Catholic dogmatic theology can be defined as "a special branch of theology, the object of which is to present a scientific and connected view of the accepted doctrines of the Christian faith."[1]
According to Joseph Pohle, writing in the Catholic Encyclopedia, "theology comprehends all those and only those doctrines which are to be found in the sources of faith, namely Scripture and Tradition...For, just as the Bible,...was written under the immediate inspiration of the Holy [Spirit], so Tradition was, and is, guided in a special manner by God, Who preserves it from being curtailed, mutilated, or falsified."[2] The scientific character of dogmatic theology does not rest so much on the exactness of its exegetical and historical proofs as on the philosophical grasp of the content of dogma.[2]
The functions of dogmatic theology are twofold: first, to establish what constitutes a doctrine of the Christian faith, and to elucidate it in both its religious and its philosophical aspects; secondly, to connect the individual doctrines into a system.[1] “In current Catholic usage, the term ‘dogma’ means a divinely revealed truth, proclaimed as such by the infallible teaching authority of the Church, and hence binding on all the faithful without exception, now and forever."[3]
Subjects
Dogmatic theology begins with the doctrine of God, whose existence, essence, and attributes are to be investigated. A philosophical understanding of the dogma of the Trinity was attempted by the Fathers. The theologian investigates the activity of creation. As the beginning of the world supposes creation out of nothing, so its continuation supposes Divine conservation, which is nothing less than a continued creation. However, God's creative activity is not thereby exhausted.[2] The topics of Original Sin and Angelology come under Creation.
The subject of Redemption includes Christology, Soteriology, Mariology. The Redeemer's activity as Mediator stands out most prominently in His triple office of high priest, prophet, and king. For the most part, dogmatic theologians prefer to treat Mariology and the veneration paid to relics and images under Eschatology, together with the Communion of Saints.[2]
History
Patristic period (about A.D. 100–800)
At first, Dogmatic theology comprised apologetics, dogmatic and moral theology, and canon law.[2] The Fathers of the Church are honoured by the Church as her principal theologians. It was not so much in the catechetical schools of Alexandria, Antioch, and Edessa as in the struggle with the great heresies of the age that patristic theology developed. This serves to explain the character of the patristic literature, which is apologetical and polemical, parenetical and ascetic. It was not the intention of the Fathers to give a systematic treatment of theology. It may be said in general that the apologetic style predominated up to the time of Constantine the Great.[4]
Christian writers had to explain the truths of natural religion, such as God, the soul, creation, immortality, and freedom of the will; at the same time they had to defend the chief mysteries of the Christian faith. The efforts of the Fathers to define and combat heresy brought writings against Gnosticism, Manichæism, and Priscillianism. Those who wrote against pagan polytheism include: Justin Martyr, Lactantius, and Eusebius of Cæsarea. Prominent writers against the practices of Judaizing Christians were: Hippolytus of Rome, Epiphanius of Salamis, and Chrysostom. At the First Council of Nicaea, the Church took steps to define revealed doctrine more precisely in response to a challenge from a heretical theology."[5]
These developments left the dogmatic teachings of the Fathers as a collection of monographs rather than a systematic exposition. Irenæus[6] shows attempts at synthesis; the trilogy of Clement of Alexandria (d. 217) marks an advance in the same direction. Gregory of Nyssa (d. 394) then endeavoured in his "Large Catechetical Treatise" (logos katechetikos ho megas) to correlate in a broad synthetic view the fundamental dogmas of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Sacraments. In the same manner, though somewhat fragmentarily, Hilary of Poitiers (d. 366) developed in his work "De Trinitate" the principal truths of Christianity.[4]
The catechetical instructions of Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386) especially his five mystagogical treatises, on the Apostles' Creed and the three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist, contain an almost complete dogmatic treatise. Ambrose (d. 397) in his chief works: "De fide", "De Spiritu S.", "De incarnatione", "De mysteriis", "De poenitentia", treated the main points of dogma in classic Latin, though without any attempt at a unifying synthesis. Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) wrote one or two works, as the "De fide et symbolo" and the "Enchiridium", which are compendia of dogmatic and moral theology, as well as his speculative work De Trinitate.[4]
Cyril of Alexandria was a model for later dogmatic theologians on the topics of Trinity and Christology.[4]
Towards the end of the Patristic Age, Isidore of Seville collected the writings of Western church fathers in his Libri III sententiarum seu de summo bono, and John Damascene did the same in the East with his Fons scientiae.[4]
