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Documentos de Profesional
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Iglesia Como Comunion
Iglesia Como Comunion
i . •
4 ANDRÉS MANRIQUE, O . S . A.
. mll:cho~ los rayos del sol, pero una sola es la luz; y muchos
:":j. son '16s';.ramos ' del árbol, pero uno sólo es el tronco clavado
., en :la 1 tierra :con: fuerte raíz. Y, cuando de un solo manantial
rderivan ,'muchos arroyos, aunque aparezcan muchas corrien-
,tes desparramadas por la abundancia de agua, con todo una
10 AND~S MANRIQUE, O. S . . A.
dades ' de los hermanos que están en las minas, mediante los
recursos que habéis mandado desde un principio. ¡Roma-
nos!, conserváis la costumbre heredada de vuestros mayores,
como verdaderos romanos que sois. Vuestro bienaventurado
Obispo Sotero, no solamente la ha continuado, sino que la
ha incrementado más, procurando en abundancia los auxilios
enviados a los .santos y consolando con felices palabras a los
hermanos que van a, Roma, a la manera de un padre, aman-
te de sus hijos» (Dionisio de Corinto, en Eusebio, Bist. Ec-
clesiast. IV, 23: PL 20, 387).
«Nosotros conservamos la comunión, nos llamamos her-
manos, ejercemos la hospitalidad; y todo esto, por la sola
tradición del mismo sacramento» (Tertuliano, De praescrip.
haeret. XX, 8: PL 2, 37).
"Yo soy discípulo de un Pastor santo, que apacienta sus
rebaños por los montes y llanuras, y que lleva los ojos muy
abiertos para verlo todo. Fue él quien me dio las cartas cre·
denciales : Me envió a Roma ... , donde vi un pueblo que lleva
el sello resplandeciente (del bautismo). Recorrí también ia
llanura . de Siria y todas sus ciudades, Nisibe.; . En todas
partes encontré hermanos y por todas partes me conducía
la fe. Por todas partes, ella (la fe) me alimentó de un Pez de
una fuente pura, que pescó una virgen pura también. La fe
le daba a comer continuamente a sus amigos. La fe tiene un
vino delicioso, que ofrece con pan» (Abercio de Hierápolis,
Epitaph. EFHEA, n. 155 y en Dict. de ThéoZog. CathoZ. 1, col.
57).
"Todos nuestros predecesores, a pesar de la diversidad
de usos eclesiásticos, no vivieron menos en paz unos con
otros que nosotros; el desacuerdo en el ayuno confirma el
acuerdo en la fe . .. Nunca se rechazó a nadie por causa de es-
ta forma, antes bien, los mismos presbíteros, tus anteceso-
res, que no observaban el ayuno, enviaban la eucaristía a
,'.":!"'~ '.:';')~'j,J,' ":.otras iglesias, que sí lo observaban... Y, a pesar de estas
, .:· cosas, .mutuamente comunicaban entre sí. Aniceto, por ejem-
;~yJ;f)~· pI9;: cedió en la iglesia a Policarpo la celebración de la Eu-
, ",:. ;, c~risÚá, evidentemente por deferencia; y se separaron en
.. paz el , uno· del otro. Y paz tenía la Iglesia entera, así los
que observaban el día (del ayuno) corno los que no le ob-
LA IGLESIA COMO COMUNIÓN 13
significa' un" solo 'pan? Uii solo cuerpo hecho de muchos ...
'P ensad que el" pan no se hace con un solo grano, sino COIl
.r: muchos ... Por tanto. sed lo que veis y recibid lo que sois ...
Así como es necesario que muchos granos sean amasados en
:,' ;;, .- uno para ser pan ' visible, lo mismo debéis hacer para que se
~ : ; ., "'¡realice lo de' lá ' Escritura: Tenían una sola alma y un solo
corazón en Dios (Hch 4, 32). :. De tal manera nuestro Señor
:.. ·¡ , ,~ ) ' U :) significó que nosotros le pertenecíamos y formábamos una
: :'L: ú hil'sbla' cosa con El; que consagró esiemisterio de ' paz y' de uni-
""··.•. ¡;·., " '.- , --·· dad :~n su propio altar.' De forma que 'el que recibe el miste-
, .. . la unidad sin estar unido por e¡ vínculo de ia comu-
'no ' reCibe 'el misterio para sí, sino contra sí» (S. Agus-
. CCLxxiI: . PL 38, 1247-48) .
