Table Of ContentThe two studies in this book bring to light a tension that domi
nates the entire theological thinking of Augustine: Is Augustine's
rheology ro be viewed as Chrisrocenrric or rheocenrric? The prob
lem may be srared another way: What is the relationship between
the orders of creation and redemption? Is there a difference in
principle or only a gradation between the creative action of God
and God's action in grace, or between nature and grace?
The tension between "the gift of creation" and "the gift-grace of
redemption" brings with it the problem of theocentrism and
Christocentrisrn in Augustinian thought. Augustine cites Romans
again and again:"The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord"
(7:25). In this conrext, Christ is consistently seen as mediator
between God and humanity. Bur Augustine can also be content
with another formula: "Through Christ as human being to Christ
as God."
In Augustine's view, faith depends in fact primarily on "rhe author
ity of Chrisr." Bur to what extent is this authority grounded in the
authority of God? A t the same rime, human beings owe rhe cer
tainry of their judgment to the presence of the interior teacher.
Bur is nor rhe eternal truth that entJghtens the mind identical with
rhe Word that God has spoken?
These two studies of Christ and God are intended to give an answer
or ar least elements of an answer to this most complex question.
Basil Studer, O.S.B., is professor of early Church history and patristics ar the
Pontifical Athaenaeum S. Anselmo and at the Patristic Institute, the
Augustinian urn, in Rome. The Liturgical Press with T & T Clark has published his
Triniry and Incarnation: The Faith of the Early Church (1993}.
IS9N 0-8l~6-53S$-S
u.s. $29.95
9
•
The Grace of Christ and the Grace of God
in Augustine of Hippo
•
The Grace of Christ and the Grace of God
in Augustine of Hippo
Christocentrism or Theocentrism?
Basil Stude1; O.S.B.
1i·anslated by
Matthew J. O'Connell
A Mic boel Book
GloziP-r~
0
THE LITURGICAL PRESS
Collegeville, Minnesota
•
Contents
I
Preface
3
Gencr•l hnro<luction
A Michncl Gla7Aet Book JJublil<>hcd by The Linu·gicnl J)l'<:::-.s Part 1. The Grace of Christ
9
lotroducli on
CO\'CI' dc:-.ign by David Mannhan, o.s.n. Fragment of a floor mosaic. lliniOJl St.
1. Auguslinc's Picture of Ch,·ist: An Unrecognized Problem 9
Maty. Dorset. 4th cenull'y. ·nw: Oriti"h Museum.
10
2. A Hundred Years of S1udy of Augustine"s Picture of Christ
0 1997 by The Otdcr c>f SL Bcncdic1, Inc., College' illc. Minncscxa. All righl< ru a. The lnOuence of llnmack's Views on Hcllcnizmion 10
stf\t."<l. 1'\o pan of this book may he reJ)f'Oduced in an)1 fonn or by any mean ... c:Jcc. . b. The Reacrion 10 lhc Onc·>idcdly Hellenis1ic
ttonic or n'lcchanicat. including l>hotocopying. recording, taping. or any retrieval
Underslanding of Augusline's Christology I I
l)y~lcm, without l1le writh;n J)Crmi .. \(ion of The Liturgic:•l P1'C:-.:,., CollcgcviiJe. ~·1inne c. The Rounded Appronch of More Rcccnl Scholarship 12
sota 56321. Printed in the Un11cd States of A•.n.;..-ict•.
13
3. Co,tscquences for Melhodolog)'
2 3 4 5 6 7 Chapler 1, The Word '"Christ'': lis Meaning and Use 14
1. The Numerical Occum:oce of the Word '"Chri,C 14
of Congress
Ubrnr~ Calaloging-in-~tublic."llion &~tin
Sluder. ll"il. 1925- 2. Meaning of the Wc>rd ·'Chri~.-· 14
15
IGr.ttia Chrisri. gra11a Dei tx:i Augusti.l1us ''on HiJ>po. EJlgli~h) 3. ""Chdsl" as a Proper Name
The grace of Ch•·ist ;uu.l the g.mcc of God in Augtbliue of Hippo 4. Wli1ings in Wh.ich 1hc Nnmc of Christ Is
Chri~;toccntrism or Lh-.!occnlt'J"Ill'? I Ba.,il Stude•· : trnuslmcd by Lacking Coruple1cly o.-1o Some Exrent .17
Mttllhcw J. O'ConneJI.