The scope of the scholastic method is to analyze the content of dogma by means of dialectics.[2] Scholasticism did not take its guidance from John Damascene or Pseudo-Dionysius, but from Augustine. Augustinian thought runs through the whole progress of Western Catholic philosophy and theology.[4] The Venerable Bede (d. 735), is the link which joins the patristic with the medieval history of theology.[4]
Up to the time of Anselm of Canterbury, the theologians were more concerned with preserving than with developing the writings of the Fathers. The beginnings of Scholasticism may be traced back to the days of Charlemagne (d. 814). Theology was cultivated nowhere with greater industry than in the cathedral and monastic schools, founded and fostered by Charlemagne. The earliest signs of a new approach appeared in the ninth century in the work of Paschasius Radbertus, and Rabanus Maurus. These speculations were carried to a greater depth by (Lanfranc, Hugh of Langres, etc.).[4]
Anselm of Canterbury (d. 1109) was the first to bring a sharp logic to bear upon the principal dogmas of Christianity, and to draw up a plan for dogmatic theology. Taking the substance of his doctrine from Augustine, Anselm, as a philosopher, was not so much a disciple of Aristotle as of Plato, in whose dialogues he had been schooled.[4]
The great mystics, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Bonaventure, were at the same time distinguished Scholastics.[2] It is upon the doctrine of Anselm and Bernard that the Scholastics of succeeding generations took their stand, and it was their spirit which lived in the theological efforts of the University of Paris.[4]
The first attempts at a theological system may be seen in the so-called Books of Sentences, collections and interpretations of quotations from the Fathers, more especially of Augustine. One of the earliest of these books is the Summa sententiarum, an anonymous compilation created at the School of Loan some time after 1125. Another is The Sacraments of the Christian Faith written by Hugh of St. Victor around 1135. His works are characterized throughout by a close adherence to Augustine and may serve as guides for beginners in the theology of Augustine. Peter Lombard, called the "Magister Sententiarum" (d. 1164), stands above them all. What Gratian had done for canon law Lombard did for dogmatic and moral theology. He sifted and explained and paraphrased the patristic lore in his "Libri IV sententiarum", and the arrangement which he adopted was, in spite of the lacunæ, so excellent that up to the sixteenth century his work was the standard text-book of theology. The work of interpreting this text began in the thirteenth century, and there was no theologian of note in the Middle Ages who did not write a commentary on the Sentences of Lombard. No other work exerted such a powerful influence on the development of scholastic theology.[4]
William of Auvergne (d. 1248), who died as bishop of Paris, deserves special mention. Though preferring the free, unscholastic method of an earlier age, he yet shows himself at once an original philosopher and a profound theologian. Inasmuch as in his numerous monographs on the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Sacraments, etc., he took into account the anti-Christian attacks of the Arabic writers on Aristoteleanism, he is the connecting link between this age and the thirteenth century.[4]
Alexander of Hales (d. about 1245) was a Franciscan, while Albert the Great (d. 1280) was a Dominican. The Summa theologiæ of Alexander of Hales is the largest and most comprehensive work of its kind, flavoured with Platonism. Albert was an intellectual working not only in matters philosophical and theological but in the natural sciences as well. He made a first attempt to present the entire philosophy of Aristotle and to place it at the service of Catholic theology. The logic of Aristotle had been rendered into Latin by Boethius and had been used in the schools since the end of the sixth century; but his physics and metaphysics were made known to Western Christendom only through the Arabic philosophers of the thirteenth century. His works were prohibited by the Synod of Paris, in 1210, and again by a Bull of Pope Gregory IX in 1231. Later Scholastics, led by Albert the Great, went over the faulty Latin translation once more, and reconstructed the doctrine of Aristotle and its principles.[4]
Bonaventure (d. 1274) and Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), mark the highest development of Scholastic theology. St. Bonaventure follows Alexander of Hales, his fellow-religious and predecessor, but surpasses him in mysticism and clearness of diction. Unlike the other Scholastics of this period, he did not write a theological Summa, but a Commentary on the Sentences, as well as his Breviloquium, a condensed Summa. Alexander of Hales and Bonaventure represent the old Franciscan Schools, from which the later School of Duns Scotus essentially differed.[4]
Thomas Aquinas holds the same rank among the theologians as does Augustine among the Fathers of the Church. He is distinguished by wealth of ideas, systematic exposition of them, and versatility. For dogmatic theology his most important work is the Summa theologica.
