Articulus iustificationis dicitur articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae (the article of justification is said to be the article of the standing or falling of the church)”
—J. H. Alsted (1588–1638), Theologia scholastica didactica (Hanover, 1618), 711.
For the sense and origins of this celebrated phrase, see F. Loofs, “Der articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae.” It is necessary to challenge Loofs upon several points, particularly his suggestion that the phrase is first used in the eighteenth century by the Lutheran theologian Valentin Loscher in his famous anti-Pietist diatribe … and is restricted to the Lutheran constituency within Protestantism. This is clearly incorrect. The Reformed theologian Johann Heinrich Alsted uses the phrase a century earlier, opening his discussion of the justification of humanity coram Deo as follows: “articulus iustificationis dicitur articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae” (Theologia scholastica didacta (Hanover, 1618), 711). Precursors of the phrase may, of course, be found in the writings of Luther himself e.g., WA 40/3.352.3: “quia isto articulo stante stat Ecclesia, ruente ruit Ecclesia.”
Alister McGrath, Iustitia Dei, 2 vol. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 1.7
NOTE
As observed by the editor in Synopsis Purioris Theologiae/Synopsis of a Purer Theology: Latin Text and English Translations, vol. 2, Disputations 22–42, ed. Henk van den Belt, trans. Reimer Faber (Leiden: Brill, 2016), 305, n. 2, this expression is also found in Balthasar Meisner, ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΛΟΙΑΣ sacrae decas tertia ad statum reparationis pertinins. De libero arbitrio et justifications peccatoris coram deo, which was published in multiple editions. The expression occurs in the edition published Wittenberg, 1663, 124: “Adeò verissimum est illud Lutheri proverbium , quo sæpius fuit usus : Justificatio eft articulus stantis et cadentis Ecclesiae.” There are earlier editions of this work, e.g., Wittenberg, 1615 but, as of this writing, I am unable to confirm that this expression occurs in it although we may reasonably think it does. The editors of the Synopsis Purioris have not provided us with a full citation of the primary source but cite the work of Theodor Mahlmann in Religion in Geschicthe und Gegenwart, 4th edition, ed. Hans D. Betz, et al. 8 vol. (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1998–2007), 1.1998.
RESOURCES
- Subscribe To The Heidelblog!
- The Heidelblog Resource Page
- Heidelmedia Resources
- The Ecumenical Creeds
- The Reformed Confessions
- The Heidelberg Catechism
- Recovering the Reformed Confession (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008)
- Why I Am A Christian
- What Must A Christian Believe?
- Heidelblog Contributors
- Support Heidelmedia: use the donate button or send a check to
Heidelberg Reformation Association
1637 E. Valley Parkway #391
Escondido CA 92027
USA
The HRA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
*Benjamin Morgan Palmer
Interestingly, Benjamin Palmer Morgan cites Luther as its author, thought the context doesn’t suggest it was exclusively his contrivance, in his Life and Letters of James Henley Thornwell.
Turretin also assigned it to Luther too but that’s incorrect. He also says that Thomas said “theology teaches God, is taught by God, and leads to God.” He didn’t or at least he didn’t in the place Turretin cited in the Summa. These things get passed along orally and memorized as “facts.”
I actually wasn’t able to verify Luther’s use as of yet. Bernard Lohse claims, quoting Loofs, that Luthern Orrthodox theologian Valentin Ernst Löscher was the first one to use it.
Hello Dr. Clark,
The quote you provided is actually from the third edition, p. vii. (It is also in the 1st and 2nd editions with some slight variations.)
Grace and peace,
David
Thanks David,
I have the first edition. I just wasn’t sure from which of the 2 vols.
Ah! Not so uncanny, then.
Thanks Phil. I saw that and it reminded me that I should re-post it here.
Uncanny… I quoted that on my blog just today, although it was only a footnote.
Thanks Wes and congratulations on the newest covenant blessing to your house!
Thanks for that, Scott. Very helpful.