Christopher Gérard | |
|---|---|
 Christopher Gérard in 2012 | |
| Born | (1962-07-07)7 July 1962 (age 62) |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Occupation(s) | writer and critic |
Christopher Gérard (born 7 July 1962) is a Belgian novelist, publisher and literary critic. He is known as a promoter ofmodern Paganism, drawing much inspiration fromHinduism, and published the journalAntaios from 1992 to 2001. He has written novels and non-fiction books where paganism and the city ofBrussels are recurring elements.
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 aMerovingian necropolis in theArdennes.[1] He studiedclassical philology at theUniversité libre de Bruxelles.[2] He became a language teacher by profession.[3]
An important influence on Gérard's religious outlook has beenRam Swarup, aHindu proponent of apagan 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 aHanuman temple inDelhi, Gérard became convinced that it is possible for contemporary people to practicepaganism.[2] Thehistorian of religionJean-François Mayer has written that Gérard's works ties in withHindu nationalist appeals for Europeans to use the living Hindu tradition to reconnect to their own paganism, and 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 asSatanism andwitchcraft. According to Gérard, these practitioners are predominantly American, and he has described their purported connection to pagan religiosity as "a historical hallucination".[3] He criticizes theWicca movement for what he calls "aconsumeristic aspect"; according to Gérard, "certain of these people will present themselves asDruids somewhere inOregon for six months, then suddenly somewhere else they areEgyptian priests. It is neither profound, nor constructive. It is a parody."[3] He also criticizes those who equate paganism withfar-right politics ornationalism. In his bookLa Source pérenne (2007), he dismisses nationalism as a life-draining, administrative product of theFrench Revolution, and only writes approvingly about thepatriotism that exists on a continental level.[5] The political scientistStéphane François used Gérard'sParcours païen (2000) andAlain de Benoist'sOn Being a Pagan (1981) as the two principal books in focus in his 2008 study on the neopagan currents within theNouvelle Droite.[6]
In 1992, Gérard created and became the editor of the journalAntaios, intended as a continuation of themagazine of the same name whichMircea Eliade andErnst Jünger edited from 1959 to 1971. The newAntaios existed until 2001 and became the publication of the Société d'Etudes Polythéistes (lit. 'Society for Polytheist Studies'), founded in 1998.[3]
Gérard has written a French translation of EmperorJulian'sAgainst the Galilaeans, published in 1995.[7] He lays out his approach to faith and ethics in the booksParcours païen andLa Source pérenne, and has written several novels which reflect his religious views.[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.[7]
In 2009, Gérard was awarded the Prix Félix Denayer from theARLLFB for the bookAux Armes de Bruxelles. The book is about the city ofBrussels, with a focus on cafés and tea houses, but also on architecture, parks and culture. The jury wrote that it was surprised by the author's departure from his usual style and subjects, but that the prize was "as much for one particular work as for all of them together".[8]Porte Louise (2010) andVogelsang ou la Mélancolie du vampire (2012) are novels set in Brussels, the first amurder mystery and the second avampire story.[9][10]Le Prince d'Aquitaine (2018), a personal novel about a destructive father, received the special Grand Prix of the magazineL'Incorrect.[11]
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