Duns Scotus (1266—1308), by bold and virulent criticism of the Thomistic system, was to a great extent responsible for its decline. Scotus is the founder a new Scotistic School, in the speculative treatment of dogma. Later Franciscans, among them Costanzo de Sarnano, set about minimizing or even reconciling the doctrinal differences of the two.[4]
Nominalism had less effect on the Dominican theologians, who were as a rule loyal Thomists. [4] It was in the early part of the sixteenth century that commentaries on the "Summa Theologica" of Aquinas began to appear. The Franciscans partly favoured Nominalism, partly adhered to pure Scotism. The Augustinian James of Viterbo (d. 1308) attached himself to Ægidius of Rome; Gregory of Rimini (d. 1359), championed an undisguised nominalism. Among the Carmelites, Gerard of Bologna (d. 1317) was a staunch Thomist. Generally speaking, the later Carmelites were followers of Aquinas. The Order of the Carthusians produced in the fifteenth century a prominent theologian in the person of Dionysius Ryckel (d. 1471), surnamed "the Carthusian", who set up his chair in Roermond, (the Netherlands).[4]
Outside the religious orders were many other. The Englishman Thomas Bradwardine (d. 1340), was the foremost mathematician of his day and a celebrated scholastic philosopher and doctor of theology. He is often called Doctor Profundus. (The Carmelite Thomas Netter (d. 1430), surnamed Waldensis, was an English Scholastic theologian and controversialist. Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1404) was an early proponent of Renaissance humanism, and inaugurated a new and speculative system in dogmatic theology. A thorough treatise on the Church was written by John Torquemada (d. 1468), and a similar work by St. John Capistran (d. 1456). Alphonsus Tostatus (d. 1454) interspersed his Biblical commentaries on the Scriptures with dogmatic treatises. His work "Quinque paradoxa" is a treatise on Christology and Mariology.[4]
The Protestant Reformation brought about a more accurate definition of important Catholic articles of faith. From the period of the Renaissance the revival of classical studies gave new vigour to exegesis and patrology, while the Reformation stimulated the universities which had remained Catholic, especially in Spain (Salamanca, Alcalá), Portugal (Coimbra) and in the Netherlands (Louvain), to intellectual research. The Sorbonne of Paris regained its lost prestige only towards the end of the sixteenth century. Among the religious orders the newly founded Society of Jesus probably contributed most to the revival and growth of theology. Matthias Joseph Scheeben distinguishes five phases in this period.[4]
First phase: to the Council of Trent (1500–1570)
The whole literature of this period bears an apologetical and controversial character and deals with those subjects which had been attacked most bitterly: the rule and sources of faith, the Church, grace, the sacraments, especially the holy Eucharist. Peter Canisius (d. 1597) gave to the Catholics not only his world-renowned catechism, but also a most valuable Mariology.[4]
In England John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (d. 1535), and Thomas More (d. 1535) championed the cause of the Catholic faith. The Jesuit Nicholas Sanders wrote one of the best treatises on the Church. In Belgium the professors of the University of Louvain opened new paths for the study of theology, foremost among them were: Jodocus Ravesteyn (d. 1570), and John Hessels (d. 1566).[4]
Second phase: late Scholasticism at its height (1570–1660)
It was not until the seventeenth century, and then only for practical reasons, that moral theology was separated from the main body of Catholic dogma. The necessity of a further division of labour led to the independent development of other disciplines: apologetics, exegesis, church history. While apologetics uses historical and philosophical arguments, dogmatic theology makes use of Scripture and Tradition to prove the Divine character of the different dogmas.[2]
