Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Church Militant · The Church Spread Throughout the Whole World
Chapter 1: On the Name of the Church
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. II, De Ecclesia Militante, On the Church Militant (of the controversy On Councils and the Church). The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
[The opening of On the Church Militant — the third book of the controversy On Councils and the Church.]
The controversy on the Church Militant has many parts. For first it must be treated of the Church in itself; then of its members, that is, of Clerics, of Monks, of Laymen. But again of the Church Militant considered in itself, of which we now undertake to dispute, there are chiefly three controversies. The first is on the name and definition of the Church. The second, on the quality, or the visibility, of the same. The third, on the marks by which it can be certainly known.
We shall now begin from the first; yet if first, for the sake of the studious, we have noted the names of those authors who have written on the Church, or rather of those whose books we have read; for we have not read all. Therefore on this subject there wrote: blessed Augustine, in his book on the unity of the Church; blessed Cyprian, a book of the same title; and also Optatus, Book 6 against Parmenian. Of the more recent there wrote Thomas of Walden, volume 1, Book 2 of the Doctrine of the Faith, chapters 8, 9, 10, etc.; John of Torquemada, a Summa on the Church; John Driedo, in Book 4 on the ecclesiastical dogmas, chapter 2; Albert Pighius, controversy 3; Cardinal Hosius, in his Confession, in the explanation of the Creed, and Book 5 against the Prolegomena of Brentius; Peter of Soto, part 1 of his defense against Brentius; John of Deventer, in the confutation of the seventh article of the Augsburg Confession; John Cochlaeus, Philippic 4, and in his book on the authority of Scripture and the Church; John Eck, at the beginning of his Enchiridion; Alphonsus of Castro, Book 6 against heresies; Melchior Cano, Book 4 on the Loci; John Antony Delphinus, in his three books on the Church; John of Louvain, in his explanation of the Creed, and all the others who expounded the Creed; Francis Turrianus, in his two books on the Church and the ordination of ministers. After whom, at the beginning of the year 1577, we disputed in the schools these very things which we now bring to light. From which time there wrote also on the same subject Gregory of Valencia, in his Analysis of the Catholic faith, part 6; and others too wrote, but through other occupations there was no leisure to peruse their books.
I come now to the proposed disputation. And that we may speak first of the name, then of the thing itself: the name of the Church (Ecclesia) is Greek, and is derived from the verb [ekkaleo], which is "I call forth." And so the Church is a calling-forth, or an assembly of those called. But the people of God is called an assembly of those called, because no one joins himself to this people of himself and by his own instinct, but all, as many as come, are prevented by the calling of God. For the calling is the first benefit which the saints receive from God: Whom He called, says the Apostle, Romans 8, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. And Acts 2: Whomsoever the Lord our God shall call. Hence so often the Apostle calls the Christians "the called," in almost all his letters.
But there are three things to be noted about this name. First, that the name of the Church, with some addition, can be taken both in a good and in a bad sense: for it is said, the church of the malignant, Psalm 25; and, the church of the saints, Psalm 88. But this name set absolutely is not understood except of the Church of Christ, except in one place, Acts 19, where it is said of a people of the heathen: For the assembly (Ecclesia) was confused.
Secondly, note with Augustine on Psalm 81, on that: God hath stood in the synagogue of gods: that although the Church of the Old Testament and of the New is the same as to essence, yet because the state of the Church of the New Testament is far more excellent, therefore also the names are distinct. For the people of the Old Testament is properly called Synagogue, that is, a congregation; the people of the New Testament is nowhere called Synagogue, but always Church, that is, a calling-forth. For to be congregated is common to men with beasts; but to be called forth is proper to men. Nor does it matter that the people of the Jews in the Old Testament is passim called also the Church: for both Synagogue and Church among the Hebrews are named from congregating; that which we render "Synagogue" is named from a word meaning "to congregate." Likewise the Hebrew word for "Church" is named from a word meaning "to be congregated." And so there are two names, but they signify altogether the same.
