Christian disunity, as has been shown by Rouse and Neill, has been a major problem in the Church from the time of its inception. In Apostolic times Paul had to face serious dissension at Corinth and elsewhere. The great councils of the 4th and 5th centuries were convened to settle doctrinal disputes. The schism between Eastern and Western Christianity, which finally became permanent at about the end of the 12th century, was the result of thoroughgoing doctrinal as well as cultural differences. At the Reformation, Christianity was again drastically divided and between the 16th and 19th centuries,divisions were greatly multiplied. Chap. 1, p. 1.

Thesis advisor: John F. Baldovin / Thesis advisor: Catherine M. Mooney / An incorporation of a notion of "destruction" into our understanding and theologies of the Eucharist can help us to appreciate more robustly not only late medieval and early modern discussions of Eucharistic sacrifice, but also our late and post-modern experiences of God's absence. This thesis recovers theories of the Eucharist that propose an inherent aspect of destruction as part of the Sacrament. Such theories emerged in the writings of Robert Bellarmine, Juan de Lugo, Francisco Suárez, and others and continued to be influential on Eucharistic thought through the time of Pius XII. I trace these theories and their reception from the sixteenth century to a revival of them in nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly in the works of Maurice de la Taille (1872-1933) and Anscar Vonier (1875-1938) as well as in Pius XII's Mediator Dei (1947). I then consider them and their implications for contemporary discussions of Eucharist, notably by Louis-Marie Chauvet and followers of René Girard. A recovery of a notion of destruction might help contemporary Christians to reach both a greater understanding of the Eucharistic presence as well as a greater appreciation of God's apparent or perceived absence. / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Thesis (S.T.L.)--Catholic University of America, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-141).

Thesis (S.T.L.)--Catholic University of America, 2008. / Description based on Microfiche version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-148).

Thesis (S.T.L.)--Catholic University of America, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-148).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 1989. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [175]-182).

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-61).

Thesis (S.T.L.)--Catholic University of America, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-141).

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.