Robert Bellarmine (d. 1621), was a controversialist theologian who defended almost the whole of Catholic theology against the attacks of the Reformers. Jacques Davy Duperron (d. 1618) of France wrote a treatise on the Holy Eucharist. The pulpit orator Bossuet (d. 1627) preached from the standpoint of history. The Præscriptiones Catholicae was a voluminous work of the Italian Gravina (7 vols., Naples, 1619–39). Adrian (d. 1669) and Peter de Walemburg (d. 1675), easily ranked among the best controversialists.[4]
The development of positive theology went hand in hand with the progress of research into the Patristic Era and into the history of dogma. These studies were especially cultivated in France and Belgium. A number of scholars, thoroughly versed in history, published in monographs the results of their investigations into the history of particular dogmas. Joannes Morinus (d. 1659) made the Sacrament of Penance the subject of special study; Hallier (d. 1659), the Sacrament of Holy Orders, Jean Garnier (d. 1681), Pelagianism; Étienne Agard de Champs (d. 1701), Jansenism; Tricassinus (d. 1681), Augustine's doctrine on grace. The Jesuit Petavius (d. 1647) and the Oratorian Louis Thomassin (d. 1695), wrote "Dogmata theologica". They placed positive theology on a new basis without disregarding the speculative element.[4]
At the head of the Thomists was Domingo Bañez (d. 1604), who wrote a commentary on the theological Summa of Aquinas, which, combined with a similar work by Bartholomew Medina (d. 1581), forms a harmonious whole. The Carmelites of Salamanca produced the Cursus Salmanticensis (Salamanca, 1631–1712) in 15 folios, as commentary on the Summa. At Louvain William Estius (d. 1613) wrote a Thomist commentary on the "Liber Sententiarum" of Peter the Lombard, while his colleague Francis Sylvius (d. 1649) explained the theological Summa of the master himself. In the Sorbonne Thomism was represented by Nicholas Ysambert (d. 1624). The University of Salzburg also furnished the Theologia scholastica of Augustine Reding, who held the chair of theology in that university from 1645 to 1658.[4]
The Franciscans maintained doctrinal opposition to the Thomists, with steadily continued Scotist commentaries on Peter the Lombard. Scotistic manuals for use in schools were published about 1580 William Herincx. The Capuchins, on the other hand, adhered to Bonaventure, as, e.g., Gaudentius of Brescia, (d. 1672).[4]
Jesuit theologians
The Society of Jesus substantially adhered to the Summa of Thomas Aquinas, yet at the same time it made use of an eclectic freedom. Luis Molina (d. 1600) was the first Jesuit to write a commentary on the Summa of St. Thomas. Leading Jesuits were the Spaniards Francisco Suárez (d. 1617), and Gabriel Vasquez (d. 1604). Suárez was named "Doctor Eximius" by Pope Benedict XIV. Caspar Hurtado (d. 1646) wrote a commentary on Aquinas. A theological manual was written by Sylvester Maurus (d. 1687). Francesco Sforza Pallavicino, (d. 1667), known as the historiographer of the Council of Trent, won repute as a dogmatic theologian by several of his writings.[4]
Other counter-currents of thought set in: Cartesianism in philosophy, Gallicanism, and Jansenism. Bernard de Rubeis (d. 1775) produced a monograph on original sin. José Saenz d'Aguirre (d. 1699) wrote the three volume work "Theology of St. Anselm". Among the Franciscans Claudius Frassen (d. 1680) issued his elegant Scotus academicus. Eusebius Amort (d. 1775), the foremost theologian in Germany, combined conservatism with due regard for modern demands.[4]
The "Theologia Wirceburgensis" was published in 1766–71 by the Jesuits of Würzburg. The new school of Augustinians based their theology on the system of Gregory of Rimini rather than on that of Ægidius of Rome. To this school belonged Henry Noris (d. 1704). Its best work on dogmatic theology came from the pen of Giovanni Lorenzo Berti (d. 1766).[4]
