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Do This in Remembrance of Me…» E Sacrificial Aspect of the Eucharist In Kjetil Kringlebotten «Do this in remembrance of me…» e sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist in the systematic theology of Wolart Pannenberg and Joseph Ratzinger Master’s esis in Christian Studies (40 ECTS) NLA University College, Bergen, fall 2012 Supervisor: prof. dr. theol. Svein Rise 2 FOREWORD Working with any subject is not something done in isolation, and here I would like to first thank God, who must always be our first priority. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Svein Rise, for words of encouragement and for valuable insights, due in part to his expertice in one of my figurants, Gunnar Innerdal for valuable feedback on my paper on method (attachement 1), and those I have not only studied with, but been good friends with over the last four to five years. A special thanks goes to Ole Christian Martinsen, who has been active in the same ecclesial milieu as me, and who has worked with similar themes as I have, and Karen Marie Hovland, who has herself worked with Pannenberg, and has helped me in my attempt at grasping his theology. A great thanks goes to my fellow ‘inmates’ at my student home Collegium Sta Sunniva, and to my parish in Sandviken. Allow me to finish with some words from Scripture: Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord. For every high priest is appointed to offer gis and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. (Hebrews 8:1-3, RSV) My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1John 2:1-2, RSV) Kjetil Kringlebotten, November 30, 2012 3 4 Contents FOREWORD....................................... 3 1 Introduction 7 1.1 Problem and research questions . 7 1.2 Method....................................... 8 1.2.1 e justification of my coherentist method . 10 1.2.2 Coherence and systematic theology . 11 1.2.3 Summary . 12 1.3 Disposition . 12 2 Analysis of Pannenberg’s view 13 2.1 Introductory remarks on Pannenberg . 13 2.2 Pannenberg on the sacrificial character of the Eucharist . 18 2.2.1 Pannenberg on the high-priestly role of Christ in the Eucharist . 18 2.2.2 Pannenberg on the role of the Church in the Eucharistic celebration . 23 2.2.3 Pannenberg on the role of the priest in the Eucharistic celebration . 29 3 Analysis of Ratzinger’s view 37 3.1 Introductory remarks on Ratzinger . 37 3.2 Ratzinger on the sacrificial character of the Eucharist . 41 3.2.1 Ratzinger on the high-priestly role of Christ in the Eucharist . 41 3.2.2 Ratzinger on the role of the Church in the Eucharistic celebration . 50 3.2.3 Ratzinger on the role of the priest in the Eucharistic celebration . 60 4 Discussion of the views of Pannenberg and Ratzinger 65 4.1 Introductory remarks . 65 4.1.1 e place of the Eucharist within theology . 65 4.1.2 e presence of Christ in the Eucharist . 68 4.2 e sacrificial character of the Eucharist . 74 4.2.1 e high-priestly role of Christ in the Eucharist . 74 4.2.2 e role of the Church in the Eucharistic celebration . 85 4.2.3 e role of the priest in the Eucharistic celebration . 97 5 5 Summary and conclusion 113 5.1 Pannenberg on the sacrificial character of the Eucharist . 113 5.2 Ratzinger on the sacrificial character of the Eucharist . 114 5.3 Conclusion . 114 6 Bibliography and attachements 121 6.1 Primary sources . 121 6.1.1 Works by Pannenberg . 121 6.1.2 Works by Ratzinger . 121 6.2 Secondary sources . 122 6.2.1 Works about Pannenberg . 122 6.2.2 Works about Ratzinger . 122 6.2.3 Other sources . 122 6.3 Attachement . 126 General abbreviations For abbreviated works, see bibliography (section 6). Dnk: e Church of Norway (http://www.kyrkja.no/). LCMS: e Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (http://www.lcms.org/). TTK: Tidsskri for teologi og kirke. USCCB: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (http://www.usccb.org/). ZK: Zeitschri für Katholische eologie. 6 1 Introduction 1.1 Problem and research questions In an article on the Eucharistic Sacrifice, Cyril C. Richardson writes: ere is no aspect of the Christian liturgy which is more fundamental than that of the Eu- charistic Sacrifice. Nor is there any point at which Christians are more sharply divided than in their formulation of this doctrine.1 is sentence articulates my own thoughts on the matter, and the importace, for good or bad, of this doctrine is one of the main reasons I have chosen to write about this particular theme. His- torically, the question of the Eucharist has been one of the major differences beween Catholic and Protestant theology, and also one of the major differences within the theology of the Re- formers.2 I find the field of dogmatics and fundamental thinking in theology interesting, and that I find the sacrificial character of the Eucharist a fascinating theme, both because my own spiritual life has always been more ‘sacramental’ (and has become more so in the last nine years or so), and because when I have read Church history, I have always found a ‘scent’ not just of sacramentality, but also of sacrificiality.3 e Eucharist is central both to Lutherans and Catholics,4 and it is one of the points in which we most clearly see the differences. My hope is that this thesis can can make it easier to understand what unites and what separates. In this master’s thesis, I will examine this question by analyzing and discussing the contri- butions of Wolart Pannenberg and Joseph Ratzinger. I will focus on how Pannenberg and Ratzinger views the Eucharist, and especially its sacrificial character. e problem is formulated as follows: A systematic critical-comparative analysis and discussion of the Eucharistic theology of Wolart Pannenberg and Joseph Ratzinger with emphasis on the sacrificial character of the Eucharistic celebration. When analyzing Eucharistic theology, some questions presents themselves as more important than others, and when you narrow the field of study by emphasizing the sacrificial character 1 Richardson 1950:53 2 Alister McGrath, Historical eology: An Introduction to the History of Christian ought (Oxford: Blackwell 1998), pp.195-200. See also CA/Apol./CP X.XXII.XXIV. 3 See Dix 1945:238-255. See also Kelly 1978:193-199.211-216.440-455 4 CA/Apol. X; CCC 610-611.1322-1419 7 of the celebration, some questions are more natural to ask than others. In order to ‘arrive’ at a coherent and systematic view of the Eucharist, and specifically its sacrificial character, we need to consider as much data as possible. In this thesis, therefore, I have chosen three research questions which I maintain will be a good help in arriving at such a coherent and systematic view. ese questions are: 1. What is the high-priestly role of Christ in the Eucharist? 2. What is the role of the Church in the Eucharistic celebration? 3. What is the role of the priest in the Eucharistic celebration? e answers provided for these question determines the way in which you see the sacrificial character of the Eucharist. From these, I can analyze and discuss my figurants. By analyzing Pannenberg and Ratzinger, and by discussing them comparatively, in light of research not only on dogmatics, systematic theology, liturgy, history of theology and exegesis, but also research on liturgy and linguistics (specifically speech act theory), I try to answer this question: Is the Eucharist a sacrifice, and if so, in what sense? 1.2 Method In a paper written in connection with this thesis, I have already reflected on my method of choice. at paper can be found at the back of this thesis, as attachement 1 (A1). In A1 I utilize the coherentist method of Nicholas Rescher. Rescher is a representative of a pragmatic approach to philosophy, yet also systematic, unlike many analytic philosophers. He emphasises coherence, much because he seeks a holistic and systematic theory of truth, and because he finds the classic ‘correspondence theories’ to be lacking. I will also emphasize coherence in my thesis.5 In my thesis, I will build upon my reflection (A1), but there are a few important differences. First, let me briefly lay out my practical approach. In this thesis I will: (1) gather relevant data from relevant works on the Eucharist (and especially its sacrificial character) and from my fig- urants; (2) systematize my findings (focusing on the works of my figurants), reading them in relation to their whole corpus; and (3) evaluate their contribution, focusing on their coherence — not just within their individual corpus, but with each other and their field(s).6 My analysis 5 See Michele Marsonet, «Nicholas Rescher (1928—).» Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2009, esp. part 5. Available online: http://www.iep.utm.edu/rescher/ [retrieved Nov. 30, 2012]. 6 A1:7, cf. Puntel 2008:41-52. 8 will focus on my research questions, and will try to find out how Pannenberg and Ratzinger would answer these. Here we need to recapture some points from my reflection.
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