''Ecclesia semper reformanda est'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "the Church must always be reformed", often shortened to ''Ecclesia semper reformanda'') is a phrase first greatly popularized by the Swiss Reformed theologian

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...

in 1947, allegedly deriving from a saying of

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

. It most often refers to the conviction of certain Reformed Protestant theologians that the

Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...

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, 1674–1678, 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 ustalways 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 Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

churches today (for example, the

French Reformed Church The Reformed Church of France (, ERF) was the main Protestant religious denomination, denomination in France with a Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evangelical Luthera ...

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 ...

and other ecclesiastical reformers of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who were influenced by the

spirit of Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

of the 1960s. The Catholic Church applied the idea to personal ad institutional (rather than doctrinal) reformation in the document

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 bishops by a vote of 2 ...

of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

, 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
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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''.

References

Protestant theology Latin religious words and phrases Christian terminology

History

Protestantism

Catholic Church

In popular culture

See also

References