Thirdly, note that just as the word "city" now signifies the assembly of men, now the place in which that assembly dwells, so also "Church" in the Scriptures now signifies the assembly of the faithful, as Romans 16: All the churches of Asia salute you; now the very place in which the faithful are congregated, as Judith 6: All the people prayed through the whole night within the church; although we now dispute only of the Church as it signifies the assembly of the faithful.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPUT I. * De nomine Ecclesiae. Controversia deEcclesia militante, multas habet partes. Primum enim de ipsa secun¬ dum se agendum erit; tum de membris ejus, hoc est, de Clericis, de Monachis, de Laicis. Rursum autem de Ecclesia militante secun¬ dum se considerata, de qua nunc disputare aggredimur, tres sunt praecipue controver¬ siae. Prima est, de nomine et definitione Ec¬ clesiae. Secunda , de qualitate, seu de visi¬ bilitate ejusdem. Tertia, de notis, quibus ea certo cognosci potest. A prima nunc exordiemur; si tamen an¬ tea propter studiosos nomina eorum aucto¬ rum notaverimus , qui de Ecclesia scripse¬ runt , seu potius eorum quorum nos libros legimus; nec enim omnes legimus. Igitur scripserunt de hoc argumento B. Augustin. lib. de unitate Ecclesiae; B. Cyprianus li¬ brum ejusdem tituli, necnon Optatus lib.YI. contra Parmenianum. Exrecentioribus scri¬ psit Thomas Waldensis tom. I, lib. II. doc¬ trinae fidei cap. 8, 9, 10, etc. Joan. de Tur- recremata summam de Ecclesia; Joannes Driedo in lib. IV de dogmatibus Ecclesiasti¬ cis , c. 2, Albertus Pighius controversia III. Cardinalis Hosius in confessione, in explica¬ tione Symboli, et lib. Y. contra Prolegome- na Brentii ; Petrus a Soto 1. part. defensio¬ nis suae contra Brentium ; Joannes aDaven- tria in confut. 7. artic. Confessionis Augus¬ tanae; Joannes Cochlceus Philippica 4. et in lib. de Scripturae et Ecclesiae auctoritate : Joannes Eckius initio sui Enchiridii, Alphon- sus a Gastro lib. VI. cont. haeres. Melchior Canus lib. IY de locis. Joannes Antonius Delphinus in libris trib. de Ecclesia. Joannes a Lovanio in explicat. Symboli, et omnes alii, qui Symbolum exposuerunt. Franciscus Turrianus in libris duobus de Ecclesia, et ordinat. Minist. Post quos, anno 1577 ineun- te, nos haec ipsa, quae nunc emittimus in lu¬ cem in scholis disputavimus. A quo tempo¬ re scripsit etiam de eodem argumento Gre- gorius de Valentia in sua Analysi fidei Ca- « tholicae part. VI et scripserunt etiam alii, sed non vacavit per alias occupationes eorum libros evolvere. Venio nunc ad propositam disputationem : Ac ut primum de nomine, deinde de re ipsa dicamus, Ecclesiae nomen est Graecum , de- duciturque a verbo ixxcdico , quod est evoco. Itaque Ecclesia est evocatio , sive coetus vo¬ catorum. Dicitur autem populus Dei coetus vocatorum, quia nemo ad hunc populum se adjungit per se, et suo proprio instinctu, sed omnes quotquot veniunt, a Dei vocatione praeveniuntur. Est enim vocatio primum be¬ neficium, quod sancti a Deo recipiunt : Quos vocavit , inquit Apostolus Rom. VIII, hos jus¬ tificavit : quos justificavit, hos et magnificavit. Et Actor. II : Quoscumque advocaverit Domi¬ nus Deus noster (1). Hinc toties Apostolus Christianos appellat vocatos, in omnibus fe¬ re epistolis. (1) Rom. VIII, 30 ; Act. II, 39. 316 LIBER III. Sunt autem tria circa hoc nomen notan¬ da. Primo, nomen Ecclesiae cum aliquo ad¬ juncto, posse et in bonam et in malam par¬ tem accipi: dicitur enim : Ecclesia malignan¬ tium Psalm. XXV. Et , Ecclesia Sanctorum Psalm. LXXXVIII. Absolute autem positum hoc nomen , non intelligi nisi de Ecclesia Christi , excepto uno loco Act. XIX. ubi de populo Ethnicorum dicitur : Erat enim Eccle¬ sia confusa (1). Secundo , nota cum Augustino in Psalm. LXXXI. in illud : Deus stetit in Synagoga Deorum (2) : tametsi eadem sit Ecclesia ve¬ teris Testamenti et novi, quoad essentiam; tamen quia status Ecclesiae novi Testamenti est longe excellentior , ideo etiam nomina esse distincta. Nam populus veteris Testa¬ menti proprie dicitur Synagoga, id est, con¬ gregatio, populus novi Testamenti nusquam dicitur Synagoga , sed semper Ecclesia , id est, evocatio. Congregari enim commune est hominibus cum bestiis : at evocari proprium est hominum. Neque refert , quod populus Judaeorum in Testamento veteri passim vo¬ catur etiam Ecclesia : nam tam Synagoga, quam Ecclesia apud Hebrseos dicitur a con¬ gregando, rny quod vertimus Synagoga, di¬ citur a “Tin congregare. Similiter ^np, id est, Ecclesia, dicitur a !?np congregari. Itaque sunt nomina duo, sed idem prorsus signifi¬ cant. Tertio nota, quemadmodum civitas nunc significat coetum hominum, nunc locum, in quo coetus ille habitat, ita etiam Ecclesiam in Scripturis nunc significare coetum fide¬ lium, ut Rom. XVI : Salutant vos omnes Ec¬ clesiae Asiae , nunc locum ipsum, in quo fide¬ les congregantur, ut JudithVI : Omnis popu¬ lus per totam noctem intra Ecclesiam orave¬ runt (3), quamquam nos nunc solum de Ec¬ clesia, ut coetum fidelium significat, disputa¬ mus.