Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The words felix culpa come from the Exultet hymn (ca. 500-700 A.D.) which is used in the Roman Catholic Easter Eve Vigil. The relevant passage, referring to Adam's sin, reads: "O felix culpa, quae talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem!" "O happy guilt which earned for us so great and glorious a Redeemer!" The words felix culpa have been used frequenty apart from the hymn. This dissertation seeks to discover how the idea developed, to show the different meanings which it has had, and to evaluate its place in doctrine. [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01