19
5. "Chrisl" in the Collfe;sions
p. cm.
6. The Use of Biblical and !:xegetical Language 21
Include, bibliogwphicol n:rcrcnces and i1ldexe\.
21
ISB'I 0-8146-5855-S a. Under !he Spell of the Pnulioe Writings
I. Augustioo. Saim. Bi\hot> of Hippo. :!. Jesus \hri,I-Person and b. The !nfloeoce c>f 1he ()!her Biblical Writings 22
offict,- llistory or doctrines E.."lrly churc-h, ea. 30-600. 3. God· 7. Trndilion"l Language Rcfen·ing 10 Chris1 24
.Jib.wry uf doctrinc..c;- Early church, 1.:;l. 30-600. I. l'itle. u. l..iLurgical and Catechc1ical l.. .a nguagc 24
01~65.A9S7513 1997 h. Everyday Bcclesialticul Language 24
231".092--.lcll 96-2959-1 25
c. ihe Language Qf As<.·cticism fuld Hagiography
Cll'
V
Couteurs vii
3. TI>Oughts oo the Appropriate Method 74
a. The Principal Difficulties in a Presentation of
Augustine's Teaching on God 74
b. Me<hodological Consequences 75
c. Division of the Study 76
Chapter 1. God in the Writings of Augustine t.he Seeker 78
I. "Lord my God": God in the Cotifes;ions 78
a. ,\ugu.stinc·s Spirimal Journey 79
b. The God of Dialogue 81
c. and Unel'iy Close God 82
TbeAJI-Tran~ce.nding
aa. God, the Creator within Us 82
bb. Tbe Just and Merciful God 83
cc. God Who Enlightens and Remembers 84
2. '11te God of Wisdom and Beauty 86
a. God. the Source of Happiness 87
b. Human Beings. Created as Image.< of God 88
c. Enligbtenmeot 90
d. The Question of Evil 91
3. God in the Anti-Maoichean Writings 94
a. God Is Not the Originator of Sin 95
b. Knowledge Based on Divine Authority 97
c. 'l11e Problem of Biblical Interpretation 99
Excursus.
A New 1\uning Point in Augustine's Theological Thought? 101
Chapter 2. God in tl1e Major Theological Works I 04
I. God the Father-One Gnd I 04
a. The Problem of 17u! '11-inity 104
b. The Biblical Foundation of Faith in tltc Trinity 105
c. The Dogmatic Fommlation ofTrinitarian Belief 106
d. Theological Investigation of Belief in the Trinity 107
e. Results for t.he Doctrine of God in the Narrower Sense I 07
2. God the Creator I 09
a. The Importance of 17•e Litual Meanitlg ofG enesis 109
b. Augu tine's The<Jiogy of Creation 110
c. Statements about God Contained in tl1c
·n,cology of Creation 112
3. The God of Sacred History 115
"· The Theological Significance of The City of God in General 115
b. The Basic Idea of the FirsL '1\:n Uooks of The City of God 116
c. The Two Cities according to the Ilistoriography uf the Bible 118
•
viii Cont('t11~t
Chapter 3. God in the Chri>tian Program of Life 125
I. TI.e Vi>ion of the Omnipresent God 125
a. Introductory Remarks on Letters 147 and 187 125
b. Tile Treatise on the Vision of God (Lener 1~7) 125
c. Tile Treathc on the Presence of God (Leuer 187)
127
cl. Concluding Assessment
129
2. God Merciful ancJ Just
130
(1, TI1c ldeo of God in the Anti-Pelagian Writings before 418 130
b. Tho ldc11 of God in tlte Later Anti-Pelnginn Writings 132 Preface
3. 'l11c God of All the Faithl'ul 135
a. The Unfathomable Mystct)' of God
136
b. Prnise of the 1'ranscendem God
137
c. '11•c Indescribable Greatness of God 138
d. Tite Cod of the Baptismal Catcchescs 140 "Books too have their history." This rather trite 'aying applies to the pre
