''Ecclesia semper reformanda est'' (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "the church must always be reformed", often – as usual in Latin – shortened to ''Ecclesia semper reformanda'') is a phrase first greatly popularized by
Karl Barth in 1947, allegedly deriving from a saying of
St. Augustine. It most often refers to the conviction of certain
Reformed Protestant
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...
theologians that the church must continually re-examine itself in order to maintain its purity of doctrine and practice.
History
An early example is Jodocus van Lodenstein, ''Beschouwinge van Zion (Contemplation of Zion)'', Amsterdam, 1674–
78, who claims the "truth… that also in the Church there is always much to reform" (''"Sekerlijk de Gereformeerde Waarheyd… leert dat in de Kerke ook altijd veel te herstellen is"''.).
A variation of the term, ''Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda'' ("the reformed church
ust UST or Ust may refer to:
Organizations
* UST (company), American digital technology company
* Equatorial Guinea Workers' Union
* Union of Trade Unions of Chad (Union des Syndicats du Tchad)
* United States Television Manufacturing Corp.
* UST Gr ...
always be reformed"), also used by Karl Barth, refers to the desire of an "erudite man" cited by Jodocus van Lodenstein that the Church should not be called "Reformata", but "Reformanda".
Protestantism
It is widely but informally used in
Reformed and
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
churches today (for example, the
French Reformed Church
The Reformed Church of France (french: Église réformée de France, ERF) was the main Protestant denomination in France with a Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evang ...
use "''Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda''" as motto).
Catholic Church
The first term was used by
Hans Küng
Hans Küng (; 19 March 1928 – 6 April 2021) was a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author. From 1995 he was president of the Foundation for a Global Ethic (Stiftung Weltethos).
Küng was ordained a priest in 1954, joined the faculty o ...
and other ecclesiastical reformers of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
who were influenced by the
spirit of Vatican II of the 1960s.
The Catholic Church used the idea in the document
Lumen gentium
''Lumen gentium'', the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 21 November 1964, following approval by the assembled bisho ...
of the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
, nr. 8: "Dum vero Christus, "sanctus, innocens, impollutus" (Hebr 7,26), peccatum non novit (cf. 2Cor 5,21), sed sola delicta populi repropitiare venit (cf. Hebr 2,17), Ecclesia in proprio sinu peccatores complectens, sancta simul et semper purificanda, poenitentiam et renovationem continuo prosequitur": "While Christ, holy, innocent and undefiled knew nothing of sin, but came to expiate only the sins of the people, the Church, embracing in its bosom sinners, at the same time holy and always in need of being purified, always follows the way of penance and renewal."
This latter usage appears in a 2009 pastoral letter by Bishop
R. Walker Nickless that encourages a hermeneutic of continuity in Catholic teaching and practice.
Pastoral letter
/ref>
In popular culture
The phrase (without the ''est'') is also put into the mouth of the fictional Pope Gelasius III in Mary Doria Russell's 1998 novel ''Children of God''.
See also
* Five ''sola''s
References
Protestant theology
Latin religious words and phrases
Christian terminology