Triple office of Christ

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As the doctrine of the threefold office of Christ ( Latin triplex munus Christi ), a version of the doctrine of atonement is described in Lutheran and Reformed theology , according to which Jesus Christ brings about the redemption of people through three "offices" which he simultaneously holds: the prophetic office, which priestly or high priestly office and the royal office. The three-office doctrine also plays an increasingly important role in Roman Catholic theology.

New Testament and Church Fathers

In the New Testament , Jesus of Nazareth is sometimes understood as a prophet (cf. Matthew 16.14  EU ; Luke 1.76  EU ; John 4.19  EU and 6.14 EU ). The author of the letter to the Hebrews calls him the "eternal high priest" ( Hebrews 3 :EU ). In the Gospel of John it is told that Jesus answered the question of the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate in the affirmative , whether he was a king ( John 18:37  EU ).

The Church Fathers described Jesus' saving act in a similar way as a prophet, revelator or teacher, as a priest and as a shepherd, lord or king. A three number of offices can be found for the first time with Justin the Martyr († 165). Eusebius of Caesarea († 339/340 ) developed a doctrine of the threefold office of Christ in his Church History (I, 3) from the biblical passages mentioned . Like Eusebius, Jerome , Petrus Chrysologus and Thomas Aquinas also mention a threefold anointing of Jesus Christ as high priest, king and prophet.

Reformation tradition

During the Reformation , this theological idea was carried on by Martin Luther and Jean Calvin . The theologians of Lutheran Orthodoxy referred to all the effects of the threefold office of Christ as Apotelesmata .

The idea of ​​the threefold office of Christ was sharply criticized in Lutheran theology by Werner Elert :

“The doctrine of the threefold office is [...] a textbook example for the reversal of the correct understanding of prophecy and fulfillment. She wants to understand Christ from the perspective of expectation. "

Above all, Elert criticizes the fact that Jesus' work is understood as an “office”, and counters this: “He exercised the corresponding functions without being a civil servant according to the old theocratic view. He did not exercise it because he was authorized to do so "ex officio," but by virtue of the authority of the Son of God peculiar to himself and himself. "

Wilfried Joest , on the other hand, states that the idea of ​​the threefold office is to be understood in terms of fulfillment in Christ: the Old Testament functions of prophet, priest and king are united in the work of Jesus Christ, fulfilled in their spiritual meaning as an indication of future salvation, in their provisionality and limitation abolished and replaced.

Catholic theology

The Catholic theology attacked since the 18th century the idea repeatedly. Since Mathias Joseph Scheeben († 1888) the three-office doctrine has been the structuring principle for the treatment of soteriology in the neo-scholastic handbooks of dogmatics . In the 20th century, the idea found its way into numerous texts of the church teaching office :

  • Pope Pius XI introduced the feast of Christ the King with his encyclical Quas primas of December 11, 1925 and emphasized not only the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Savior, but also his royal office.
  • In the encyclical Mystici Corporis (June 29, 1943) Pope Pius XII received the three-office doctrine as an "ecclesiological structure principle"; through the clerics “ entrusted with holy authority in the body of Christ” “the offices of Christ, teacher, king and priest will be continued forever”; however, he extended this to the whole Church and thus also to the laity .
  • In the dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium of the Second Vatican Council (November 16, 1964), the idea of ​​the threefold office of Christ as priest, teacher and king ( munus sacerdotale, munus propheticum, munus regale , LG 31) is the basis for a threefold qualification and at the same time commissioning the Church, its leaders and every Christian.
  • Pope John Paul II affirmed the statements of the council in his apostolic letter Christifideles laici (December 30, 1988) and emphasized “the priestly, prophetic and royal dignity of all God's people”; The laity, too, “take part in the priestly, prophetic and royal office of Christ to the extent that suits everyone”, and the sacramental basis for this lies “in baptism and confirmation and often also in marriage”.

The basic functions of the church in the view of today's theology take up the tradition of the three offices of Christ; The church therefore takes place in witness or “faith service” ( ancient Greek μαρτυρία martyría ), liturgy or “worship” ( λειτουργία leiturgía ) and diakonia or “ brotherly service” ( διακονία diakonía ). Since the Second Vatican Council, a fourth basic dimension of the church has also been mentioned, the community ( Latin commúnio / ancient Greek κοινωνία koinonía ).

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Ralf Miggelbrink : Introduction to the teaching of the church. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-534-16321-4 , p. 122.
  2. Christ received "from his father the title of king, anointed, priest, angel", Dialogue with the Jew Tryphon 86,3 [1]
  3. Eusebius: Historia Ecclesiastic I, 3 ; Cf. Werner Elert: Der christliche Glaube , p. 332
  4. Lothar Ullrich: Offices of Christ. II. History of theology . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 1 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1993, Sp. 562 .
  5. Karin Bornkamm: Christ - King and Priest. The office of Christ in Luther in relation to pre- and post-history. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 1998.
  6. Klauspeter Blaser : Calvin's teaching of the three offices of Christ. Zurich 1970
  7. Theological Universal Lexicon: For manual use by clergy and educated non-theologians. Volume 1, A-L. Verlag RL Friedrichs, Elberfeld 1869, p. 41
  8. Werner Elert: The Christian Faith , p. 335
  9. Werner Elert: The Christian Faith , p. 336
  10. Wilfried Joest: Dogmatik Volume 1 The Reality of God . Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1996 4 , ISBN 3-525-03259-5 (= UTB 1336), p. 214
  11. Lothar Ullrich: Offices of Christ. II. History of theology . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 1 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1993, Sp. 562 .
  12. Quas primas No. 16.
  13. Ralf Miggelbrink: Introduction to the teaching of the church. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-534-16321-4 , p. 122.
  14. Mystici Corporis No. 17.
  15. Lumen gentium 13: 1 (Christ); 24-27 (bishops); 34-38 (laypersons).
  16. Christifideles laici 14.23.
  17. Cf. Veronika Prüller-Jagenteufel: Basic Executions of the Church. In: Maria Elisabeth Aigner , Anna Findl-Ludescher, Veronika Prüller-Jagenteufel: Basic concepts of pastoral theology (99 concrete words theology). Don Bosco Verlag, Munich, 2005, ISBN 3-7698-1509-2 , p. 99f.