This article analyses a central episode in the response of the Catholic bodies of doctrinal control to the emergence of Paracelsianism. More specifically, it discusses the censorial report written in 1616 by the physician Johannes Faber for the Congregation for the Index about the works of Paracelsus. This report was written in a time that Paracelsianism had become increasingly popular, but also a source of fierce debates. The complex context surrounding the report is investigated, with particular attention to the broader (...) social, religious, and scientific aspects as well as the precise historical situation in which it was written. Faber’s report and an English translation are provided in separate appendices. (shrink)

An account of the Rosicrucian manifestos, and in particular their call for a general reformation, in relation to medieval and early modern traditions and reform programs.