. 'pues, claro que toda iaciudad redimida 0, si quie,
;:'V'-I<;U¡:lU de los 'santos, ófrece a Dios su 'sacrificio por
'".
16 ANDRÉ S MANRIQUE, O . S. A:
l· } .. :'j .-
,"'0'
LA IGLESIA · CO:-'IO COl\<IUNIÓN , 23
CONCLUSION
Andrés M AN RIQUE, O. S . A.
AUGUSTINIAN STUDIES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLES
The Dreams of Monica in Augustine's Confessions
LEO CHARLES FERRARl
St. Augustine and Marlowe's Dr. Faustus
LARRY L. BRONSON
The Cogitos: Augustinian and Cartesian
JOHN A. MOURANT
The Interpretation of R0111ans in the Pelagian Controversy
]. PATOUT BURNS
Augustine 's Interpretatíon of Romans (A.D. 394-396)
WILLIAM S. 13A13COCK
The Inspiratíon of Augustine's De Civilatc Dei
]. J. O'DONNELL
The Sacred City and the City of Gocl
JAMES DOUGHERTY
Saint Augustine and Manichean Cosmogony
]OHN P. IvlAHER, O.S.A .
The Idea of Peace in the Augustinian Traditíon 400-1200
THOMAS RENNA
The Influence of Theodore of Mopsuestia on Augustines's
L etter 187
]OANNE McWILLIAM DEW AR1'
The Contra Hilarum of Augustine, lts Liturgical and
M\l§Í ftt Jmplj cft rj on ~
a.
'·,f .
RIVIEW ARTICLE
/ -\
MYSTERY OF COMMUNION.
STo AUGUSTINE ON THE CHURCH
.h,
" the Bishop, transo by B. Battershaw and G. R. Lamb, London and New
York 1961) and O. Peder - ]. L. Maier (Les voyages de saint Augustin,
Paris 1969); works that compare Augustine's doctrine with other doc-
trines, as those of W. H. C. Frend (T.he Donatist Church: A Movement
01 Pro test in Roman North Africa, Oxford 1952) and J. P. Brisson (Auto-
nomisme et Christanisme dans l'Alrique Romaine de Septime Sévere a
l'invasion vandale, Paris 1958); nnalIy, works of synthesis that take Au-
gustine as their point of departure or of arrival for an entire period,
as those of y. Congar 2 (SaÍltte église. Études et approches ecclésiologi-
I AIso see idem, Études sur l'ecclésiologie de saint Augustin (Ottawa 1969);
La situation ecclésiologique des Donatistes d'apres saint Augustin. Contribution a
l'histoire doctrinale de l'oecumenisme (Ottawa 1972); Un siecle et demi d'études
sur l'ecclésiologie de saint Augustin. Essai bibliographie, in Revue des études auglls,
. '~ '.
tilliennes (= REA) 8 (1962) 1·128; and Supplément bibliographique, in REA 17
(1971) 177-182; Introduction, in Oeuvres de saint Augustin 32 (1965) 9-90; 397-414;
491-505; Notes complémentaires, ibid., 689-753.
2 The best recent exposition oE lhe clonatist Ecclcsiology is by Y. Congar in
his introduction to vol. 1 of the Traités anti-donatistes (Bibliotheque Augustinienne,
28 (1963) 48-80. Also sce idem, "Civitas Dei et Ecclcsia chez saint Augustin . Histoire
de la recherche, son état présent," in REA 3 (1957) 1-14. Esquisses du mystere de
l'église, Unam Sancta m 8, 2nd ed. (Paris 1953).; L'église de saint Augustin a l'épo-
que modeme, Histoire des dogmes 20 (Paris 1970).
