ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

(1033-1109)

St. Anselm was born at Aosta and raised in Burgundy, France. Because of his father’s harshness, that forbade him from entering a local abbey, Anselm wandered few years in Europe before moving to Normandy. He was attracted by the reputation of Lanfranc, the abbot of Bec monastery in Normandy, and settled there as a monk in 1060. He started his life of prayers, study, and meditation for ten years, before writing his famous works: the monologue, and the pros logion. In the latter he proved the existence of God, which revealed St. Anselm’ originality. He argued that God is “ that which nothing greater can be thought.” Anselm also believed deeply in the relationship between faith and reason, ‘I believe in order to understand’.

When Lanfranc became archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm was elected, replacing him as a prior, but stayed under his guidance. After his death, Anselm was the choice of the clergy to succeed him. It took four years to get King William II to approve the appointment. Against his desire, Anselm was appointed archbishop of Canterbury, a job that got him exiled two times, and in continuous tension with king Williams, and his successor king Henry. He enjoyed Theology more than ecclesiastical duties, although he accomplished a lot such as supporting the strict enforcement of clerical celibacy. So many times, he begged the Pope to relieve him from Canterbury, but the pope was in need of his theological mind as said. In fact Anselm’s place in history is known as the “father of scholasticism”.

After his second exile in 1106, Anselm returned to England for short period, reaching reconciliation, half way, with King Henry, who demanded homage from the bishops. While in exile, he wrote his masterpiece “Why did God become man”, which influenced Theology from the Middle Ages on. Then, he died in 1109. In 1734, he was named a Doctor of the Church.

From his writings: