An Examination of the Pneumatological Anthropology and Pneumatological Ecclesiology of Yves Congar: Roots and Ramifications.

Abstract

In this thesis we examine the theology of the French Roman Catholic Priest Yves Congar. Our focus is on his ecclesiology and in particular his belief that there is a profound connection between pneumatology and ecclesiology. As a Dominican, Congar’s study of Aquinas and the Patristics led him to frame his ecclesiology in Trinitarian terms. Congar believed that it is both the Persons of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, who together co-institute the Church, and he highlights the danger of separating our theology of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit from our consideration of ecclesiology. Congar noted a lack of discussion around pneumatological ecclesiology in his own Roman Catholic context— though there was much theology around the Person of the Spirit, it had not been located with respect to ecclesiology. Here we aim to recount this aspect of his theology, identifying its key influences and noting its value for current theological discussion. We also note something of Congar’s theological context as a Roman Catholic of the mid twentieth century and his ecumenical influences.

We explore Congar's theological roots by briefly examining Thomas Aquinas' anthropological theology. Through his study of Aquinas, Congar developed the understanding that there is no disconnect between what he describes as Pneumatological Anthropology and Pneumatological Ecclesiology. We should not, he argues, untether what the Spirit does in us personally (that is, in each person of the church) from what the Spirit does in us collectively (in the ecclesia). In other words, our theology around the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit in humanity must inform our understanding of the church. This principle is foundational to Congar’s theology and is a significant focus of our work. We therefore give considerable room for it in the latter part of this thesis, as we trace the contours of his Pneumatological Anthropology and Pneumatological Ecclesiology, demonstrating how the one is an extension of the other. Finally, we examine the fruit of his mature theology. Congar is able to cast a vison of the church that not only shows theological fidelity to the Holy Spirit, but also to the human members who make up the Body of Christ. This is evident through his paradigm of Persons in Communion. We conclude this thesis then, with a succinct exploration of this paradigm.