Russell J. DeSimone, O .S.A. 146
queso Unam Sanctam 41, Paris 1963); E . Altendorf (Einheit und Heilig-
keit der Kirche . Untersuchungen zur Entwicklzmg des altchristlichen Kir-
chenbegriffs im Abendlancl van Tertultian bis Zti den antidanatistischen
Schriften Augustins, Arbeiten zur Krchengesch . 20, Leipzig-Berlin 1932)
and W. Sinonis (Ecclesia visibilis et invisibilis. Untersuchungen zur Ek.
klesialogie und Sakramentenlehre in der afrikanischen Tradition von Cy-
prian bis Augustinus, Frankfurt 1970).
But where does one place the new publication of Attilio Giacobbi,
proEessor oE the history oE Canon Law at the Lateran University, Rome? 3
The author is a Canonist with a degree in utroque jure. He is neither
a patrologist nor a specialist in Augustinian studies. Giacobbi is\ indeed
a case in point of what P. De Ghe11inck noted a decennium ago: "Cette
entré e en masse d'un nouveau groupe de travailleurs, souvent remarqua-
blement équipés, dans le champ patristique, impose au théologien, qui
jadis était seul a le cultiver, des efforts plus amples et plus onereux que
jamais, pour rester a la hauteur de sa tache scientifique. Si laYcisation
il y a, c'est un des plus impérieuses conséquences." 4 Yes, Patristics
has been laicized. An increasing llumber of scholars oE diverse forma-
tion, sensibility, and finality are turning to the study oE the Fathers,
studying them in their historial, cultural, social, and religious milieu:
theologians, biblicists , hagiographers , liturgists, canonists, philologists,
philosophers, historians , archeologists, papyrologists, etc. 5
The author limits his research to the Letters and Augustine's po-
lemical works against the Donatists, portraying the Church as Augustine
saw it: structured and visible in a11 its pastoral and juridical reality.
According to Giacobbi, the central notion, the exegetical key to Augus-
tine's thought on the Church, is the communio cathotica: the life in
Christ which is shared by aH the members of the Church in Íts visible
structure, sacramental and hierarchical. The letters are cited without
chronological distinction. 6 Therefore one must keep in mind that the
most important period of Augustine 's work on the · Church during the
polemic with the Donatists and the Pelagians is in the urst decade of
the century when he wrote Letters 50-200 (ca. 399-418) . About a fifth
of Augustine's epistolary is concerned with Donatism. 7
of the unity of the Church, namely the indissoluble mystery of its unity,
which viviues everyone in Christ and through its Catholic communion
manifests the sacrament of Christ. 9
Drawing freely from the writings of contemporary authors, Giacobbi
begins his exposition with a brief summary of the Catholic teaching on
the Church: the decree of the Father to bring salvation to man ; the
work of the Son to carry out the will of the Father and the granting
of his vivifying Spirit; the Church of Christ as the sacrament (signum
~t res) in which aH things serve to glorify the Father (Paragraph 1).
Augustine's inquiry into the mystery of the Church is not a phi 10-
sophical investigation. Rather, he unceasing1y interrogates the Sacred
Scripture and faithfuHy presents its true meaning, although the literal
sense in sometimes desirab1e. Scripture is infallib1e because it is the
word of God. It has the last word in discussions . Only the Church
can give the authentic interpretation of Scripture.lO Augustine is
always In search of the sen sus Ecclesiae (Paragraph II).
the Body of Christ, the Temple of God, the Spouse of Christ, our
Mother (Paragraphs IV & V).
To all intents and purposes, the last two sections (Paragraphs
VI & VII) of Giacobbi's book are the more signincant: "The True
Church Subsists in the Catholic Communion" and "The Sacramental
Relationship between the Mystical and the Juridical Communion. " The
expression catholica communio, so frequent in Augustine, is adopted as
synonymous with unitas Chris ti , but with direct reference, however, to
the visible, institutional dimension of the Church. The Reformation
mistakenly made Augustine the father of a singularly spiritual and in-
visible Church. Augustine sets fcrth the two fundamental aspects of
the Church: the unity of life in Christ and the visible unity of Chris-
tians. These aspects are adequatedly summed up in the expression catho-
lica communio. Drawing copiously from the messianic texts of Genesis,
Isaiah, the Psalms and the words of the Risen Christ to his apostles:
"You will be my witnesses in J erusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1.8) Augustine presents his case for the
geographical catholicity of the one Church of Christ: the Body of Christ
is recognized in the Catholic communion, spread out beyond the confines
of Africa to the limits of the known world.
