Juan de Avila in the tradition of defence of the conversos: belonging to the «spiritual lineage of Jesus Christ»

Abstract

The preaching of Juan de Ávila was distinguished by a clear defence of the integration of Christians of Judeo-converso origin, as he himself was. We can appreciate the importance of this issue and the dimensions of this conflict if we remember the inheritance of the fifteenth century: speeches against this minority and major writings in its defence. The pro-converso writers defended the equality of all Christians from various theological arguments. Indeed, already in the sixteenth century, Juan de Avila preached this equality from the idea of the «spiritual lineage of Jesus Christ».

Keywords

• Juan de Ávila
• cristianos viejos
• cristianos nuevos
• conversos
• limpieza de sangre
• linaje