Church-sect dynamics and the Feast of Corpus Christi

Sociology of Religion, Fall, 2004 by Barbara R. Walters

ANALYSIS OF EPISODES OF INTERACTION

A characteristic feature of Juliana's vita is the presentation of short vignettes, or episodes of face-to-face interaction, each of which provides a scene that enabled the author to develop the character of the exemplar of virtue. These are employed in this paper as the smallest unit of social analysis. Borrowing from a typology inspired by Goffman and developed by Marc and Picard (1989:128-135; cf. Quenardel 1997:11) vignettes are examined to cull out details in rituals of access, confirmation, deference, avoidance, support, ratification, and reparation. These provide concrete examples of semiotic activities and symbolic communications that resulted in veneration of Juliana as a pneumatic vessel and legitimatized her religious authority.

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Classification

51 vignettes, or episodes of interaction, were selected from the vita, 23 episodes with men and 28 with women. These are presented in Table 1, classified into one of five categories according to the orientation of the actors/actresses toward each other and/or the outcome of the interaction. The five "Action Orientation" classifications represent different configurations of deference-respect and range from equality between actors to mutual disrespect. In all but sixteen episodes, Juliana receives deference even when the interaction partner is male and/or of higher social status. Exceptions reveal important conscious strategies in the male dominated religious world in which she lived. The more qualitative interpretative analysis amplifies selected interactions in relationships for which there are multiple vignettes, that is, meaningful relationships with significant and/or powerful others. This focus highlights the contours of a powerful social network or "carrier stratum" (cf. Weber 1978), which is illustrated in Table 2.

Women Allies

Juliana's friendship with Eve, the recluse at Saint-Martin's, and their indissoluble bond to the love of God (Delville 1999:66) was the most significant of the close circle of face-to-face friends. Eve was ten to fifteen years younger and the protegee, the spiritual daughter, of Juliana. She was also Juliana's equal and friend, the first person to whom Juliana revealed her most famous vision: a moon with a quarter missing that symbolized the liturgical year with a feast day in honor of the sacrament missing. Juliana shared many other ecstatic spiritual experiences with Eve, e.g., clairvoyant perceptions of the absence or presence of the reserved host at Saint-Martin's. Eve was also Juliana's protector and one of many who provided shelter for her during turbulent periods when she was ousted from Mont-Cornillon (cf. Cottiaux and Delville 1990:35) and had her oratory destroyed. She thus bridges Weber's type of "active co-workers ... who generally also possess some special charismatic qualifications" with the "circle of followers comprising those who support (her) with lodging, money, and services and who expect to obtain their salvation through (her) mission" (Weber 1978:452).