Christ medicus

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Gabriel von Max , Jesus heals the sick

Christ medicus ("Christ the Doctor") is a Christian title for Jesus Christ . In this designation, the function of the healer and doctor (Latin. Médicus , Greek ἰατρός iatrós ) with that of the savior and redeemer (Latin. Salvátor , Greek σωτήρ sotēr , German loan translation Savior ) and so the bodily with the soul , the temporal with the eternal aspect of his work together.

Lore

Codex Aureus , Healing of the Paralyzed

In the background is the Old Testament belief in God as Lord over illness , who gives this to the individual ("I am the Lord, your doctor" Ex 15.26  EU ), as well as the community ("I ... can kill and bring to life; I can beat and can heal, and is no one who can deliver and withdraw from My hand ”( Dtn 32.39  EU ).

Jesus' healing work was perceived as "medical work". Healings were part of the practice of the Christian community from the beginning, as Origen (185-254) or Clement of Alexandria (150-215) show. The title of medicus itself does not appear in the New Testament , but the apologists and church fathers used the title of doctor for Jesus early on, first Ignatius of Antioch († approx. 117): "There is a doctor, Jesus Christ, our Lord." In the 5th century in particular, Jesus' ministry was put into medical categories.

Christ and Asclepius

The meaning of the title "Christ Medicus" was strengthened by the competition with the Asclepius cult of ancient Greek medicine , which had established itself as Aesculapia, the " Deus Clinicus " in the Roman Empire as a miraculous savior and healer (σωτήρ sotēr ). Jesus' care for the suffering and the poor was seen as a contrast to Asclepius, who kept his distance from the terminally ill and expected money and sacrifices for healings. Christianity soon manifested itself visibly as the "religion of healing": many Christian churches were built on the site of the asclepia .

Middle Ages and Modern Times

While in the west the physical and spiritual realms - healing and salvation - were gradually separated from each other, in the eastern church and liturgy the two realms were further understood as belonging together. From the 13th century on, priests were banned from working as doctors. Martin Luther (1483–1546) took up the idea of ​​Christ the doctor again and understood salvation and healing as a whole, he saw the Lord's Supper as “medicine for body and soul”. Teresa of Avila (1515–1582) also understood the sacraments as pointing to healing and salvation.

One of the main ideas of medieval monastery medicine was to connect hospital wards and chapels so that the sick could take part directly in the church service.

Paracelsus (1493–1541) was one of the last physicians with a reference to the Christ Medicus , who ascribed the healing arts to God's mercy. Church hospitals increasingly geared their caritas to preparing patients for the afterlife . The practice of healing and physical rehabilitation was left to conventional medicine , which was also religiously emancipating .

At present the anointing of the sick and especially in the area of ​​charismatic and free Christian communities, healing services are practiced.

The Christ Medicus in Iconography and Art

Already in the early Christian art of the 4th / 5th centuries Century was dedicated to the motif of healing miracles. On grave sites or sarcophagi there are various New Testament depictions of healing (of the gouty, blind, leper or woman with blood). The motif of the healing Christ lasted until the 17th century, when it was used, for example, as Christ the apothecary ( Christ apothecarius ), also based on the Christ phrase “Come to me, all of you who are troublesome and burdened. I want to refresh you ”in the Gospel of Matthew, especially in popular piety . Representations of Christ as a doctor with the typical urine glass (as an instrument for uroscopy ) were also widespread.

In the hymn the motif of Christ medicus was reflected as in Samuel Rodigast's (1649–1708): What God does is done well : He, as my doctor and miracle man, / Will not pour me poison / For Arzenei; God is faithful (EG 372) or Ludwig Helmbolds (1532–1598): Now let us God the Lord “A doctor has been given to us, who himself is life; Christ died for us ” (EG 320).

Remarks

  1. ↑ Adolf von Harnack, Medicinisches from the oldest church history (= texts and investigations on the history of early Christian literature 8.4) Leipzig 1892, 129f. Quote from Jakob
  2. ↑ The Great Catechism, 6
  3. ↑ Paul Braun: Christ as a pharmacist. In: Contributions to the Württemberg pharmacy history III, 1955–1957, No. 1, 1955, p. 5 f.
  4. ↑ Friedrich v. Zglinicki : Uroscopy in the fine arts. An art and medical historical study of the urine examination. Ernst Giebeler, Darmstadt 1982, ISBN 3-921956-24-2 , pp. 127–129.

Web links

literature

  • Rudolf Arbesmann: The Concept of Christ Medicus in St. Augustine. In: Traditio. Volume 10, 1954, pp. 1-28.
  • Reinhard von Bendemann: Christ medicus . Neukirchener, Neukirchen-Vluyn 2009. ISBN 978-3-7887-1917-3
  • Michael Dörnemann: Illness and healing in the theology of the early church fathers . Mohr Siebeck ISBN 3-16-148161-5
  • Petrus C. Eijkenboom: Het christus-medicus-motief in de preken van sint Augustinus. Gorkum, Assen 1960.
  • Gerhard Fichtner : Christ as a doctor. Origins and effects of a motif. In: Early Medieval Studies. Volume 16, 1982, pp. 1-18.
  • Woty Gollwitzer-Voll: Christ Medicus - healing as a mystery. Interpretations of an old Christ name and its meaning in practical theology. Schöningh, Paderborn 2007. ISBN 978-3-506-76389-1
  • Martin Honecker : Christ medicus. In: Peter Wunderli (ed.): The sick person in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Düsseldorf 1986 (= Studia humaniora , 5) pp. 27-43.
  • Jörg Hübner: Christ medicus. A symbol of the event of redemption and a model of medical action. In: Kerygma and Dogma 31 (1985) 324-335.
  • Thomas Jansen: Christ medicus (Christ as a doctor). In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 260 f.
  • Heinrich Schipperges : On the tradition of the "Christ medicus" in early Christianity and in the oldest medicine. In: Doctor and Christian. Volume 11, 1965, pp. 12-20.
  • Heinrich Schipperges: The sick in the Middle Ages. Munich 1990, pp. 203-212.
  • Schott, H. Medical history (s): Religious medicine - Christ medicus, Deutsches Ärzteblatt 2006; 103 (6): A-340 / B-297 / C-282 ISBN 978-3-506-76389-1
  • Johann Anselm Steiger : Medical theology: Christ medicus and theologia medicinalis with Martin Luther and in Lutheranism of the baroque period. 2005.
  • Dorothea Weber: Medicorum pueri - On a metaphor in Augustine. In: Journal of Ancient Christianity. Volume 17, No. 1, 2013, pp. 125-142.