Welcome

Elizabeth Dreyer is Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT. Areas of interest include medieval Christian theology, spirituality and mysticism; the spiritual legacy of medieval women; theology of the Holy Spirit; theology of the cross; contemporary lay spirituality; the thought of thirteenth-century Franciscan, Bonaventure; and the Ignatian spiritual heritage. She publishes in a wide range of journals and lectures, teaches, and leads workshop and retreats in the United States and abroad.

Passionate Spirituality: Hildegard of Bingen and Hadewijch of Brabant (Paulist Press, 2005).


Few Christians are comfortable uttering the terms “passion” and “spirituality” in the same breath. But Dreyer shows how diverse passion is and how it can be a part of every Christian life -- from cries of love to virtuous action. To illustrate her point, she examines the work of two medieval women mystics – one who writes in a very symbolic, analytic style (Hildegard), and one whose expression competes with the world’s most intense love poetry (Hadewijch).