Christopher Gérard

Christopher Gérard (born 7 July 1962) is a Belgian writer and publisher. He is known as a promoter of modern Paganism and draws much inspiration from Hinduism. He published the journal Antaios from 1992 to 2001, has written two non-fiction books about paganism, and written several novels.

Christopher Gérard
Christopher Gérard in 2012
Born (1962-07-07) 7 July 1962
New York City
NationalityBelgian
Occupationwriter and critic

Early life and education

Christopher Gérard was born to an Irish mother and a Belgian father. At age twelve, he was the youngest member of a team of archeologists who searched a Merovingian necropolis in the Ardennes.[1] He studied classical philology at the Université libre de Bruxelles.[2] He became a language teacher by profession.[3]

Pagan revivalism

An important influence on Gérard's religious outlook has been Ram Swarup, a Hindu proponent of a pagan revival in Europe. After developing a correspondence, the two met during Gérard's first visit to India, when Swarup functioned as an introductor of Indian society.[3] During a visit to a Hanuman temple in Delhi, Gérard became convinced that it is possible for contemporary people to practice paganism.[2] The historian of religion Jean-François Mayer has written that Gérard's approach ties in with Hindu nationalist appeals from the 1980s and onwards for Europeans to use the living Hindu tradition to reconnect to their own paganism. According to Mayer, Gérard's work can be seen as part of the development of a "Western-Hindu 'pagan axis'".[4]

Gérard is critical of the modern pagans who enforce Christian demonization by embracing phenomena such as Satanism and witchcraft. He has identified these practitioners as predominantly American, and has described their purported connection to pagan religiosity as "a historical hallucination".[3] He further criticizes the Wicca movement for what he calls "a consumeristic aspect". According to Gérard, "certain of these people will present themselves as Druids somewhere in Oregon for six months, then suddenly somewhere else they are Egyptian priests. It is neither profound, nor constructive. It is a parody."[3]

Publishing and writing career

In 1992, Gérard created and became the editor of the journal Antaios, intended as a continuation of the magazine of the same name edited by Mircea Eliade and Ernst Jünger from 1959 to 1971. The new Antaios, which existed until 2001, became the main publication of the Société d'Etudes Polythéistesm, "Society for the Study of Polytheism", founded in 1998.[3] Gérard has written a French translation of Emperor Julian's Against the Galilaeans, published in 1995.[5]

Gérard lays out his approach to faith and ethics in the books Parcours païen (2000) and La Source pérenne (2007). He has also written multiple novels in which his religious views are reflected.[2] His debut novel from 2003, Le Songe d’Empédocle, is set in Belgium, Delphi, Rome and India, and concerns a man, loosely based on Gérard himself, who discovers a secret society which has kept paganism alive in Europe.[5]

In 2009, he was awarded the Prix Félix Denayer from the ARLLFB for the book Aux Armes de Bruxelles. The book is about the city of Brussels, with a focus on cafés and tea houses, but also on architecture, parks and culture. The jury wrote that it was surprised by this departure from Gérard's usual style and subjects, but that the prize was "as much for one particular work as for all of them together".[6]

Bibliography
  • Contre les Galiléens, translation and commentary, Ousia, 1995.
  • Parcours païen, non-fiction, L’Âge d’Homme, 2000.
  • Le Songe d’Empédocle, novel, L’Âge d’Homme, 2003. Prix E. Martin de l'A.E.B.
  • Maugis, novel, L’Âge d’Homme, 2005; new edition: Pierre-Guillaume de Roux, 2020.
  • La Source pérenne, non-fiction, L'Âge d'Homme, 2007.
  • Aux Armes de Bruxelles, non-fiction, L'Âge d'Homme, 2009. Prix Félix Denayer.
  • Porte Louise, novel, L’Âge d’Homme, 2010.
  • "Voluptueux et stoïque. La face païenne de Montherlant", Montherlant aujourd'hui, vu par 15 écrivains et hommes de théâtre, non-fiction, Editions de Paris, 2012.
  • Vogelsang ou la mélancolie du vampire, novel, L’Âge d’Homme, 2012. Prix Indications.
  • Quolibets. Journal de lectures, non-fiction, L’Âge d’Homme, 2013.
  • Osbert & autres historiettes, short stories, L’Âge d’Homme, 2014.
  • Le Prince d'Aquitaine, novel, Pierre-Guillaume de Roux, 2018. Grand Prix spécial de L'Incorrect.

See also

References
  1. Franck, Jacques (7 February 2001). "L'étrange parcours d'un païen". La Libre Belgique. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  2. Franck, Jacques (13 April 2007). "Le rêve d'un retour des dieux". La Libre Belgique. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  3. Henry, Hughes (1999). "Pagan Power in Modern Europe". Hinduism Today. 21 (7). ISSN 0896-0801. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  4. Mayer, Jean-François (2001). "Christopher Gérard, Parcours païen". Politica hermetica (15): 100–101.
  5. Mayer, Jean-François (21 August 2003). "Le néo-paganisme rencontre la mondialisation: à propos de deux récents ouvrages en français". Religioscope (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  6. "Prix Félix Denayer 2009". Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
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