Extra ecclesiam nulla salus

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Extra ecclesiam nulla salus is the usually quoted short version of a sentence by Cyprian of Carthage , the original of which is: Extra ecclesiam salus non est (“Outside the Church [there is] no salvation”). The basic idea that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church was established as a dogma in the General Church Assembly in Florence (1438–1445) :

“[The Holy Roman Church, founded by the word of our Lord and Savior,] firmly believes, professes and proclaims that 'no one outside the Catholic Church - neither pagan, nor Jew, nor unbeliever, or separated from unity - will partake of eternal life Rather, he succumbs to the eternal fire that is prepared for the devil and his angels if he does not join her [ie the Church] before death. The unity of the body of the Church means that the ecclesiastical sacraments bring salvation only to those who remain in her, and that fasting, alms, other pious works and the military service of Christian life only earn their eternal reward. No matter how many alms one may give or even shed their blood for the name of Christ, they cannot be saved if they do not remain in the lap and in the unity of the Catholic Church '( Fulgentius ). "

"Firmiter credit, profitetur et predicat nullos extra ecclesiam catholicam existentes, non solum paganos, sed nec iudeos aut hereticos atque scismaticos eterne vite fieri posse participes, sed in ignem eternum ituros, qui paratus est dyabolo et angelis eius ( Mt 25.41  EU ) , nisi ante finem vite eidem fuerint aggregati, tantum que valere ecclesiastici corporis unitatem, ut solis in ea manentibus ad salutem ecclesiastica sacramenta proficiant et ieiunia, elemosine ac cetera pietatis officia et exercitia militie christiane premia et el parturiant et sunecinemit, nemqueemit, nemque pro Christi nomine sanguinem effuderit, posse salvari, nisi in catholice ecclesie gremio et unitate permanserit. "

- Eugene IV .: Cantate Domino

The phrase has been theologically controversial at all times . Unless he means that all people who are not through baptism and faith to et Una Sancta Catholica Apostolica Ecclesia , ie the "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" ( Large Creed belong), the eternal salvation, the kingdom of God , excluded are, is it was only received with reservations by the Catholic Magisterium . In addition, the doctrine of God's special and hidden ways of salvation has always retained validity, which apply to all those people who never had the opportunity to get to know the Catholic faith (e.g. through an isolated way of life). So Pope Pius IX. in his address Singulari Quadam in 1854 confirming and explaining:

“By faith we must hold fast that no one outside of the apostolic Roman church can be saved; it is the only ark of salvation and anyone who does not enter it must perish in the flood. But we must also hold fast to the fact that no one is affected by this guilt before the eyes of the Lord, who lives there in insurmountable ignorance of the true religion. "

The consensus within Catholic (and large parts of non-Catholic) theology is therefore that the salvation of people is the goal and meaning of the work and sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the purpose of the Church . The "normal state" of all people on this side of the fall is therefore disaster , that is, irrevocable separation from God , the source of all good, and being surrendered to the forces of evil, whose destructive power can already be experienced now and which individually and collectively, temporally and eternally, lead to death to lead.

According to Christian belief, reconciliation and healing for every human being and for mankind proceed from Jesus' perfect devotion of love to his death on the cross - and only from her. This gift of love continues until the end of time in the proclamation and in the sacraments of the Church. Their full effectiveness, the unrestricted bodily presence of the risen Lord, is found according to Catholic faith only within the Church, which is in unbroken religious and sacramental continuity with the Apostles , that is, the Roman Catholic Church and the old Eastern Churches . In this respect, from a Catholic point of view, the following applies in an objective sense: “Only in the Church is full salvation offered” (cf. Lumen Gentium , No. 14).

On the subjective side, in the area of ​​biographically realized faith and Christian-human life, on the other hand, one has to reckon with being lost within the church as well as being saved outside the church. However, to the extent that a person has recognized Christ's mediation of salvation , he is obliged to follow his insight also externally in the church, since otherwise he would knowingly exclude himself from salvation.

On the whole cf. the Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions Nostra Aetate and the Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae (1965) of the Second Vatican Council and the Declaration Dominus Iesus (2000) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith .

Cyprian does not understand salus primarily as "eternal salvation", but with a view to the salvific goods that can be found in the church, namely the rightful sacraments ( legitima sacramenta ) and right doctrine ( recta doctrina ). According to Cyprian, both can only be found in the church, which is led by a legitimate bishop. The phrase extra ecclesiam salus non est is thus also closely connected with the sacraments of Cyprian, in particular with its rejection of the validity of the by heretics donated baptism (cf.. Ketzertaufstreit ).

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  1. ↑ Cyprian of Carthage: Letters (Epistolae) - 73rd letter - 21st chapter. In: Library of the Church Fathers . University of Freiburg , 258, accessed on September 7, 2019 : "[...] because there is no salvation outside the church [...]"
  2. ↑ See belief 350 on pages 212 and 213 in: Josef Neuner SJ and Heinrich Roos SJ: The faith of the church in the documents of the doctrinal proclamation. Fourth improved edition, published by Karl Rahner SJ - Regensburg: Verlag Friedrich Pustet, 1954. Imprimatur June 27, 1949.
  3. ↑ Cantat Domino. Bulla unionis Coptorum Aethiopumque - Bull of February 4, 1442 ( online ).
  4. ↑ See belief 351 on page 213 in: Josef Neuner SJ and Heinrich Roos SJ: The faith of the church in the documents of the doctrinal proclamation. Fourth improved edition, published by Karl Rahner SJ - Regensburg: Verlag Friedrich Pustet, 1954. Imprimatur June 27, 1949.

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