c. God in the Eucharistic Prayer sent study of Tile Grace of Cilrisr ond Grace of God in Augusrine of
143 rh~
lfipJJ{). Eight years ago,l wa< invited by the editors of theA11gustimts-Lexikon
Chapter~- The Principal Features of Augustine's Picture of God 145
to collaborate on the article.< "Christ" and "God." lt was finally agreed that 1
I. A Double Perspective 146 olone should write the first of these two anicle.; and be the principal writer of
2. The Tension betw<'Cn God in the Divine Self (Deus in s~l the •econd. With a view to the dischruge of this by no means easy tas~. I de
and Cod in Relation to Us (D~11.r ad nos) 150 VOied a major pan of my scholarly work 10 Augustine's Cbristology and his
teaching about God. For reasons that I need not go imo here, but to my own
3. The Idea of God and Religious Knowledge 151
regret. the two contribmions, which were substantially finished by the fall of
Summary
154 1990. could not appear in the Le.<ikon.
I mention all this because it largely cxpl(lins. and perhaps excuses, the spe
Abbn.!viations
160
cial character of the present work. To begin with, it renders intelligible what
Notes
162 at first sight appear to be unconventional limits pl~cccl on the study of the two
Bibliography themes. The study of Christ. which fonns the first pan of the present book, is
246
conccmed chiefly, although not exclusively, wilh pas:sagcs in which the word
Indexes
"Christ" occurs. The second smdy. which provides the substance of tbe sec
I. Scripture Texts ond part of the book. does not deal with the whole of Augustine's teaching
256
2. Persons about God but is limited to the concept of "Cod." In panicular, Augustine's
257
3. Subjects and Concepts teaching on the Trinity is taken up only 10 the extent that it deals with "God
259
the Father" and "one God."
In addition. traces naturally remain of my original purpose, which was to
write two articles for a lexicon. I have, howe,.,r, tr•nslmcd the lengthier pas
sages of Augustine and ha\'C allowed only shorter. more stereotyped citations
to be given in Latin. Furthermore. I took the two themes as the subjects of my
lectures in the flfSt semester of the academic years 1990- 1991 and 1991-1992
at the Augustinian PatTistic Institute in Rome. My presentation may therefore
smack somewhat of the classroom.
But the concrete circumstances that led to the preseut book in its tinal
I01"1n have had their <1dvant.::tge as well. Despite t·he limitations set on them. lJle
two studies combined here bring tO lisht a tension that dominates the entire
•
2 p.._/flte
theological thinking of Augustine. l1le title I have chosen for !he book mnkes
the problem clear, namely, !he relationship between !he orders of creation and
redempuon. In addition. the subtitle specifies the question: Is Augustine's the
ology 10 be viewed as Christocenlric or theocemric"? In this connection. 1 in
trOduce some secondary 1..hcmcs lhnt in my opio.ion deserve to 00 looked a1
more closely. Finally, ct1e fact that I was able to present my intcrprctntion of
Augustine fi1·st to my students was of no liule profit to the present book.
