Based on the provided document, here is a summary of its sections:
Introductory and Title Information
- Title and Occasion: This is a sermon preached in 1693 at the Royal Convent of Santo Domingo in Mexico City for the feast of St. Peter Martyr of Verona, the patron of the Holy Office of the Inquisition.
- Key Figures: The sermon was preached by Fray Diego de Arellano, a Lecturer of Sacred Theology. It was dedicated to Juan Antonio de Velasco, the General of the Order of Mercy. The event’s sponsor was Juan de Ribera Calderón, a commissary of the Inquisition.
Dedicatory and Preliminary Letters
- Dedication to Juan Antonio de Velasco: Diego de Arellano presents the sermon to Velasco, praising his leadership as Master General of the Order of Mercy and acknowledging his own “humble” contribution.
- Approvals (Aprobaciones):
- Fray Agustín Dorantes: Confirms the sermon contains nothing against the Catholic faith or good customs.
- Fray Joseph de la Parra: Extols the sermon’s eloquence and intellectual depth, comparing its clarity to water and its structure to a fruitful tree.
- Fray Joseph de Noriega: Praises the sermon’s rigor, conciseness, and faithfulness to Scripture.
- Licenses: Formal permissions for printing were granted by the Order’s Provincial, Lorenzo de Arana, the Viceroy Count of Galve, and the Archbishop’s representative, Antonio de Auncibay.
The Sermon (Main Content)
- The Triple Crown of St. Peter Martyr: The sermon begins by highlighting that St. Peter Martyr is uniquely honored with three “aureolas” or crowns: as a Virgin, a Doctor, and a Martyr.
- The Concept of the “Daily Cross”: Based on the Gospel text “Let him take up his cross daily,” the preacher argues that St. Peter Martyr did not die just once but lived a “daily death” through penance and constant defense of the faith against heretics.
- Three Types of Death: Following Jacobo de Voragine, the sermon explores how the Saint died with Christ (through 30 years of monastic penance), for Christ (defending the faith against Manichean heretics), and in Christ (his final confession during his execution).
- The Final Act of Faith: A central theme is the Saint’s final moments where, after being struck, he used his own blood to write the Creed (Symbolo de la Fè) on the ground. This is presented as his final “voice” when his physical tongue was silenced.
- Role as Inquisitor and Model: The sermon connects the Saint’s actions to the duties of the Inquisition. It portrays his zeal as a spiritual weapon inherited by the “Apostolic Inquisitors” to defend the Church and defeat error.
- Conclusion: The preacher calls upon the Saint’s patronage for the members of the Inquisition and the faithful, urging them to follow his footsteps to achieve the glory of the Cross.
The section encompassing the Dedication and Preliminary Letters (pages 1–11) contains the formal front matter required for the publication of the sermon in 1693.
Dedication to Juan Antonio de Velasco
- Purpose: Fray Diego de Arellano dedicates his sermon on St. Peter Martyr to Juan Antonio de Velasco, the General of the Order of Mercy.
- The Subject: The sermon was originally preached at the Royal Convent of Santo Domingo in Mexico City during a feast sponsored by Juan de Ribera Calderón, a commissary of the Inquisition.
- Rhetorical Style: Using a “humble” tone, Arellano compares his work to a small sacrifice offered to a “Great” figure, seeking Velasco’s protection to elevate the work’s “rudeness” and lack of erudition.
- Praise for Velasco: Arellano extols Velasco’s lineage, virtue, and leadership as “Master General” and a “benign pastor” of the Mercedarian Order.
Approvals (Aprobaciones) and Opinions (Pareceres)
These documents provide theological and literary clearance for the sermon’s publication:
- Fray Agustín Dorantes (May 8, 1693): Confirms the sermon contains nothing contrary to the Catholic faith or good customs.
- Fray Joseph de la Parra (May 26, 1693): Offers a highly metaphorical praise, describing the sermon’s style as “clear as water” and its structure as a “fruitful tree”. He lauds its “divine brevity” and “ingenious perfection”.
- Fray Joseph de Noriega (May 24, 1693): Notes that the sermon is “rigorous in proof, concise in words,” and faithful to Scripture. He emphasizes that the author, as a son of the Order of Preachers, produced a work of “pure” quality.
Official Licenses
The final pages of this section record the legal permissions granted by civil and religious authorities:
- Order’s License: Granted by Fray Lorenzo de Arana, the Provincial of the Order of Preachers, on May 9, 1693.
- Civil License: Granted by the Count of Galve, Viceroy of New Spain, on May 27, 1693.
- Ecclesiastical License: Issued by Antonio de Auncibay, representative of the Archbishop of Mexico, on May 23, 1693.
In the provided 1693 sermon, depictions of Jews primarily occur within a theological and polemical context related to the defense of the Catholic faith.
- As Figures of “Sacrilege”: The sermon compares the Saint’s enemies to the Jews who participated in the Crucifixion of Christ. Specifically, the text notes that just as a reed (or pen) was placed in Christ’s hand by “Judaism” to mock Him, St. Peter Martyr used his own finger as a pen to write the Creed in blood, thereby exposing the “sacrilege of the Jews”.
- As Symbols of “Infidelity”: The text associates Jews with a lack of belief or “infidelity”. It describes St. Peter Martyr as a “total knife” or weapon against those suffering from the “mortal ailment of infidelity,” a category in which the preacher includes those resistant to Catholic dogma.
- As Historical Foes of the Church: The sermon uses the biblical narrative of the Maccabees—who fought against King Antiochus to protect Jewish law—as a positive archetype for the Inquisition’s defense of the faith. However, in this rhetorical framework, the “enemies of God” (identified elsewhere as heretics like the Manicheans) are cast in the villainous role of the persecutors, while the Inquisition is portrayed as the true “spiritual heirs” of the holy struggle.
- In Relation to the Inquisition’s Mission: The sermon emphasizes the role of the Inquisition in “defeating” and “condemning” the “deliriums” and “errors” of those who oppose the Church, which historically included practitioners of Judaism in the context of 17th-century New Spain.
In the 1693 sermon by Fray Diego de Arellano, Muslims are depicted as a historical and theological enemy of the Catholic faith, primarily through the following contexts:
- As Infidels and Enemies of the Faith: Along with other non-believers, they are grouped under the category of “infidelity”. St. Peter Martyr is described as a “total knife” or spiritual weapon against those suffering from the “mortal ailment of infidelity,” a group that historically included Muslims (often referred to in the text’s era as “Moors” or “Infidels”).
- The Mission of the Order of Mercy: The sermon is dedicated to Juan Antonio de Velasco, the General of the Order of Mercy (Mercedarians). The primary mission of this Order, as noted in the preliminary letters, was the “Redemption of Captives”—specifically those Christians held by Muslims in North Africa and other regions.
- Historical Combatants: The text uses the biblical “Holy War” of the Maccabees against King Antiochus as a metaphor for the defense of the Church. In the rhetorical landscape of 17th-century Spain and New Spain, this struggle against “enemies of God” was frequently applied to the ongoing conflict with Islamic powers.
- Targets of the “Apostolic Sword”: The “sword” of the Inquisition and the spiritual zeal of St. Peter Martyr are presented as tools to “abase the pride” and “prostrate the arrogance” of the Church’s enemies, a description used for both internal heretics and external “infidels” like Muslims.