Ambrose’s Use of Arcanum: A Friendly Space Both Human and Divine
Description
In the context of Ambrose's understanding of God's revelation and human knowledge of God, the concept of 'secret' and 'mystery' plays a key part. The paper analyses the term arcanum, one of the words used for this concept, in
Information
Category:
Resumes & CVs
Publish on:
Views: 6 | Pages: 1
Extension: PDF | Download: 0
Share
Tags
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Ambrose of Milan
Latin Patristics
Patristic Exegesis
Patristics
Adamantius
Early Christianity
New Testament
Greek Patristics
Ancient Rhetoric and Poetics
Early Christian Papyri and Inscriptions
History of Reception of Biblical Texts
Late Antiquity
Book of Psalms
Pneumatology
Irenaeus
Psalms
Holy Spirit
Mystagogy
Theodosius
Christian Initiation
Theology
Historical Theology
Quodvultdeus
Patristics and Late Antiquity
Transcript
European Journal
o
Science
nd
Theology
February 2015 Vo/.11 No.1 105-117
AMBROSE S USE OF ARCANUM A FRIENDLY SPACE BOTH HUMAN AND DIVINE
David Voprada
Catholic Faculty ofTheology Charles University
in
Prague Thakurova
3
160 00 Prague
6
Czech Republic
(Received
12
March
2014,
revised
27
May
2014
Abstract
In the context
of
Ambrose s understanding
of
God s revelation and human knowledge
of
God, the concept
of
secret and mystery plays a key part. The paper analyses the term
arcanum
one
of
the words used for this concept, in the corpus
of
Ambrose s work. The research argues that, for Ambrose, the expression is a meeting place
of
the Classic and Christian tradition,
of
religious knowledge and the knowledge confided
by
friends,
of
the divine essence and human interior,
of
the Word-Bridegroom and Church-Bride. The object
of
this
arcanum
is Christ
of
the Nicene faith, God and man and this faith is indispensable for the knowledge
of
the mystery
of
God. This understanding
of
the secret may change our understanding
of
the
disciplina arcani
the ancient ecclesiastical custom to keep silence regarding Christian mysteries. Possible inspiration
of
Ambrose s thought on the subject is suggested both to the world
of
science and the recent documents
of
the Catholic Church.
Keywords
Latin Patristics, mystagogy, anthropology, science, faith
1
Introduction
In recent years, the important role
of
the mystery
of
Christ and
of
disciplina arc ani
the ancient ecclesiastical custom not to reveal some
of
the key Christian doctrines to those who have not yet been initiated, has been discussed and studied
in
the works and thought
of
Saint Ambrose
of
Milan (ea. 340-397) [1-3]. Several modest contributions to this research may have come to light also thanks to
my
own research
of
this topic, especially in relation to his
Commentary on Psalm 118
[
4,
5]. This concept
of
secret and hidden mystery , very dear to the Bishop
of
Milan, is generally acknowledged as a key part
of
Ambrose s theory
of
knowledge, but it can also prove to be inspiring even for current fundamental Theology especially regarding the Christian concept
of
revelation. To describe this mystery , Ambrose employs several tenns, such as
occultum secretum
or
mysterium.
Of
particular interest is the expression
arcanum
employed
by
the Bishop
to
describe divine knowledge revealed to the faithful
*E-mail: voprada@ktf.cuni.cz, phone: +420 220
181
529,
fax
+420 220
181
234
Related Search
Young people's use of TechnologyLeader's Use of NarrativeDeleuze and Guattari's concept of faciality aArabic and Urdu Versions of 'Amrtakunda', a SWhat's the Use of Teaching? The Subject or thHuman Behavior and the use of Public SpaceThe use of oil and wine in Ugaritic rituals aTHE USE OF THEATRE AS A TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENTThe Use of Digital Media and Technology As a The Use Of Urban Space
Similar documents
