Transcript Lecture 11 Church an..

Lecture 11: Church and State
Ann T. Orlando
4 December 2008
Two themes: Ecclesiology and ChurchState
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Ecclesiology: the Church as such,
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Mission,
Structure,
Authority
Church-State Relations
Church in time (history)
Donatism
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Started c. 313 in North Africa, named for a Christian
Bishop in North Africa who protested the ordination
of presbyters by a lapsed bishop
Followers of Montanist and Novatian joined with
Donatists to form a schismatic Church, more
numerous than the Catholic Church in North Africa.
Wanted the Church to be the ‘Church of the Pure’
especially the ministers
Looked to Tertullian and Cyprian as ‘fathers in faith’
Background: Bishop
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As the Western Roman Empire collapsed in
4th and 5th C, bishops take on more important
civil role
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Best educated (often only educated)
Only members of local society with ties to an
outside structure
Bishops as civil judges
Bishops as arbiters of civil power
Pope as supreme authority
Background: Fall of Rome
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Fall of Rome in 410 to Alaric had a huge
psychological impact
The Goths sacking Rome were Arian Christians
“My voice sticks in my throat, and as I dictate, sobs choke
my utterance. The City which had taken the whole world,
was itself taken.” St. Jerome
Augustine dies as the Vandals (Arians) are besieging
Hippo
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Vandal conquest of North Africa leads to destruction of
Donatists
Augustine
Over-Arching View of Church
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Man as a naturally social, not political being
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Love, not justice the dominant virtue in the good society
Before the Fall, there was no hierarchy of dominance;
slavery is a result of sin
Mixed good and bad (wheat and tares) in Church
Church mixed with society (city of man)
Church as the City of God
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Exists throughout human history (time)
Exists in eternity
Augustine: What is the Church
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When did it begin: with Abel
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Cain founder of city of man
Abel, first member of City of God
Noah’s ark as the City of God
Holy man is a shepherd, not a king
The Church can be said to begin in the OT
due to the action of the Holy Spirit
CoG XIV.28, XV, XIX.5-20
Augustine: Pilgrim People
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People of God, the Church, are not members of city of man
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Pilgrimage as a way of life
Social enterprise
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We travel together
We support each other
Everyone belongs to one of two cities
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So joiners (like Abel)
That is, Pilgrims
City of God, the Church, on pilgrimage
City of this world
CoG I
Church and History
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Human history is not cyclical
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While exiting in human history, we do not know
which members of Church are saved, which damned
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Events do not repeat themselves
God’s plan is moving inexorably from the creation to the
apocalypse
Depends on God’s unmerited grace
CoG XX.9
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Books XX – XXII are extensive commentary of Book of
Revelation
Catholic Church as Magisterium
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Society of Church is guided by Holy Spirit (s 267)
Already seen role of Church as keeper of canon of
Scripture
Teaching authority of bishops and Rome at stake in
Pelagian controversy
See Letter 177 from North African Bishops to
Innocent I, and his reply in Letter 181
Importance of See of Rome as Catholic unity in
Donatist controversy, Letter 53
Roma Locuta Est –
Cause Finita Est…
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…sed non locuta est Augustinus
Context: Pelagian condemnation by two African
Councils, supported by Pope Innocent I.
Paraphrase (misquote?) from Sermon 133.10
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“iam enim de hac causa duo concillia missa sunt ad sedem
apostolicam; inde etiam rescripta venerunt; causa finita est”
For already concerning this case two councils have sent to
the apostolic see, from there also (furthermore) rescripts
were sent; the case is finished.
