The Seven Ages of the Church

This synthesis course between Fundamental Ecclesiology and Sacramental theology, attempts to give an account of a little-known traditional fact: the Church before Christ. Does the Church “People of God” begin with Christ, or with the people of Israel? Does the Church “Temple of the Spirit” begin at Pentecost, or with the Temple of Solomon, or already with the cosmic Temple in Adam? Why do the Fathers and the Medievals speak of the Ecclesia ab Abel? Are the Church of Gentile and the Church of Circumcision the same Church as the Church of the Incarnate Word? Are these figures of the Church to come in Christ, or are they already existing and already ecclesial realities of salvation but in a different sacramental regime? What is the criterion of ecclesiality and sacramentality? At the school of S. Thomas Aquinas and Cardinal Journet, we will try to establish a periodisation of the different ages of the Church throughout the history of salvation, and then we will look at the ecclesiality and sacramentality of their respective regimes, which allow us to qualify them theologically. This should provide a firmer and broader dogmatic basis for dialogue with Jews and Pagans.