The Donatists, of course, also considered themselves Catholics, but
in a different sense, namely the allthentic Christians of the true orthodox
Church, integral in its faith, holiness and the sacraments; hence, their
pretext to separa te themselves from sinners and from the Churches
throughout the world. This snug posture evokes fram Augustine the
candid response: If you want to have part in the authentic Church, re-
main in orthodoxy, live in the sanctity of the Church; you must re-en ter
into Catholic communion which is unceasingly extending itself among aU
the nations of the earth. If you obstinately cling to your own par-
ticularism to safeguard the holiness of the true Church, you faU into
heresy and sacrilege against the universal plan of God and against the
members of Christ separated from the fountain of life.
In his Letter 185, written (417) to Boniface, tribune and count in
Africa, Augustine gives us a lucid summary of his thought on the
Donatists:
Let them not seek the Holy Spirit except in the Body of Christ. It is
true they have his sacrament (sacramentum) outside the Church, but they
do not hold the reality (rem) of it within, for it is his sacrament. There-
fore, the Catholic Church alone is the Body of Christ. He is its head
and the Saviour of his Body. But the enemy of unity has no share in
the divine charity. Consequently those who are outside the Church do
not have the Holy Spirit ... Whoever, then, wishes to have the Holy
Spirit must beware of remaining outside the Church; he must beware
Russell J. DeSimone, O.S.A. 150
oE pretending to come into ir, or, if he has made slIch a pretended en try,
he must beware of pel'sisting in his pl'etense, so that he mu y truly grow
into the tree af life. 13
Methodological Remarks
The Eew remarks oHered here are meant to underline the method-
olagical presuppositions oE the author, his motivations, and the hermen-
eutical problems encountered (pp. 48-59). Precisely how does one go
abaut interpreting Augustine's thought on the Church? How does one
Eollow its meanderings and vagaries and perceive its subtility, its many
shades? That is Giacobbi's problem. He thought that it would be in-
teresting to reconstruct the jurídical structures oE the Chu'rch in the works
oE the Fathers, so as to document the histotical evolution of Canon Law.
Augustine was a challenge. Accordingly, Giacobbi made a superficial
inspection ofthe latter's worles, taleing due notice of the life of the ec-
elesial communion duríng the 4th century in its simplest forms: the geo-
graphical descríption of the Church in diocese and province, and the
unity resulting hom a common baptism and faith; the unifying authoríty
of the bishop and the elergy in the diocese, of the college of bishops
and of Rome in the whole Catholic Church; the concrete expressions of
theit powers oE magisterium, oE orders and of government; the forms
of excommunication and reconciliation, relations with Imperial Rome.
Giacobbi soon carne to the realization that such a mode of pro-
ceedure was rather simplistic and he subsequently engaged in a more
objective and more proEound research of Augustine's manner of proceed-
ing in the en tire matter. He found that Augustine had a certain penchant
far the phrase " in vinculo pacis " whenever he spoke of unity. He was
therefore obliged to investiga te this concept oE Augustine, in particular,
his Scriptural data since it is the mainstay oE Augustine's thought.
Giacobbi soon found himself in what is called "an hermeneutical cirele"
between the parts and the whole: studying Augustine in search of certaín
jurídical elements, one artives at a general view oE the Church, the syn-
thesis from which he departs.
The author also wíshed to compare Augustine's thought with modern
And the good teacher corrobora tes his lesson with an íllustration of
what he means: "She is not a beautiful woman whose ankle or arm
is praised, but she whose general appearance makes you forget to admire
her single attributes." 14
A review writer however has the duty to respect the limitations
set by an author for his work. While taking into account the limita-
tions one has nnally to accept, one wonders whether in this case it has
really been a very great advantage to consider the Letters and Anti-
Donatist Writings separately from the other writings? Just think of the
abundant material on the Church found in Augustine's Sermom', the
Enarrationes, and the Tractatus. Augustine's Anti-Pelagian Writings and
The City 01 God also po~sess ditect relevan ce to the subject oE the Church.