Medieval Decretals
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A reply in writing by a pope addressing a
particular question
Served function of deciding precedents
Papal response referenced by Augustine
would later come to be seen as a decretal
Decretals often referenced earlier works,
especially Augustine
Formed the basis of ecclesial law until the
codification of canon law
Aquinas on Faith
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The topic of ecclesiology was not part of the
medieval mindset
Aquinas did not write on ecclesiology per se
However, he did write about heresy and authority of
Church ST IIa IIae Q11
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Note Aquinas quoting decretals quoting Augustine
Also note in ST IIa IIae Q10 a12 authority of Church
over against any Church doctor (including Augustine)
Aquinas on Politics
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Man is a political animal
There is a natural order of dominance
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See ST Ia Q 96 a4 (read all of this article
carefully)
Also Summa Contra Gentiles, III.81 available at
http://www2.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/gc
3_81.htm
Reformation and Ecclesiology
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An attack on the Catholic Church as such
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Catholic Church in dogma and practice strayed from true Church
of Christ
Pope not the vicar of Christ on earth
Clerical celibacy of little or no value
Priesthood of all believers
Reformers need to build a different ecclesiology than the
Catholic one
Catholicism needs to re-establish ecclesiology (Trent)
As usual in Reformation disputes, all sides claim Augustine
John Calvin
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Agreed with Augustine on
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But tries to create perfect “city on the hill” in Geneva
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Exiled in 1538
Returns in 1540
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Seemed to believe that a society based on Biblical values would be a just
society
Writes laws for Geneva, but seemed to be another form of papacy
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Massa damnata
Church as mixed wheat and tares
Geneva ruled by ‘living saints’
Disagreed with Augustine on meaning of ‘Catholic’ and tie to See of
Rome
Institutes, IV.2, IV.12, IV.6-8
Enlightenment Opposition to Church in
Society
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Church (whether Catholic or Protestant) seen as
infringing on rights and freedom of man
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Best government is that which governs least
Religion a private, not a social, affair
Religion should be completely divorced from politics
John Locke, Letter of Toleration
Jefferson, Letter to Danbury Baptist Association,
1803
Early America
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Both strands of optimism about creating the
ideal society
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Calvinist (Puritan)
Enlightenment
John Winthrop, sermon on board the Arbela,
‘Model of Christian Charity, the City on the
Hill’ (1630)
Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of
Independence
Revisionist View of
History and the Church
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Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) Decline and Fall of
Roman Empire
Massive history of Roman Empire from Antonines
(2nd C) to Fall of Constantinople (1453)
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Seventy-One Chapters, multi-volume
Story of fall of reason and rise of Christianity
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37. Augustine is a memorable instance of this gradual
progress from reason to faith. He was, during several years,
engaged in the Manichaean sect. Decline XV footnote 37
Gibbon: Julian the Apostate, model of
religious toleration
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Julian was born a Christian
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Rises to power and repudiates Christianity
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Cousin of Constantine the great
All male relatives killed by Constantine or his sons during battle fo succession
Studied with Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzus in Athens
Attempts to restore pagan temples and Jewish Temple in Jerusalem
Only reigns 361-363; dies in battle against Persians
“The Christians, who beheld with horror and indignation the apostasy of Julian, had much more to fear from his power than from
his arguments. The Pagans, who were conscious of his fervent zeal, expected, perhaps with impatience, that the flames of
persecution should be immediately kindled against the enemies of the gods; and that the ingenious malice of Julian would invent
some cruel refinements of death and torture which had been unknown to the rude and inexperienced fury of his predecessors.
But the hopes, as well as the fears, of the religious factions were apparently disappointed by the prudent humanity of a prince
who was careful of his own fame, of the public peace, and of the rights of mankind. Instructed by history and reflection, Julian
was persuaded that, if the diseases of the body may sometimes be cured by salutary violence, neither steel nor fire can
eradicate the erroneous opinions of the mind. The reluctant victim may be dragged to the foot of he altar; but the heart still
abhors and disclaims the sacrilegious act of the hand. Religious obstinacy is hardened and exasperated by oppression; and, as
soon as the persecution subsides, those who have yielded are restored as penitents, and those who have resisted are honoured
as saints and martys. If Julian adopted the unsuccessful cruelty of Diocletian and his colleagues, he was sensible that he should
stain his memory with the name of tyrant, and add new glories to the Catholic church, which had derived strength and increase
from the severity of the Pagan magistrates. Actuated by these motives, and apprehensive of disturbing the repose of an
unsettled reign, Julian surprised the world by an edict which was not unworthy of a statesman or a philosopher. He extended to
