Jeanne Guyon - Death and Influence

Death and Influence

In 1704, her works were published in the Netherlands, becoming very popular. Many English and Germans visited her at Blois, among them Johann Wettstein, and Lord Forbes. She died at the age of 68, in Blois, believing that she had died submissive to the Catholic Church, from which she had never had any intention of separating herself.

Her published works, the Moyen Court and the Règles des associées à l'Enfance de Jésus, were both placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum in 1688. Fénelon's Maximes des saints was also branded with the condemnation of both the Pope and the bishops of France.

Her disciples at the Court of Louis XIV were persons of piety and of exemplary life. Madame Guyon's most devout disciples after her death were to be found among the Protestants and especially the Quakers. Evangelicals such as Charles Spurgeon and Johan Oscar Smith were also influenced. Both Watchman Nee and Witness Lee writings were very much influenced by Madame Guyon. Her works were translated into English and German, and her ideas, forgotten in France, have been read in Germany, Switzerland, England, and America.