As is well known, the issues in the Pelagian controversy were predomi-
nately those of the nature of man, human Ereedom, divine grace, and
the transmission oE original sin. Underlying and accompanying these
great issues is the old question (e.g., the Novatianists) oE the purity ot
holiness of the Church. Robert F . Evans has observed: "Pelagius is
to be seen not so much as introducing theologícal novelty but rather as
reintroducing al1 archaic view oE the holiness properly attaching to the
Church." 15
The orst chapter: "The Church is one in Christ andone in its social
life" is fundamental for Giacobbi's overall plan and method . Only in
light of that chapter, whose thrust is theological rather than juridical,
can one understand and evaluate the juridical data of the succeeding
chapters . He builds on rock becallse he talees as his safe guide the Lumen
Gentium of Vatiean Council II. 16 This enables him to set forth in Iogical
order Augustine's thought which is often expressed in a fragmentary style.
One has to furrow it out of the many obiter dicta uttered while Augustine
is laboriously illustrating other questions.
I believe that Giacobbi in his discussion of the hermeneutical prob-
lems encountered in his method oE interpreting Augustine's thO\.ight on
the Church wants to say that the structures of Augustine's thought remain
relatively stable.17 And the structllres or schemata are found in the phrase
(e.g., in vinculo pacis, communio catholica), the paragraph, or a section,
or the whole of a work. Surprisingly, Giacobbi does not expressly men-
tion the structural method which is the only sllitable method for the
analysis of Augustine's thought. 18 Augustine tends to repeat themes, and
in reading him one soon begins to recognize them, gets to lenow their
characteristic details, their development and larger synthesis.
16 The title of Giacobbi's paragraph VI: "The true Church subsists in the
Catholic communion is intentionally taken from the celebrated phrase of Vatican II:
"Haec Ecclesia .. . subsistit in Ecclesia catholica" (L.G. 8).
17 Cf. F . J. Thonnard, "Les méthodes d'interprétation de la pensée augustinien.
ne," Revue des Études Augustiniennes 2 (1959) 114-15: "les constantes de la pensée
augustinienne. "
18 See O. du Roy, L'intelligence de la Foi en la Trinité selon Saínt Augustin
(Paris 1966) 15 and compare his references (pp. 17·18) to V. Goldschmidt, Les Dia-
logues de Platon, structure et méthode dialectique (Paris 1963) xix for the "history"
of the structuraI method. John.T. O'Meara, "Research Techniques in Augustinian
Studies," Augustinian Studies I (1970) 277·84. Thonnard 107·08 for la méthode
doctrinale aIso used by Giacobbi. La méthade histarique au critique avoids the
pitfalls of the latter method: "C'est de faire dire a son auteur ce qu'on a soi-meme
dans l'esprit, et non pas ce que lui-meme voulait dire, d'apres les présupposés his-
toriques qui le préoccupaient (ibid. 109).
19 Giacobbi 281: " . . . septem paragraphis thema expeditur."
20 Ibid. 279: "Itaque primum caput continet syntesim theologicam de unitate
ivIystery 01 Communion. Sto Augustine on the Church 153
and Cresconius one repeatedly meets explicit appeal to the writings, the authority,
to the same scriptural texts adopted by Cyprian to prove his point ... ".
23 p. 332: Autorenregister, Perini David Aurelius OSA, pp. 39, 1211, 1555,
1556, 1563, 1589, 1656, 1723, 1724 , 1940, 1965, 2305, 2385. See the excelIent
review artide of D . Gutiérrez, OSA in Augustinianum XVII.3 (1977) 592-594.
24 Saint Augustine: Monk Priest Bishop, tr. by Sr. Agatba Mary, S.P.B. (Villa-
nova , Pa. 1978) 90, n. 177. First published under the title, "Saint Augustin. Un
moine devenu pf(!tre et éveque," Estudio agustiniano, 12 (ValIadolid 1977) 281-334.
1 am presuming by "vescovo" Giacobbi intends the bishop of Hippo, not Valerius'
coadjutor. In any case, the date be gives (p. 24) "anno 393" is incorrect. See
J.-L. Maier, L'épiscopat de l'Afrique romaine, vandale, et byzantine (Institut suisse
de Rome 1973) 259: " .. . entre la mi·mai et la fin juin 395, il devint éveque coad·
juteur du pasteur d'Hippone, Valerius. Enfin. en 396, ou au plus tard au début
de 397, il succédait a Valerius comme éveque d'Hippone.
