Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

The Church As Symbolic Mediation: Revelation Ecclesiology In The Theology Of Avery Dulles, S.J., Abraham B. Fisher

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation examines closely the theology of Avery Dulles, S.J., arguing that when Dulles' symbolic-mediation theology of revelation is viewed through the lens of his sacramental ecclesiology, there emerges an ecclesiology that recognizes and emphasizes the revelatory nature of the church. This study constructs this "revelation ecclesiology" by bringing Dulles' signature theologies of the church and revelation into conversation.

At the intersection of those two theologies stands the reality of symbol - a defining characteristic for both the theology of the church as a sacramental reality and the theology of revelation as an event of divine self-communication. The study begins, …