In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas

In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas , German "In what is necessary there is unanimity, in doubtful freedom , but in all things charity " is a Latin saying. The sentence does not come from St. Augustine of Hippo , as has long been assumed, but, as H. J. M. Nellen demonstrated in 1999, goes back to the main work De Republica Ecclesiastica des Markantun de Dominis , where it can be found in 1617 as follows:

"Omnesque mutuam amplecteremur unitatem in necessariis, in non necessariis libertatem, in omnibus caritatem."

"And let us all embrace mutual unity in what is necessary, freedom in doubt, charity in everything!"

- Markantun de Dominis : De Republica Ecclesiastica

Friedrich Lücke had found the Lutheran theologian Rupertus Messenius (actually: Peter Meiderlin [1582–1651]) as the oldest source in 1850 and his work Paraenesis votiva pro pace Ecclesia ad Theologos Augustanae Confessionis auctore Ruperto Wollenio Theologo from 1626, where it says:

“Verbo dicam: si nos servaremus in necessariis unitatem, in non necessariis libertatem, in utrisque caritatem, optimo certe loco essent res nostrae. ”

"Without a lot of words I say: If we preserve unity in what is necessary, freedom in what is not necessary, and charity in both, our cause will certainly be in the best possible condition."

- Rupertus Wollenius : Paraenesis votiva pro pace Ecclesiae

Meldius' writing was concerned with the fierce controversy over the orthodoxy of Johann Arndt's theology , which led to fear of a split in the Lutheran Church. Like Markantun de Dominis, too ,;;; nius differentiated between “necessariis” and “non necessariis” instead of the later customary “dubiis”.

The appeal, originally intended purely within the church, was quickly taken up and also quoted in writings that dealt with the relationship between the various Christian denominations. As the saying in the 18th century dictum was, after all the negative formulation "non necessariis" was replaced by "dubiis". By breaking away from well-defined theological categories, the saying also spread among members of other denominations, especially among Catholics. Because of the importance of charity in the work of Augustine of Hippo, both Catholics and Protestants ascribed the sentence to it.

Gravestone of Wilhelm Henzen in the Protestant cemetery in Rome

The sentence acquired a special meaning in the Catholic Church in the middle of the 19th century in the disputes about Hermesianism , when both sides used "necessariis" and "dubiis" differently. As a motto of a Catholic student union , the motto was first entered in the log book of the WKSt.V. by the theology student Hermann Ludger Potthoff in 1854 . Unitas-Salia Bonn , at that time a pure theological association, proven.

Today it is the motto of the following institutions: Cartell Association of Catholic German Student Associations , Austrian Cartell Association of Catholic Student Associations, Association of Scientific Catholic Student Associations Unitas , Hannover Medical School and Gymnasium near St. Anna (Augsburg) . The sentence also stands as a motto above the constitution of the Christian Catholic Church in Switzerland .

The saying is an element of the plaque designed by Ewald Mataré for the donation of thanks by the German people .

literature

Friedrich Lücke : About the age, the author, the original form and the true meaning of the church's peace saying In necessariis unitas, in non necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas! A literary-historical theological study. With an imprint of the Paraenesis votiva pro pace Ecclesiae ad Theologos Augustanae Confessionis. Auctore Ruperto Reportio Theologo. Verlag der Dieterichschen Buchhandlung, Göttingen 1850, p. 128, para. 223 ( preview in the Google book search).
Friedrich Lücke: Addenda on the author of the saying: in necessariis unitas, in non necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas. Along with some remarks on the seventeenth-century Irish literature. 1851 ( preview in Google Book Search).
Gustav Krüger: De la maxime: "In necessariis unitas, in non necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas". In: Congrès d'Histoire du Christianisme (Jubilé Alfred Loisy). Paris 1928, III, pp. 143-152; German in: Theological studies and reviews. 100 (1927), ISSN 0259-7071 , pp. 154-163.
HJM Nellen: De zinspreuk 'In necessariis unitas, in non necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas'. In: Nederlands archief voor kerkgeschiedenis. Volume 79, Issue 1 (1999), ISSN 0028-2030 , pp. 99-106, doi: 10.1163 / 002820399X00232 .

