius appear in the lyrics of hymns published in Nurnberg Gesang-Buch, Freylinghausen's Gesang-Buch, Porst's Gesang-Buch ; and Burg's Gesang-Buch.