The French Oratory took up Jansenism, with Pasquier Quesnel and Lebrun. The Sorbonne of Paris also adopted aspects of Jansenism and Gallicanism. Exceptions were Louis Abelly (d. 1691) and Honoratus Tournély (d. 1729), whose "Prælectiones dogmaticæ" are numbered among the best theological text-books.[4]
Fifth phase: restoration of dogmatic theology (1840–1900)
Harold Acton remarked on the large number of histories of dogma published in Germany published in the years 1838 to 1841.[11]Joseph Görres (d. 1848) and Ignaz von Döllinger (d. 1890) intended that Catholic theology should influence the development of German states.[12]
The First Vatican Council was held (1870) and sought a middle ground between the competing approaches of traditionalism and rational liberalism. The Council issued the dogmatic constitutionDei Filius, which stated in part that there is no real discrepancy between faith and reason, since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind; and that any apparent contradiction is mainly due, either to the dogmas of faith not having been understood and interpreted fully, or unproven scientific or critical theory assumed to be certain.[13][14]
Pope Leo XIII in his Encyclical Æterni Patris (1879) restored the study of the Scholastics, especially of St. Thomas, in all higher Catholic schools, a measure which was again emphasized by Pope Pius X.
Ludwig Ott's 1952 Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma is considered a standard reference work on dogmatics. An updated and revised edition was issued by Baronius Press in 2018.
Development of Dogma
Around 434, Vincent of Lérins wrote Commonitorium, in which he recognized that doctrine can develop over time. New doctrines could not be declared, but older ones better understood.[15] In John Henry Newman's 1845 "Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine", Newman listed seven criteria which "...can be applied in proper proportions to that further interpretation of dogmas aimed at giving them contemporary relevance."[16] After its publication, Newman developed a lengthy correspondence with Giovanni Perrone, chair of dogmatic theology at the Roman College, particularly on the development of doctrine.[17] An advisor to Popes Gregory XVI and Pius IX, Perrone was consultor of various congregations and was active in the discussions which resulted in the 1854 dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception.[18]
Alexander of Hales, also called Doctor Irrefragibilis and Theologorum Monarcha, was a Franciscan friar, theologian and philosopher important in the development of scholasticism.
In Catholic theology, Limbo is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Europe described the underworld as divided into three distinct parts: Hell of the Damned, Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs, and Limbo of the Infants. The Limbo of the Fathers is an official doctrine of the Catholic Church, but the Limbo of the Infants is not. The concept of Limbo comes from the idea that, in the case of Limbo of the Fathers, good people were not able to achieve heaven just because they were born before the birth of Jesus Christ. This is also true for Limbo of the Infants in that simply because a child died before baptism, does not mean they deserve punishment, though they cannot achieve salvation.
Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translated scholastic Judeo-Islamic philosophies, and "rediscovered" the collected works of Aristotle. Endeavoring to harmonize his metaphysics and its account of a prime mover with the Latin Catholic dogmatic trinitarian theology, these monastic schools became the basis of the earliest European medieval universities, and thus became the bedrock for the development of modern science in the Western world. Scholasticism dominated education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. The rise of scholasticism was closely associated with these schools that flourished in Italy, France, Portugal, Spain and England.
