The image of the spouse of Christ in the ecclesiology of Balthasar

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Pe. Geraldo Luiz Borges Hackmann

Abstract

This article analyses the image of the spouse of Christ applied to the Church according to the thought of the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. After an introduction, where the reader is introduced briefly to his thought and work, particularly the Theodramatic, where one finds the main source for the study in question, the article deals with three previous concepts, indispensible to understand his ecclesiological thought: the relationship between man and woman, the mission as a fundamental concept and the Church as person. Following that, the article shows the thought of this theologian about his understanding of the Church as Christ's spouse, presenting its biblical and patristic rationale, the image of Christ's spouse as the articulation of the relationship between man and woman, fecundity in the foundation of the ecclesial institution and the understanding of Maria as anima eclesiastica. As a conclusion, the article studies the possibility of an ecclesiology being developed from the understanding of the Church as Christ's spouse.

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How to Cite
HACKMANN, Pe. Geraldo Luiz Borges. The image of the spouse of Christ in the ecclesiology of Balthasar. HORIZONTE - Journal of Studies in Theology and Religious Sciences, Belo Horizonte, v. 13, n. 37, p. 446–477, 2015. DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2015v13n37p446. Disponível em: https://periodicos.pucminas.br/horizonte/article/view/P.2175-5841.2015v13n37p446. Acesso em: 14 aug. 2025.
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Artigos/Articles: Temática Livre/Free subject
Author Biography

Pe. Geraldo Luiz Borges Hackmann, PUC-RS

Doutor em Teologia, Professor da Faculdade de Teologia da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul e membro da Comissão Teológica Internacional, da Congregação para a Doutrina da Fé.