M.ystery 01 Communion. Sto Augustine on the Church 155
use oE. Of great moment was the book entitled: Anacephaleosis (Ana-
kephalaiosis) or Recapitulatio. This book is an abbreviation of Epipha-
nius' more lengthy work De haeresibus or Panarion: literally Medicine
Ches! to furnish an antidote to those ,,,,ha have been bitten by the serpent
of heresy. During the time of Augustine it was read under the name
of Epiphanius of Salamis. St. Augustine, who made ampIe use of it in
his De haeresibus in 428 is firmIy convinced of its authenticity, but it
is a rather clumsy compilation of a later author. It reproduces only the
tabIes of contents preceding the voIumes in the Panarion and a few
poorly selected passages . Augustine affirms in his De haeresibus (LVII)
that he followed onIy the order and not the very words themselves of
the book:
Usque ad istos ergo de haeresibus opus suum perduxit supradictus Epi-
phanius episeopus Cyprius, apud Graeeos inter magistros habitus et a mul-
tis in eatholieae fidei sanetitate lauda tus. Cuius ego in commemorandis
haereticis non modum, sed ordinem sum seeutus. Nam et aliqua ex nliis
posui quae ipse non posuit, et aliqua non posui quae ipse posuit. Itaque
alia latius quam ipse, alia etiam brevius explieavi, paremque in nonnullis
exhibui brevitatem, omnia moderans sieut intentionis meae ratio postula-
bat (CCL XLVI, p. 326).
25 For example, chapters XX, XXIX, XXXI, XXXIV, XXXV, XXXVI, XLVII.
For the question of Augustine's mastery of Greek , see B. Altaner, Kleine patristische
Schrilten (Berlin 1967) 129-153: "Augustinus und die griechische Sprache." For the
en tire above question, see K. Holl, Die handschriftliche Ueberliefertll1g des Epipha-
nius (A ncoratus und Panarion); T exte und Unt erStlchungen 36,2 (Leipzig 1910) 95·
98 for the manuscript tradition: spu riollsness of the Anakephalaiosis. B. Altaner,
Augustinus und Epiphanius von Salt/lltis. Eine qucllen.kritische Sttldie: Mélanges
J. de Ghellinck (Gembloux 1951) 265-275: Augustine used in his De haeresibus
the Anakephalaiosis, but not the Ancoratus and the Panarion. The Ancoratus, i.e. ,
The Firmly-Anchored Man was written in 374 by Epiphanius of Salamis. It provided
its readers with the anchor of fai th against the storms of heresy. See J. Qllasten,
Patrolop,y III (Westminister, Md. 1960) 384-389.
26 Les lcttres p'recques en Occident (Paris 2 1948) 193, n. 5.
27 De haeres. 57 (CCL 46.327). For a list of the chapters taken from Philastrius'
RlIssell ]. DeSimone, O.5.A. 156
Conclusion
To appreciate more fuIly Giacobbi's endeavors, one must place the
entire question of the Cburcb in Augustine in its "patristic milieu".
Augustine had in sorne way to come to terms with the tradition of African
Catholic thought which formed part, an important part, of the back-
ground against which he thought and wrote.
In TertuIlian the unity of the Church was first conceived by him
as a unity of faith whose apostolicity is guaranteed by the succession
of bishopS.31 The eschatological holiness of the Church leads TertuIlian
into Montanist perfectionism. He conceives the Church as a company
of sanctified men and women. 32 It is this holiness which prompts the
work, see G. Bardy, "Le 'De haeresibus' et ses sources," Miscellanea Agostiniana
II (Rome 1931) 405-406: d . Augustine, De haeres. 58-80 with Philastrius, Haeres.
51-127.
28 See Filastrii Episcopi Bl'ixiensis: Diversorum hereseon liber, cura et studio
F. Heylen, CCL9.210; H. Koch, Philastl'ius in Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyclopadie
del' classischen Altertumswissenschaft, 38 (Stuttgart 1938) coIs. 2125-2131; S. Jan-
naccone, La dottrina eresiologica di S. Agostino (Catania 1952) 13-15.
