ABSTRACT
If Grosseteste considers Christ to be the visible centre of all reality, where the uncreated and created come to be united as one, it might seem odd to suggest that his theological vision still remains incomplete. And yet Grosseteste also states that any mention of Christ must make reference to his mystical body, the Church.1 Owing to the way in which Grosseteste describes the subject matter of theology, the Church becomes the proper context for any reflection on humanity’s deification, that is its ultimate union with the Trinity.2 There is no doubt that Christ is the sole means by which this deification happens as it is the trajectory of justification through the Incarnation. It remains then to examine how this final return to God takes place within an ecclesiological context. We must begin, however, by posing a very basic question: what does Grosseteste mean by ‘Church’ (ecclesia)? As with previous chapters, it is useful to glance at Grosseteste’s Tabula, where ecclesia is one of the index’s nine distinctions. That distinction is composed of biblical and patristic citations organised under forty-three subjects headings:3
1 Concerning the mission (ordinatio) of the Church 2 Concerning the spiritual edifice 3 Why the law (legislacio) or the incarnation was delayed 4 Concerning the liberty of the Church 5 Concerning the persecution of the Church 6 That there is no salvation outside the Church 7 Concerning the martyrs who suffered for justice 8 Concerning the calling of the gentiles 9 Concerning ultimate rejection (abiectione) of the Jews [by God?]
10 Concerning the feast days in both testaments 11 Concerning the offerings in both testaments 12 Concerning dispensation 13 Concerning electing prelates 14 How subordinates are related to prelates 15 Concerning priests 16 Concerning preaching and preachers 17 Concerning the good king 18 Concerning the laws of war 19 That prayers are far more effective for war than weapons and power 20 Concerning the good judge
21 Concerning just judges 22 Concerning the tithe 23 Concerning excommunication 24 Concerning appeals 25 Concerning witnesses 26 Concerning testimony 27 Concerning sacrament 28 Concerning circumcision 29 Concerning baptism 30 Concerning confirmation 31 Concerning marriage 32 Concerning bigamy 33 Concerning consanguinity 34 Concerning relations by marriage 35 Concerning spiritual relationships 36 Concerning penance 37 Concerning scrutinising yourself 38 Concerning confession 39 Concerning fasting 40 Concerning orders 41 Concerning irregular orders 42 Concerning the sacrament of the altar 43 Concerning last rites
This distinction reveals a detailed conception of what constitutes a theological analysis of the Church. Grosseteste’s idea of ecclesia includes an account of its mission (1), its spiritual nature (2) and soteriological role (6) – elements that one could describe as strictly theological – but also some description of its institutional structure (1316) and juridical functions (20-26). He also considers temporal authority as an integral part of this area of theological thought, as the conduct of a king and the waging of war contribute to an understanding of ecclesia (17-19). And, not surprisingly, an idea of the Church embraced the sacraments, each of which had both theological and juridical features (27-43). In sum, for Grosseteste ecclesiology is an account of the nature, function and structure of the Church.
