ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter Spanish mysticism as it was practised and developed by John of the Cross and others was called a secret form of Protestantizing. There was good reason for this. One of the reasons so far omitted was the Jewish background of both Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross.1 They had this in common with many Spanish Christians, but from the history of the Reformation in Italy we know that in these Jewish-Christian circles there was much sympathy for Protestantism. The Italian refugee church in London consisted to a large extent of Christian Jews.2 Many of these Italian Protestants chose Protestantism because they expected to find there at least some sympathy for their opposition to the doctrine of the Trinity. There was little difference between the mystical teachings of someone like John of the Cross and Jewish mysticism. His rejection of a religion which was mainly based on visual images, his preference for a silent walk with a hidden God corresponded more with certain forms of Protestant-Christian or Jewish spirituality than with the extravagant visualization that became current within Catholicism under the influence of the Jesuits or Inquisitors. There are also similarities between his work and that of the Spiritualists who were fiercely persecuted during the Inquisition and who were known as 'Alumbrados'.3 And yet it seems that Protestantism in particular was not very positive towards this quietistic approach. The silence that John of the Cross propagated seems to have settled over his inheritance as well.