Be nil that as it may. it has been n source of great joy to me to be able to
devote myself for several years to the Church Father who is dearer to me thM General Introduction
all the others. For this very reason. I feel obliged to expre.'iS my sincere thanks
to those who have made it pos.,ible for me to bring this work to a happy con
clusion. First and foremost. I thank !he editors of the Studia Ephcmcridis
"Augustinianum": Father Vit1orino Crossi, lhe generous director. and Father
Jose M. Cuirau, the tireless secretary. who declared their willingness ro make Is it Christ or Cod who is at the ccnter of St. Augustine's theological
my book on Augustine a pan of their series. I also thank Mrs. Uta K1·ewel thought? The question cannot be evaded if we be:tr in mind, tirst, how at
(Bollrop). Dr. Hildegard Kiinig (TUbingcn). :md my young colleuguc, Rohcrt cached the Bishop of ~lippo was to the fonnula "through Christ as human
Dodaro. nil of whom conu"ibutcd with commendable devotion 10 rhe im being to Christ as God" (per Chrismm hominem ad Chri.ssum Deum) and, sec
provement of the book's language and to the clearer presentation of my ond, how often. especially in his later years. he repeated the words of tl1e
thought. Apostle Paul: ''The grace of God tbrougb Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom 7:25).1
In grateful remembrance of the pMttwenry years, during which my teach· The question or whether we should spenk or ChriStocenlrism or of lhe<>
ing and scholarly research have been dcVOied for the most pan to the Augus centrism in connection with Augustine is in any case a very complex one. This
tinian Pnlristic lnstirute, I wish to dedicate this study of a subject that was can be easily shown from a discussion that went on in the recent pa.sL About
ccnainly a favoritc of Augustine himself ro the professo!l> and students of the ten years ago, Barbnm A land published a very wonhwhile anicle on "Cogi
Institute. I include in my grateful remembrance all those-men and women, tare Deum il1 den Confusiones Augustins.'"' As she explains in her introduc
near and far-whose sympathy and interest helped me to lind meaning in the tion. two things •timulntcd hel" interest in what at first glance seems to be a
part I hnve played in research imo a long past age and at the same time not ro quite nanow subject.' On the one hand, she could not allow E. Jungel to go
fol"gct the people of t(lday. unchnllen2ed when, in his book Gott tds Gelteiu111is tier Welt, he appeals to
Aug11srin;a s supposedly the classical representative of the tradition of a com
Basil Studcr
pletely incomprehensible Cod. On the other, she felt obliged to challenge R.
San Anselmo, Rome. November 1992
Lorenz·s claim that AuguStine had not succeeded in overcoming a "certain
an1bivalence in the mancr of grace and knowledge'' and '"therewith, the dan·
ger of confusing nature and grace."
She. herself thinks that the positions of these two writers are mutually c<>
hereut. to the extent 1h<1t the "monistic metaphysics;· to which Lorenz attrib
utes tbe ambiguity in Augustine's teaching about grace and knowledge. and
rhe tradition of "the unerly transcendent God," which Jllngel claims to find in
Augustine, ru·e very simBnr. Al bottom, both posi(ions :.1-:.:mmc, each in its own
way. that there is but a single order of knowledge. As Aland poims out futther
on, behind the problem just indicated lurks the question of how "creatcduess
for God" is related to the grace which is given to us through the incarnation
of !he Son.' lo other words. according to Aland, we may ask wbether !here is
a difference in principle or only a gradation between the creative action of
God and God's action in grace or between nature and grace.'
