Summa de Ecclesia

Since, with God's help, we shall speak more fully of this matter in what follows, when we treat of the Church under the name and character of the body and of her members, briefly now in answer to these points we say that the most fitting way of taking the name of the Church is, as has been said, that the holy and universal Church is called the collection or universality of all the faithful in general, which has been demonstrated above both from evangelical doctrine and from manifold reason. Rabanus also says in On the Instruction of Clerics, ch. i: The catholic Church of God, that is, the universal, which spread abroad through the whole world is glorified by the nobility of the name of Christ. For every man who is a partaker of right faith and is regenerated by holy baptism is called a Christian from Christ and is known to be a son of God the Father and of mother Church. Church is Greek, which rendered into Latin is calling or assembly, because it calls all to itself, thus far he. And yet for fuller understanding of what has been said, and for the solution of the arguments raised, it must be noted that although in the holy and universal Church good and evil faithful are said to be contained together intermingled, these and those nevertheless differ, since although the Church is the collection or universality of the faithful convening in the worship of the one true God and the profession of one faith, yet one is judged to belong to the holy Church as her son or member more truly and perfectly the more and the more perfectly he shares in the unity and communion of the holy Church of God. This unity is perfected above all by integrity of faith, hope, and charity, as Aug. says, and is gathered from ch. nuptiarum, xxvii, q. i. Hence it is that the good and just faithful, who are united to the Church not only in unity of faith but moreover in unity of love and charity, which is the bond of perfection, Col. 3, are judged to belong to the Church much more distinctly and nobly than sinful faithful, who communicate with the other holy faithful only in unity of faith and in a certain exterior communion of the sacraments; how differently these and those belong to the Church, although it is gathered openly enough from that evangelical parable in Matt. where Christ declares that the good belong to the threshing floor of the Lord as grain, the evil as chaff, we shall take care to demonstrate by other ways as well.

¹

First, since faith without works is dead, James 2. But the faith which is living before God and which has worth is the faith which works through love, Gal. 5. Surely those who are contained in the Church through unity of faith formed by charity belong to the Church itself as living stones and members vivified by the Spirit of God, from which the stature of the spiritual edifice of the body of the Church rises. Hence Jerome, and it is had in ch. omnibus consideratur, xxiiii, q. i, says thus: All things considered, I think I say not rashly that some are in the house of the Lord in such a way that they themselves are also the same house of the Lord, which is said to be built upon the rock, which is called the one dove, etc. The unjust and sinful faithful, however, since they are deprived of the life of grace and are estranged from the Spirit of God, are judged by the holy doctors to be contained in the holy Church of God, in comparison with the just, as dry and dead members or as evil humors. Hence Aug. in the book on Baptism, and it is had in ch. est unitas, on consecration, dist. iiii: The unity of the Church is one which extends widely, namely in the fellowship of the sacraments and in the communion which embraces with the grain also the chaff, etc. Thus therefore evil men are in the Church as evil humors are in the human body, which sometimes pass out of the body, thus far Aug.

²

Second, this difference is gathered from this, that since faith formed by charity suffers with itself no stain of damnable error or crime, because charity covers all offenses, Prov. 10, whereas unformed faith suffers with itself the stains or filth of many sins. Hence it is that in those who belong to the Church through faith formed by charity the holy Church is called beautiful, comely, fair, and immaculate. In those, however, who are attested to be in the Church only through unity of faith, the Church herself in comparison with the former is pronounced rather dark and stained, whence blessed Augustine, treating Cant. 1: I am black as the tents of Cedar and comely as the skins of Solomon, says thus: She said she was both on account of the temporal unity within one net of good and evil fishes. For the tents of Cedar pertain to Ishmael, who was not heir with the son of the free woman, thus far he. And in iii on Christian Doctrine he says thus: For she does not say dark of herself as the tents of Cedar, and comely as the skins of Solomon; and Bernard on the Canticle says to the same purpose thus: Although I called the bride perfect, it is in part, not in the part of the tents of Cedar, yet comely either in that portion of herself which already reigns blessed, or even in the illustrious men by whose wisdom and virtues in this her night she is adorned as heaven by its stars; and Aug., expounding Ps. xxiiii: Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house, says: The house of God is the Church; it still has evil men, but the beauty of the house of God is in the saints, and conversely. For by reason of the evil the Church is named a den of robbers. Hence Origen, and it is had in ch. et hoc diximus, xvi, q. vii. ³ Now I think the temple of God built of living stones is the Church of Christ. But there are many in her not living spiritually as befits but warring according to the flesh, who by their acts make the house of prayer built of living stones to be a den of robbers.

