The Role Of Charity In The Ecclesiology Of St. Bonaventure -pontificia Facultas Theologica S. Bonaventurae. - Dissertationes Ad Lauream- _top_

Key dissertations have demonstrated that Bonaventure rejects a purely juridical ecclesiology. Unlike some of his contemporaries who defined the Church primarily through the power of jurisdiction ( potestas ordinis ), Bonaventure insists that every office, sacrament, and hierarchical act is ordered toward the infusion and perfection of charity. As one Dissertatio on Bonaventure’s ecclesiology of the Sacraments concludes: "For the Seraphic Doctor, the Church is the mater et magistra only because she is first the sponsa Christi —and the bride’s sole dowry is love."

St. Bonaventure's ecclesiology also involves a threefold structure of the Church, which reflects the three aspects of charity: via purgativa , via illuminativa , and via unitiva . This threefold structure corresponds to the threefold office of Christ: Christus doctor , Christus rex , and Christus sacerdos . works by J. Ratzinger

Achieving perfect conformity to Christ’s love on the Cross. 3. Poverty and the Crucified Love Bonaventure insists that every office

Before analyzing Bonaventure’s doctrine, one must acknowledge the scholarly lineage that made this synthesis possible. The Dissertationes ad lauream published by the Pontificia Facultas Theologica S. Bonaventurae (e.g., works by J. Ratzinger, J.G. Bougerol, and Z. Hayes) have consistently emphasized two methodological keys to Bonaventure’s thought: hierarchia (sacred order) and itinerarium (journey). works by J. Ratzinger