3
4 c~nun/lmrr'){/u('/i()lt • Gmwmllutroduclion 5
On the ba.,is of the Confessions. to which she deliberately limils her siUdy. lation and seek to understand with their reasoning powers. Thus in his 77oe
A land anemp!S 10 answer !he question in the following way.• "There is a dif Trinit••. be presupposes a coocept of God that can he attained wilh lhe help of
ference he!ween !he knowledge of God tha1 rea~oo can :111ain and the knowl reason and that one must bave in mind "hen one seeks 10 reflect on the IIIOr
edge of God 1ha1 is ob1aincd wilh !he help of gmce. In the fom1er kind of oughly theological question of the unity in the Trinity''
knowledge. i1 i' po;sible for human beings, ar leas! for a brief. though blessed, AI !he le,el of tbe rational understonding of !he f:ulll. Augustine distin
""'~nem. 10 touch. al the apex of their souls. the God who rran,ccnds them. guish<> both materially and formally between two orders, which however are
Behev~r<. for th~ir part. a~hieve the same experience of God in theu· prayer: closely interconnected. He assumes u~ objective ur ontological rca1ities an
but whole th~~· hkc the pbolosoph.ers, fall back again into the hard reatity of order of creation and an order of redemption. By this I mean £hat iu various
the present hie, they renwon subJeet to God through their anitudc of fi1.i1h. con1cx1~ he :-;peaks of God who crcmcd us and 0f.ld who (even more wonde,·
Moreover, they hope for the everlasting vision of God, with !he confidence l'ully) redeemed us. l\.lorc than anything else. il was the controversy with
gov~n ~~ th~o11 by their faith in the truth !aught 1heou by the "weakness of Pelagius. Juliau of Eclanum~ and Olhcn), in which his leaching on grace was
Chnst, wh1ch has become lhe way for Lhern., chollcngcd, Lh:Jt compelled him di l"l'CJ'Cnlialc bclwecn ''the gifl that .is nature
1.()
Thus. wi1h hi!.J' eye ou the views concerning grace ::uld knowledge that ilself' (gratia naturae) and "the grncc by which we are made believers" (gra
Lorcnz po-oposc_~. Aland rejects a knowledge <>f God that is limiled in a one Ti(l .flllelium). 15
Sided way to !he possibilitic.< of the human mind: in addition, she traces 11liS tension bclwccn "Lhe gift or creation .. (gratia c:reationis) and "'!he
Lorenz's way of undcrswoding !he knowledge of God in Augustine to a fail gif!lgraee of redemption" (gr(ltia reclemptionis) brings willl it the problem of
ure I<> dis_tingu~•h betwe~n nalure and grace. If •he had taken other pasages the<)Centrism and Christocentrism in Augustinian thought. As I mentiooed ear
5
onto con.<oder:uooo. ~pec•ally from lite Expositions of tile t'salms. she could lier. lite Doctor of grace undoubtedly cite' again and again these words from
have found even <trongcr support for ber intcrpretnliOn (she did not appeal to the Leuer to the Romans. ·1'be grace of God 1hrough Jesus Christ our Lord"
the.'><! other pas;ages because she wanted to limit her study).• (Rom 7:25). In this context. Christ is consi,tently seen as mediator bel\veen
In the final analy<is. Lorcnz stands in the lone of those modern scholars Goc.l and humanity. But Augustine can also be c.:orucnl with the other fonnula
who hove taken th~ir cue from a famous essay of A. von Hnmack and have mentioned earlier, "Through Clttist as humnn being 10 Christ as God." Or be
seen Augustine as primarily a Neoplatonic philosopher.• 1t should be rcrnem will speak of "Christ the way" and "Christ the homeland." The importance of
b~r~d. howcve1\ lhal the dean of histol'ians of dogmc.l la1e1' nunnccd .somewhat tht.l)e Christoccntric-sounding formulas is clear fi'Om lhe fact that G. Madcc
hos JUdgn~cnt _on ':"&u•tine's theological thought. In doing so. he continued to has been able 10 write a book Oil Christ in Ausustine wilh the title: La [>atrie
see a.t cnsaon m th1s thought between a more J'cligio·philosophical doclri ne ctltl vola (Tiw Homeland mu/ rhe ~lkly). 11' Although the conlexts in which such
00
the ... g~·ncc of God'' and a more e-eclesi~1.~tic-al tenching on the .. grace of formulas as these arc used make it clear that God is the beginning and the end,
116
Chnst. Sornclhing ofthi~ dialectic can be seen in Pascal, who. ns a reminder they also show how concerned Augustine is to make Christ tbe cemer of the
of a mcmo:able night in llis life, sewed into his clothing a paper thal contained llCtivily of salvation.