⁴

Third, the aforesaid difference is gathered from this, that since unity of faith is imperfect unity, whereas the unity which is through faith formed by charity is complete, and charity herself is the principle and root of merit, the Apostle saying, 1 Cor. 13: If I have all faith so as to remove mountains, etc., but have not charity, it profits me nothing. Those who are contained in the Church through unformed faith alone are said to be of the Church, in comparison with the just, by number only; those, however, who are in the Church through unity of faith which works through love are judged to belong to the Church by number and merit, whence Aug. on John, treating the words, One of you, etc., says: one of you by number not merit, one in appearance not virtue, by bodily intermingling not by spiritual bond, by joining of flesh not of heart, a companion in unity; and the Gloss of the Master on Ps. 25, speaking of the evil, says thus: And if they are of us in body not mind, in number not merit, in name not divine power. With these points noted, it must be said in answer to the arguments made on the contrary.

⁵

To the first, in which it is said that the holy Church is an enclosed garden, etc. The answer is that Holy Scripture speaks there of the Church which belongs to those who are of the Church by number and merit; of such sort are the just and holy; in them plainly the holy Church is a garden, because fragrant with virtues of every kind of tree. Enclosed, that is, closed by the custody of discipline against the hostile assaults of demons. She is a fountain because in them she is filled with the waters of divine grace. She is called a sealed fountain because she is a perennial well of living waters on account of the abundance of holy doctrines, according to Ps. ⁶ The rush of the river gladdens the city of God.

Although therefore mother Church is in the saints in this way, as in ch. quaeritur, on consecration, dist. iiii, nevertheless others who have the integrity of the catholic faith, which of itself is holy and immaculate, are not denied to belong in some way to the universal Church, though not so principally, according to what has been determined above.

⁷

To the second reason, which is taken from, You are all beautiful, my love. The answer is as to the preceding reason, that it speaks of those who are of the Church by number and merit without stain of mortal crime, as the Gloss says.

⁸

To the third it must be said that the saying of the Apostle is not understood universally of the Church according to the present state. For as Aug. says in the book on the Perfection of Justice: Then the Church will be without spot or wrinkle or anything of this sort, when she will be glorious; for now, in so many dangers, in so many scandals, in so great an intermingling of the worst men, and in so many reproaches of the impious, she must not be said to be glorious; and in liii of the Retractations the same Aug. speaks to our purpose thus: Wherever in the books I commemorated the Church as not having spot or wrinkle, it must not be so taken as though she were so, but as being prepared to be so when she shall appear glorious. Now, however, on account of certain ignorances and infirmities of her members, she has reason daily to say as a whole, forgive us our debts, thus far Aug. She is said, however, according to what has been said in the solution of the preceding reasons, to be without stain of crime and wrinkle of duplicity in those who are in the Church by number and merit.

⁹

To the fourth it must be said that the Church was figured by the ark of the Lord as to those who are of the Church by number and merit, as has been said.

¹⁰

To the fifth it must likewise be said that the universal holy Church is holy in all who are of the Church by number and merit; of such sort are all the saints, in whom the splendor of the holiness of the Church shines forth, of which in Ps. 169 the prophet says: His praise is in the Church of the saints. Upon this Aug. speaks thus: This is the Church of the saints, the Church of the grains sown through the field of the Lord spread over the whole earth.

¹¹

To the sixth it must be said that the saying of Jerome, that one stained with filth cannot be called of the Church of Christ, must be understood by number and merit; it is not forbidden, however, that he can be so called by number, as has already often been expounded.

¹²

To the seventh, in turn, answer must likewise be made by expounding the saying of Aug. as we expounded the saying of Jerome.

¹³

To the last reason, which is taken from the Apostle, it must be said that on the side by which sinful faithful are darkness and the just light, they cannot belong to one and the same society, but on the side by which in one integrity of faith, which is the light of the souls of the faithful, they convene, they can very well belong to one and the same holy community of the unity of the Church, and thus it is in the case proposed.