INTERVIEW: Sheila Upjohn

In a short interview, Sheila Upjohn discusses Julian of Norwich,  Julian's 650^th anniversary celebrations, and the new edition of In Search of Julian of Norwich …

So, who was Julian of Norwich? 

A woman who lived in Norwich during the 14^th century and who was granted a direct revelation from God during a near-death experience, which she later recorded in the first book written in English by a woman.

Why is she seen as such a significant figure in English Mysticism today? 

Initially through Enfolded in Love, the book of extracts from her writing compiled by Fr Robert Llewelyn in 1980 when he was a latter-day hermit in Julian’s cell, which made key elements of her thinking accessible.   It proved so popular it had to be reprinted twice that same year and has since sold hundreds of thousands of copies world-wide and been translated into six languages.

What can people glean from her writings today to enrich their spiritual lives?

The key elements to Julian’s writings overturn the concept of an angry God who expects us to be perfect and then punishes us for failing.   Julian was shown that God’s anger is a projection of our own anger; that Christ died willingly for love, not to appease an angry Father; that God loves us like a mother as well as a father, and looks on us with pity not with blame; that he longs for our prayers so he can make us his partner in good deeds; and much more.

How has her popularity grown in recent decades?

In recent decades, many books and translations of the Julian’s core texts have been published and have brought Julian’s wisdom to an ever-increasing audience.  When Brendan Pelphrey began research on his dissertation on Julian in 1976, his initial reading list filled about a half-sheet of paper. Today, a bibliography of books and articles runs to more than 300 pages!  

Tell us a little bit about what you are planning to do to celebrate Julian’s 650^th anniversary and what you did to celebrate her 600^th?

I celebrated the 600^th anniversary by being part of an International Ecumenical Eucharist in Norwich Cathedral and reading Julian’s book for the first time.   For the 650^th – by rewriting In Search of Julian of Norwich for a new edition, by putting a video of the Thousand Year History of St Julian’s Church on YouTube, by helping plan Julian celebrations in cities throughout Australia, by writing an extensive Afterword to ‘I saw Him and I sought Him’ Julian of Norwich and the Holy Icons by John Michael Mountney (former rector of St Julian church) and - like everyone else - by prayer.

 

Sheila Upjohn is the translator of the best-selling Enfolded in Love, and her expanded version All Shall Be Well: The Revelations of Divine Love of Julian of Norwich Abridged and arranged for Daily Reading is used throughout In Search of Julian of Norwich.

The new edition of In Search of Julian of Norwich is available now in paperback and as an eBook from dltbooks.com and all good bookstores.