the followong words among others. '·'God of Abraham. God of lsnnc. God of Similar tensions are also to be seen in the order of knowledge. At the log
Jacob.' no_t of philosophers and scholars:'" He thus di~tinguished between lite icalle\'el. Augustine likes to appeal to the fomwla 1aken from lite Latin trans
God of fnuh and the God of the philosophers. l:uion of Isaiah, Nisi credid~ritis, non imflligetis ("Unless you believe, you
. Augustine of Hippo was n()l in a position as yet to male ~uch a distinc will not undcr.ltand;' lsa 7:9). Thu.,, faith in JC>US Chri•t is in his viL·w the un
uon. ahltough he doe; di<tinguish between two naones in the revelation given condilionally necessary basis of religious knowledge. but it is not to he for
~o Mo~s: the "name [of God] in God's eternity" (nom~" artemiuuis). that is. gonen that from another poinl of "iew. he gives priority to reason. Betievers
'the _One who. is." mt<l the ~·name given in an act of mercy" (uome miseri· not only use their minds to di'\ccm how far they rnay in g<)()d conscience rely
11
?f
co~/w~). that. os. :'G<><I !he fathers:"_' But even if we <ce in Augusline the Oil fa11h: to >Ome extent they also use them to control th~ statemems of the
~egonnongs ol n dtstonctoon between phJiosophy and theology in the Scholas Bible. ill addition. rational knowledge based on faith is superior to simple
uc imd n~odern sense of lhese two terms. he himself alwnys me:u1~ by ''the t'uith. On the other hand, Augu')tinc link'i the .. advantage of bel.ieving" so
n·uest pholosophy" a deeper understanding of the Chri<tian faith. in other <.:lo:;cly \Vilh the purilicatory function of f'ailh that lhc question arises whether
words. a kind of thcoi<Jgy in the later sense ofthe term.'} In any ""'•· he also In his view a submission of failh to the divine ~wthority serves only to cleanse
?scnb.es t(.) '.'cason (ratio) possibilities of a knowledge I lUll is not idcnlicaJ in the human heart for a truly spkitual knowledge of lhe tnuh. or whether, on the
ots OhJCCt wnh whou believing Clu·istinns accept on the bnsis of biblical reve- COIIII'ary. human beings, due(() th~ir rnilh in l'evclwion, exptlience something
6 Gem•rallntmduciion •
to which even Ih eir pori ficd hcnns cann o( give them access. 11 Thus. in an in
cidental way. the question of Christocentrism or theocentrism arises here once
again.
In AuguMine's view. faith depends in fact primarily on "the authority of
Christ." But to what extent is this authority gJ"Ounded in the authority ofGod1
A( lhe same time, human beings owe the ccnrunty of lhcir judgment to the
presence of the interior teacher. But is not the eternal truth that enlightens the
mind identical with the Word that God has spoken1
I
1t is to this very complex set of problems that these two studies of Christ P ART
and God are imcnded to give an answer. or a1 least elements of an ;mswer. The
two smdics at·e to a large extent indcpendCtl\ of each other. E>tch of them tnkcs
The Grace of Christ
''' its Starting point a State of the question thnt is based On n short review of
the literature. In each, this is followed by a survey of the most important of
Augustine's writings in chronological order. Each end• with a more system
atic overview. This procedure makes it pt>ssible to apprt>ach the problem in
question from1wo vicwpoinls nnd using muwally compJemcntary results, to
1
reach a mon;: complete general picnu·e. In addition. d1e mutcl'ial framework is
relatively restricted in both The investigation of Augustine's Christol
studic.~.
ogy is largely limited to passages in which the word "Christ" occurs. The
study of his tl>eology is restricted to passages in which he uses the term "God"
in ciLher a specifically Christifm seose or in a broad nnd Jl(m-specific scn~c.
Yet even within this limited sening, it is possible to ~ay something importnut
about the question ( have raised.
In bolh investigations. the Trinity is ne' er lost sight of. For when I 3.~k
what Augustine means by "God" when the tenn is used in a broad sense. the
Trinity is involved even here. On the other hand. in the discussion of "Christ,"
we are always talking about the only Son of the Father, who as the Human
One (filius hominis) communicates divine life in the Holy Spirit. I have cho
sen to tackle the Christological question fir.t, for this will make it clearer that
for AugtJstine, both in his personal journey and in his theological thought.
Christ was the way to God. the Lord and Father.
