SOURCE: Apostasy and Reform in the Revelations of St. Birgitta, Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1993, 262 p.

In the following excerpt from his book discussing Birgitta's notion of the moral apostasy of her contemporaries, Fogelqvist outlines the first of many failings the Saint observed in her fellow Christians—a so-called "love of the world" reflected in the prevalent "sins of pride, covetousness, and carnal pleasure."

There are several revelations where St. Birgitta in general terms accuses the Christians of her time of having apostatised or fallen away. Of special interest in these revelations is how the Church relates to and is affected by sinful Christians. The relationship does not always appear immediately evident, as Birgitta uses different kinds of imagery when describing it.¹ Regarding her understanding of the Church, the distinction between ecclesia congregata and ecclesia congregans is helpful. We have here two aspects of the Church. The former views the...