Catholic Dogmatic Theology: A Synthesis: Book 2, On the Incarnation and Redemption
(Translation of Jean-Hervé Nicolas, Synthèse Dogmatique: de la Trinité à la Trinité, vol. 1, pt. 2)
Every discipline, including theology, requires a synthetic overview of its acquisitions and open questions, a kind of "topography" to guide the new student and refresh the gaze of specialists. In his Synthèse dogmatique, Fr. Jean-Hervé Nicolas, OP (1910-2001) presents just such a map of Thomistic theology, focusing on the central topics of Dogmatic Theology: The One and Triune God, Christology, Mariology, Ecclesiology, the Sacraments, and the Last Things. Drawing on decades of research and teaching, Fr. Nicolas synthetically presents these topics from a faithfully Thomistic perspective. While broadly and genially engaging the theological literature of the 20th century, he nonetheless remains deeply indebted to the Thomistic school that would have formed him in his youth as a theologian. This provides the reader with an unparalleled theological vision, masterfully bringing forth, at once, what is new and what is classical.
Catholic Theology: A Dogmatic Synthesis will be published in English as a multi-volume work. In this volume, Fr. Nicolas discusses the mysteries of faith directly connected with the Redemptive Incarnation: the formation of orthodox Christological dogma in the course of the first centuries of the Church; the nature of the Hypostatic Union; the latter's effects in Christ's holiness, knowledge, and incarnate activity; the mariological mysteries connected to the divine maternity; the soteriological meaning of Christ's vicarious satisfaction; and the eschatological return of Christ in Glory.
Serving as a professor for decades, including at the University of Fribourg, Fr. Nicolas was at once a profound scholar and a masterful pedagogue. Gathering the work of a lifetime into a single pedagogical narrative, Fr. Nicolas's Catholic Theology: A Dogmatic Synthesis provides a resource for students and scholars alike. In view of the hyper-specialization of theology today, this series of volumes provides readers with a synthetic and sapiential overview of the fundamentals of dogmatic theology from a robust and profound Thomistic perspective.
Endorsements
“The fruit of more than 30 years of teaching... metaphysically astute, and brings the same philosophical tools to the theological understanding of all the topics across the board. The scholarship is massive and trustworthy.”
– Fr. Guy Mansini, OSB
Max Seckler Chair of Theology
Ave Maria University
“This modern classic of Catholic systematic theology is to be warmly welcomed in the English-speaking world. At a time of considerable intellectual, theological, and spiritual disorientation and deracination, this deep but accessible synthesis of Catholic theology is a timely exercise in theological sanity and clarity and as such a resource for the sound integration of a profound theology with a deep spirituality. If the new evangelization is to have a proper theological grounding and a contemplative core that roots it in the identity and saving action of the Triune God, then this volume and its sequels are an indispensable part of it―required reading for bishops, priests, seminarians, and theologically interested laity”
– Reinhard Hütter
Professor of Fundamental and Dogmatic Theology
The Catholic University of America
“This is the second installment in the English translation of Jean-Herve Nicolas's masterpiece of theological wisdom. All Catholic theologians today ― whatever their school of thought ― should embrace this work as a major constructive achievement of twentieth-century Catholicism. Like its predecessor volume, this book stands as an invaluable and enduring conduit of the theological tradition.”
– Matthew Levering
James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology
Mundelein Seminary
“This work represents one of the most ambitious works of dogmatic theology since the Second Vatican Council: an attempt to render a modern articulation of the Catholic theological tradition in one overarching synthesis. Fr. Nicholas's work is fundamentally Thomistic, grounded in metaphysical reflection, and characterized by deep engagement with modern theological debates. In his treatment of the most sublime and central themes of Christian faith: Trinity, Christology, Creation, the Church, and Sacraments, he ponders the teaching of the Catholic tradition with theological depth and conceptual clarity. This book functions as an essential reference work for those pursuing Catholic theological formation and as an inspiration for those interested in the ongoing renewal of Thomistic theology.”
– Fr. Thomas Joseph White, OP
Rector Magnificus
Angelicum, Rome