Bonaventure was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher.
Peter Lombard was an Italian scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of Four Books of Sentences which became the standard textbook of theology, for which he earned the accolade Magister Sententiarum.
The Four Books of Sentences is a compendium of theology written by Peter Lombard around 1150.
Scotism is the philosophical school and theological system named after John Duns Scotus, a 13th-century Scottish philosopher-theologian. The word comes from the name of its originator, whose Opus Oxoniense was one of the most important documents in medieval philosophy and Roman Catholic theology, defining what would later be declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus on 8 December 1854.
Paul of Venice was a Catholic philosopher, theologian, logician and metaphysician of the Order of Saint Augustine.
Summa and its diminutive summula was a medieval didactics literary genre written in Latin, born during the 12th century, and popularized in 13th century Europe. In its simplest sense, they might be considered texts that 'sum up' knowledge in a field, such as the compendiums of theology, philosophy and canon law. Their function during the Middle Ages was largely as manuals or handbooks of necessary knowledge used by individuals who would not advance their studies any further.
Aeterni Patris was an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in August 1879. It was subtitled "On the Restoration of Christian Philosophy in Catholic Schools in the Spirit of the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas". The aim of the encyclical was to advance the revival of Scholastic philosophy.
Gregory of Valencia was a Spanish humanist and scholar who was a professor at the University of Ingolstadt.
Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as an 'equipping' of ministers, practical theology is often considered to be more pragmatic than speculative, indeed, essentially a practical science. Hence its main interests are in those areas of theology which will aid clergy in ministry. Topics tend to include homiletics, pastoral care, sacramental theology, and ethics.
Neo-scholasticism is a revival and development of medieval scholasticism in Catholic theology and philosophy which began in the second half of the 19th century.
Réginald Marie Garrigou-Lagrange was a French Dominican friar, philosopher and theologian. Garrigou-Lagrange was a neo-Thomist theologian, recognized along with Édouard Hugon and Martin Grabmann as distinguished theologians of the 20th century. As professor at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, he taught dogmatic and spiritual theology in Rome from 1909 to 1959. There he wrote The Three Ages of the Interior Life in 1938.
Catholic moral theology is a major category of doctrine in the Catholic Church, equivalent to a religious ethics. Moral theology encompasses Catholic social teaching, Catholic medical ethics, sexual ethics, and various doctrines on individual moral virtue and moral theory. It can be distinguished as dealing with "how one is to act", in contrast to dogmatic theology which proposes "what one is to believe".
Second scholasticism, also called Modern scholasticism, is the period of revival of scholastic system of philosophy and theology, in the 16th and 17th centuries. The scientific culture of second scholasticism surpassed its medieval source (Scholasticism) in the number of its proponents, the breadth of its scope, the analytical complexity, sense of historical and literary criticism, and the volume of editorial production, most of which remains hitherto little explored.
Medieval philosophy is the philosophy that existed through the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century until after the Renaissance in the 13th and 14th centuries. Medieval philosophy, understood as a project of independent philosophical inquiry, began in Baghdad, in the middle of the 8th century, and in France and Germany, in the itinerant court of Charlemagne in Aachen, in the last quarter of the 8th century. It is defined partly by the process of rediscovering the ancient culture developed in Greece and Rome during the Classical period, and partly by the need to address theological problems and to integrate sacred doctrine with secular learning. This is one of the defining characteristics in this time period. Understanding God was the focal point of study of the philosophers at that time, Muslim and Christian alike.
The Latin Church is the largest autonomous particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 churches sui iuris in full communion with the pope; the other 23 are collectively referred to as the Eastern Catholic Churches, and have approximately 18 million members combined.
John Duns Scotus was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher and theologian. He is one of the four most important Christian philosopher-theologians of Western Europe in the High Middle Ages, together with Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure and William of Ockham.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Catholic Church:
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