29 Saint Augustine. Lettel's V, tr. by Sr. W . Parsons (New York 1956) 114-115.
30 Revue des études augustiniennes XXIV.3-4 (1978) 364.
31 De pl'escriptiol1e 21.7: "Communicamus cum ecelesiis apostolicis quod nulla
doctrina diuersa: hoc est testimonium ueritatis" (CCL 1. 203).
32 De pudicitia 21.16-17 :
Nam et ipsa ecelesia proprie et principaliter ipse est spiritus in quo est trinitas
unius divinitatis Pater et Filius et 'Spiritus sanctus. Ilam ecelesiam congregat
quam Dominus in tribus posuit. Atque ita exinde etiam numerus omnis qui
in hanc {ídem conspirauerint ecelesia ah autore et consecratore censetur. Et
Myster)' 01 Communion. Sto Augustine on the Church 157
Augustine takes the admonition of St. Paul as his rule of conduct: « Suf-
ferentes invicem in dilectione, studentes servare unitatem spiritus in
vinculo pacís" (Eph. 4.2-3 ).35 For Augustine the empirical Church stands
ideo ecclesia quidem delicta donabit, sed ecclesia spiritus per spiritalem homi·
nem, non ecclesia numerus episcoporum (CCL 2.1328).
3.J Ep. 66.8: "Unde scire debes episcoporum in ecclesia es se et ecclesiam in
episcopo et si qui cum episcopo non sit in ecclesia non esse" (CSEL 3.2.733).
34 Ep. 185.11.50 (P.L. 33 .815) . But d. Augustine and Cyprian's nulla salus
extra Ecclesiam with M. J. le Guillou, "Church" in Sacramentum Mundi I (New
York/London 1968) 326-27: "The axiom 'Outside the Church no salvation' is only
a way of expressing the ecclesiological truth: the Church is the sacrament of salva-
tion." And the Decr. de Oecumenismo Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani JI, ed. cit.
I.3.248-250 states:
Insuper ex elementis seu bonis, quibus simul sumptis ipsa Ecclesia aedificatur
et vivificatur, quaedam immo plurima et eximia exstare possunt extra visibilia
Ecclesiae catholicae saepta: verbum Dei scriptum, vita gratiae, fides, spes et
caritas, aliaque interiora Spiritus Sancti dona ac visibilia elementa: haec omnia,
quae a Christo proveniunt et ad Ipsum conducunt, ad unicam Christi Ecclesiam
jure pertinent . .. Per solam enim catholicam Christi Ecclesiam, quae generale
auxilium salutis est, omnis salutarium mediorum plenitudo attingi potest.
35 See De bapt. contra Donat. 7.51.99 (PL 43 .241) . In spite of his error on
the matter of rebaptism, Augustine insists that Cyprian's greatness líes in his devo-
Russell J. DeSimone, O.5.A. 158
as the earthly, external sign of that inner, heavenly society which moves
invisibly in charity and unity towards its eschatological goal. He identi-
fies both the conception of the Church considered as a juridical body
and the conception oE the Church considered as the mystical body:
Corpus autell1 ejus est Ecclesia; non ista, aut illa, sed tato orbe Jiffusa;
nec ea quae nune est in hominibus qui praesentell1 vitam agunt, sed ad
eall1 pertinentibus etiam his qui fuerunt ante nos, et bis qui fututÍ sunt
post nos usque in finem saeculi. Tota enim Ecc!esia constans ex omnibus
fidelibus, quia fideles omnes membra sunt Cbristi, habet ilIud caput posi-
tum in caelis quod gubernat corpus suum : et si separatum est visione,
sed annectitur carita te. 36
tion to the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, as opposed to the Donatists,
who are lacking in this devotion (de bapt. 1.27-28).
36 Enar. in Ps. 56.1 (M . 5.703).
37 H. Küng, The Church (New York 1967) 34-35; d. also ibid. 38: "Nor
must we think, with Platonic dllalism and spiritllalism, of the visible Church (being
earthly and 'material') as the reflection of the real invisible Church (being spiritual
and heavenly) ."
38 See A. Trape, "Escatologia e antiplatonismo di sant'Agostino," Augustinianum