The Conhorte of Juana de la Cruz: A Proposal for a Female Prophetic Theology (The Performative Voice of Women and the Transformation of Order in Sermon 8)

This article argues that the Conhorte, the visionary collection of sermons attributed to Juana de la Cruz and collectively composed by the Franciscan tertiaries of Santa María de la Cruz (Cubas de la Sagra, Castile), constitutes a distinctive form of female prophetic theology. Focusing on Sermon 8, the study examines how the authors construct and legitimize a public female theological voice through visionary discourse, liturgical and scriptural materials, and performative forms of speech. Rather than merely defending women’s preaching, the sermon develops a theological argument that reconfigures central aspects of Christian doctrine, including the relationship between femininity and sin, the interpretation of the Fall, the roles of Eve and Mary, female agency and the possibilities of human and social transformation. The article argues that this prophetic theology is not only charismatic in its origin but also transformative in its purpose: rooted in women’s historical experience, it seeks to intervene in reality while elaborating theological meanings of universal scope. The Conhorte produces theology not only through its doctrinal content but also through the construction of its discourse: voices, bodies, images, scenes, grammatical gender, and liturgical and scriptural materials participate in the production of theological meaning while seeking to transform the audience. Sermon 8 thus reveals a distinctive modality of female prophetic theology in which charismatic authority, women’s historical experience, theological elaboration, and transformative purpose are closely interconnected.