Confronting Theological Reflection with the Concept of Melancholy in the Preaching Narration in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the Late Baroque Era

Resumen

The preaching narrative tended to present a definition of melancholy as an emotional state of a person who experiences a loss of  divine grace as a result of sin. Melancholy was interpreted as a disease whose source was the poor condition of the soul. In the  theological perspective, man’s psychophysical state was a reflection of his moral condition. Therefore preachers as the main remedy  for the ailments related to melancholy recommended spiritual therapy, the main element of which was the active participation in the  sacrament of confession. The references to the ancient tradition of the concept of melancholy, which the preaching narrative uses for  the theological synthesis undertaken, are perfectly visible in the sermons. In the preaching discourse based on the biblical narrative,  the figure of Saul was readily invoked to illustrate the effect of the destructive influence of sadness on the human soul. In this  argument, the central point of the catechesis was the figure of the Paraclete, who by stimulating the human conscience evoked a state  close to melancholy. The sinner, who  did not respond to the call of the Comforter, became entangled in grief, which led him to  despair.