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THE TRINITARIAN FORM OF THE CHURCH: CHURCH AS CHRIST’S SACRAMENT AND THE SPIRIT’S LITURGY OF COMMUNION Thesis Submitted to The College of Arts and Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Arts in Theological Studies By Robert Mark Zeitzmann, B.A. Dayton, Ohio August 2021 THE TRINITARIAN FORM OF THE CHURCH: CHURCH AS CHRIST’S SACRAMENT AND THE SPIRIT’S LITURGY OF COMMUNION Name: Zeitzmann, Robert Mark APPROVED BY: ________________________________________________ Dennis M. Doyle, Ph.D. Faculty Advisor ________________________________________________ Elizabeth Groppe, Ph.D. Faculty Reader ________________________________________________ William H. Johnston, Ph.D. Faculty Reader ________________________________________________ Jana Bennett, Ph.D. Chairperson ii © Copyright by Robert Mark Zeitzmann All rights reserved 2021 iii ABSTRACT THE TRINITARIAN FORM OF THE CHURCH: CHURCH AS CHRIST’S SACRAMENT AND THE SPIRIT’S LITURGY OF COMMUNION Name: Zeitzmann, Robert Mark University of Dayton Advisor: Dennis M. Doyle, Ph.D. This thesis argues that the Western sacramental and christological ecclesiology of Otto Semmelroth, SJ, is complementary with the Eastern pneumatological-trinitarian theology of liturgy of Jean Corbon, OP. Their little studied theologies are taken as key for interpreting and receiving the Second Vatican Council. Where Semmelroth had a distinct and influential impact on Vatican II’s sacramental ecclesiology, particularly in Lumen Gentium, Corbon had a similar impact on the theology of liturgy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. A particular point of significance of Vatican II is its personalist paradigm shift of recentering the faith of the church on God’s revelation of self as Trinity of persons. Semmelroth and Corbon not only started with and maintained the primacy of divine initiative but they also made their faith-filled awareness of the mystery of God, revealed through Christ in the Spirit, the lynchpin of their theological endeavors. Their strikingly similar fundamental, methodological move of perceiving reality as determined by the mystery of the person of God enabled both Semmelroth and Corbon to achieve advances in sacramental theology and theology of liturgy, respectively. Building on these insights, this thesis synthesizes Semmelroth’s and Corbon’s theologies in proposing iv sacrament and liturgy as co-principles of the church as the form of trinitarian communion. This thesis proceeds by first characterizing the basic points of philosophical and theological twentieth century personalist thought, which takes persons as central and determinative in understanding reality. Ormond Rush’s theological hermeneutical principles of Vatican II are then described. The geographical orientations of the theologies of Semmelroth, Corbon, and Vatican II are explored next and a conciliar hermeneutical principle of complementarity with distinction between Eastern and Western theologies is proposed. From there, Dei Verbum’s theology of divine revelation is analyzed. Following these foundational and grounding points, this thesis explores the essential points of the theologies of Semmelroth and Corbon and situates them in relation to Vatican II and its reception. Finally, a comparison is drawn between their theologies, it is demonstrated that they can be interpreted as complementary, and they are synthesized. In synthesizing Semmelroth’s and Corbon’s theologies, their methodology of awareness of God’s mystery as fundamental is drawn on, a new understanding of and distinction between “liturgy” and “sacrament” is suggested, the concept of the church as Christ’s sacrament and the Spirit’s liturgy of communion with God is explained, and the priestly people of God is presented as the communal expression of the church as liturgy- sacrament. v DEDICATION Dedicated to Ellie Zeitzmann, loving wife and dialogue partner. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis took an extended amount of time to be completed, and for this reason, I must thank everyone involved for their patience and support. Without certain people voicing their encouragement at key moments, this thesis might not have been possible. I would like to express my gratitude to William Buhrman, Ph.D., for being my first mentor in theological studies. It was the research paper, on the eucharist as the sacrament of the church, for a graduate course he taught, during the spring 2017 semester at St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX, that eventually led to this thesis. I would like to express my gratitude to Dennis M. Doyle, Ph.D., who has been my mentor during my theological studies at the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Dayton. Dr. Doyle has been a steadying presence and source of patience, wisdom, and encouragement throughout my graduate studies. My appreciation to William Johnston, Ph.D., for teaching a course on sacraments, liturgy, and cultural context, for our conversations, and for being a reader for my thesis. My thanks to Elizabeth Groppe, Ph.D., for our conversations and for being a reader for my thesis. Thank you to Ellie Zeitzmann for her constant support and love and for being my lifelong dialogue partner. Thank you to Bro. Tom Wendorf, SM, for being my spiritual adviser throughout my graduate studies and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to Fr. Otto Semmelroth, SJ, and Fr. Jean Corbon, OP, for their love for the church and for their visionary, discerning faith. May their theologies continue to serve the faithful people of God in the ongoing reception of the rich heritage of Vatican II and in responding to God’s invitation to communion. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. vii INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1 FOUNDATIONAL POINTS: PERSONALISM AND CONCILIAR HERMENEUTICS ............................................................................................................ 6 1.1. Personalist Philosophy and Theology .................................................................. 7 1.1.1. An Overview of Personalist Philosophy ............................................................ 7 1.1.2. Personalism and 20th c. Catholic Theology .................................................... 10 1.2. Theological Hermeneutics of Vatican II ................................................................ 14 1.2.1. The Basics of Theological Hermeneutics ........................................................ 15 1.2.2. A Threefold Conciliar Hermeneutic ................................................................ 17 CHAPTER 2 EASTERN AND WESTERN THEOLOGIES AND DEI VERBUM ON REVELATION ............................................................................................................... 24 2.1. “The Church must breathe with her two lungs!” (John Paul II): Eastern and Western Theologies ....................................................................................................... 25 2.1.1. The Geographical-Theological Orientations of Semmelroth and Corbon ....... 25 2.1.2. The Geographical-Theological Orientation of Vatican II ............................... 33 2.1.3. The East-West Principle .................................................................................. 35 2.2. Dei Verbum on Revelation ..................................................................................... 39 2.2.1. What Dei Verbum Left Behind: Propositionalism ........................................... 39 viii 2.2.2. Dei Verbum on Divine Revelation ................................................................... 40 CHAPTER 3 THE THEOLOGIES OF OTTO SEMMELROTH, SJ, AND JEAN CORBON, OP ................................................................................................................. 54 3.1. Semmelroth’s Sacramental Ecclesiology ............................................................... 54 3.1.1. “Um die Einheit des Kirchenbegriffes” ........................................................... 54 3.1.2. Revelational and Ecclesial “Consciousness” ................................................... 57 3.1.3. Semmelroth and Vatican II .............................................................................. 59 3.2. Corbon’s Theology of Liturgy ................................................................................ 61 3.2.1. The Wellspring of Worship .............................................................................. 61 3.2.2. A “Vision of Faith” .......................................................................................... 68 3.2.3. Corbon, Vatican II, Liturgical Reform, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and the Catechism .................................................................................................................. 73 CHAPTER 4 THE TRINITARIAN FORM OF THE CHURCH: CHURCH AS LITURGY-SACRAMENT OF THE TRINITY ............................................................. 82 4.1. A Comparison ......................................................................................................... 82 4.1.1. Corbon’s Threefold Synergy of Spirit and
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