Web links

Steve Perisho: Summary of the article by Nellen (English)
History of the quote. (No longer available online.) In: ccat.sas.upenn.edu. March 2, 2010, archived from the original on December 23, 2007 .; accessed on January 8, 2019

Individual evidence

^ Marco Antonio de Dominis: De Republica Ecclesiastica. Billius, London 1617, p. 676, paragraph D ( preview in Google book search).
↑ In Friedrich Lücke: About the age, the author, the original form and the true meaning of the church's peace saying In necessariis unitas, in non necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas! A literary-historical theological study. With an imprint of the Paraenesis votiva pro pace Ecclesiae ad Theologos Augustanae Confessionis. Auctore Ruperto Reportio Theologo. Verlag der Dieterichschen Buchhandlung, Göttingen 1850, p. 128, para. 223 ( preview in the Google book search).
↑ E.g. by Joseph Socher: About divorce in Catholic states. Philipp Krüll, Landshut 1810, p. 170 ( preview in the Google book search).
^ Adolf Michaelis : In memory of Wilhelm Henzen. In: Yearbook of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute. Volume II (1887). Georg Reimer, Berlin 1888, pp. 1-12.
"[...] In 1869 Ms. Henzen died after a long illness. Augustine's beautiful saying, with which the husband adorned her grave, " in necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas ", describes their mutual relationship in a fitting way. "( P. 10 )
" [...] a second [stroke] After a few days on the morning of January 27 [1887], [Hensen] relieved him of further torment. Only his death made everyone feel what they had lost. [...] Henzen was escorted to the cemetery with exquisite honors, and an agitated assembly, mixed from all nations, stood around the grave two days later when the coffin, completely covered by wreath donations, was lowered down. It made a deep impression when his loyal friend Gatti , to whom he and Mau had entrusted the execution of his last will, pointed out that saying in warm words, placed the Henzen on his wife's grave and also determined himself to make the grave and found the right nature of Henzen here. ”( p. 11 f. )
^ Constitution of the Christian Catholic Church in Switzerland. (No longer available online.) In: christkath.ch. Christian Catholic Church in Switzerland, archived from the original on March 4, 2012 ; accessed on January 8, 2019 .

[buch-QcVFAAAAcAAJ-676-1] Marco Antonio de Dominis: De Republica Ecclesiastica. Billius, London 1617, p. 676, paragraph D ( preview in Google book search).

[buch-1PAIAAAAQAAJ-128-2] In Friedrich Lücke: About the age, the author, the original form and the true meaning of the church's peace saying In necessariis unitas, in non necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas! A literary-historical theological study. With an imprint of the Paraenesis votiva pro pace Ecclesiae ad Theologos Augustanae Confessionis. Auctore Ruperto Reportio Theologo. Verlag der Dieterichschen Buchhandlung, Göttingen 1850, p. 128, para. 223 ( preview in the Google book search).

[buch-_eJGAAAAcAAJ-170-3] E.g. by Joseph Socher: About divorce in Catholic states. Philipp Krüll, Landshut 1810, p. 170 ( preview in the Google book search).

[4] Adolf Michaelis : In memory of Wilhelm Henzen. In: Yearbook of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute. Volume II (1887). Georg Reimer, Berlin 1888, pp. 1-12.
"[...] In 1869 Ms. Henzen died after a long illness. Augustine's beautiful saying, with which the husband adorned her grave, " in necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas ", describes their mutual relationship in a fitting way. "( P. 10 )
" [...] a second [stroke] After a few days on the morning of January 27 [1887], [Hensen] relieved him of further torment. Only his death made everyone feel what they had lost. [...] Henzen was escorted to the cemetery with exquisite honors, and an agitated assembly, mixed from all nations, stood around the grave two days later when the coffin, completely covered by wreath donations, was lowered down. It made a deep impression when his loyal friend Gatti , to whom he and Mau had entrusted the execution of his last will, pointed out that saying in warm words, placed the Henzen on his wife's grave and also determined himself to make the grave and found the right nature of Henzen here. ”( p. 11 f. )

[5] Constitution of the Christian Catholic Church in Switzerland. (No longer available online.) In: christkath.ch. Christian Catholic Church in Switzerland, archived from the original on March 4, 2012 ; accessed on January 8, 2019 .