all he inhabitants of the Roman world the benefits of a free and equal toleration; and the only hardship which he inflicted on the
Christians was to deprive them of the power of tormenting their fellow-subjects, whom they stigmatised with the odious titles of
idolaters and heretics.” Decline, Chapter XXIII
Bonus: Christopher Dawson,
Dynamics of World History
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Published 1956 as an anthology
Catholic historian
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Edited authoritative edition of Decline and Fall of Roman
Empire
Read by all seminarians this summer
Re-read
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“St. Augustine and the City of God” pp 311-339
“Edward Gibbon and the Fall of Rome” pp 341-367
Ratzinger and Ecclesiology
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Based upon his doctoral dissertation on
Augustine and Ecclesiology
Informed much of V II ecclesiology
See also Communio article on Holy Spirit
and Church http://www.communioicr.com/articles/PDF/ratzinger25-2.pdf
Benedict XVI on Church and State:
Deus Caritas Est
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Published December 25, 2005
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Eight months after Joseph Ratzinger became
Pope Benedict XVI
Available at
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_x
vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_benxvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html
Structure of DCE
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Introduction [1]
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Part I Unity of Love [2-18]
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Differences and unity of true eros and agape [4]
Path of ascent as renunciation, purification, healing [6]
Jesus Christ as personification of divine love [12]
Part II Caritas Practice of Love [19-39]
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Major theme
Purpose in writing this as the first encyclical
Caritas has always been part of the Church’s ministry, as much as the
Word, and liturgy, since both flow from the Trinity [22]
Relationship between justice and charity [26]
Relationship between Church and State [28]
The distinctiveness of Christian charity [31]
Proper attitude of Christian engaged in charity: humility [35]
Conclusion [40-42]
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Importance of saints and Mary
As both examples of true charity and intercessors for us
Some ‘Surprising’ Aspects of DCE
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For a Pope who is popularly portrayed as being ‘opposed’ to Vatican II,
the Encyclical quotes VII, and does so very positively [DCE 28, 30]
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For a Pope who is popularly believed to be ‘the enforcer’ of orthodox
Catholicism as the only valid religion, the Encyclical goes out of its way
to eschew any type of coercion or charity as a tool for proselytism [31].
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On the other hand, the Encyclical recognizes that the Church’s leadership
in the 19th C did not respond well to challenges of Enlightenment [DCE27]
Indeed the Pope suggests that as the occasion warrants, silence about
specifics of faith may be the best course
For a Pope who is popularly believed to be antagonistic to Western
governments, the Encyclical goes out of its way to recognize the
important work for justice that belongs primarily to the State
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Example of culture of death is Church-State cooperation in volunteer
organizations working to reduce drug use among young people [DCE 30]
But I think the main point of DCE is
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Not about Church-State relations, but how we as
individual Christians are to practice charity
Justice is all about common good in society; charity
is all about the individual giving and receiving works
of Christian love [DCE 34]
But charity should be practiced in humility; we
cannot ‘fix the world’ or even one person; only God
can do that [DCE 35]
All these points are presented with examples from
history; and the points cannot be fully appreciated
without some understanding of history
Why Emphasize Patristics and Modernity
… but a great Void in the Middle
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Benedict XVI is deeply concerned that the Church has
not yet fully responded to challenges posed by the
Enlightenment
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Agnosticism
Ethical Relativism
Materialism
Only valid knowledge comes from scientific method
Belief in mankind’s ability that through science we can ‘fix’
anything
Unlike the ‘Middle Ages’ the Enlightenment is NOT a
Christian era [DCE 3]
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In this it is like earlier Patristic Period in the Roman Empire
Julian as a Metaphor for Contemporary
Church-State Relations
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First consider that Julian was an apostate,
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that is someone who abandoned Christianity;
Just as much of the contemporary Western world
He abandoned it because of the hurtful things that those calling themselves
Christians had done to him and his family “Emperor Constantius who
passed himself off as an outstanding Christian” [DCE 24]
What remained in Julian was a recognition of the importance of the
Church's charitable activities
But with Julian, these activities, because they no longer had Christ at their
center, became a vehicle to ensure his own political popularity and social
stability
General restructuring of society and social welfare systems to ensure
political stability was part of the political theories of Karl Marx
Assignments
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Augustine
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Aquinas
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CoG I (skim), XIV.28, XV, XIX.5-20
Letter 53 (optional)
Sermon 267 (optional)
ST IIa IIae Q10 a12, Q11
ST I Q06 a4
SCG III.81
Calvin, Institutes IV.2, IV.12, IV.6-8
Christopher Dawson, Dynamics of World History, 311-367
Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, Part II