Nicodemus, The Priest (1302-1358) Nicodemus, a priest of the Angemont Monastery, ministered to those dying during the Black Plague. In the early days of 1350, while Nicodemus was giving last rights to an older woman, he saw a strange shadow move across her body. From that day forward, dark apparitions became more and more perceptible to him, often seen touching or watching the dying. Being a deeply spiritual man, Nicodemus struggled profoundly with these visions. The demons appeared in all rooms of all fading people, regardless of their outward righteousness. Most disturbing was the demons did not yield to any form of deathbed repentance. It was in this way, Nicodemus came to believe that this was not the way to salvation. At this time in history there began a cultural interest in the Art of Dying Well. Religious leaders quickly moved to authorize the necessary steps to ensure a ‘good death'. Nicodemus also composed a series of teachings, entitled The Hour Approaches , which set out specific revisions to these sanctioned steps. His guide lightly touched on temptations specific to facing one's own death. Instead it focused more on prescribed prayers and meditations to resist the 5 temptations one would face during daily life. In this work, Nicodemus spoke with authority on the presence of demons in the death chamber, but did not mention the attendance of angelic guardians. Disturbed by the popularity of Nicodemus' irreverent ideology, the Arch-bishop called upon him to explain his departure from the traditional Church view. He asked that Nicodemus change his teachings to restore the importance of deathbed repentance, and reestablish the existence of angelic guardians. Nicodemus refused and was sentenced to death for heresy. It was at this time, awaiting death, Nicodemus wrote some of his most famous work, depicting Death as the great equalizer. He, along with several other authors and poets, sparked a poetic movement of a melancholic cult, known as the Danse Macabre. It is said that on the day of his execution, Nicodemus was seen speaking to some invisible being standing next to him on the gallows. The executioner said that he asked the being if judgment would await him. He then appeared to welcome death with no despair or resistance. He was executed on January 1st , 1358. |