Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 421-451). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis advisor: Boyd T. Coolman / Achard of St. Victor's (1100-1171) theology is best understood through the lens of participation in God. He identifies three modes of participation: creation, righteousness, and beatitude. Participation by creation denotes the common image of God found in all humans. Participation by righteousness is the central focus of Achard's theology and consists of the increase of virtue, manifest in the love of God and neighbor. Finally, participation by beatitude is unity Trinity. The modes of participation are progressive, each on building upon the previous mode. Participation establishes a framework which situates Achard's Christology, pneumatology, Trinitarian theology, theological anthropology, and ethics and also creates a theology that takes an individual's virtue as the starting point. This participation framework bridges speculative theology and practical application, reflecting the ecclesiastical reform movements of his time. The result is theology of Christian life that is a balance between contemplation and concrete action. Achard expresses his participation centered theology through the use of homiletical images that serve to teach and inspire. I argue that Achard has a master symbol of a triple interior cathedral that is built by Christ, through grace, in the souls of the faithful. The building of this structure corresponds with progress in the spiritual life, moving from participating in God through creation, righteousness, and beatitude. Achard's theology presents a dynamic relationship between theological doctrines and images, between pedagogy and application, and between the present life and the life to come. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis advisor: Boyd T. Coolman / The anonymous Speculum de mysteriis ecclesiae from the 12th century abbey of St. Victor has often been associated with the tradition of medieval liturgical commentaries, but this dissertation proposes reading it primarily as a general treatise on the spiritual life. Its unique Victorine emphasis on the combination of intellect and affect suggests a particular theology of the sign: the real ontological status of the sign relying not on Dionysian hierarchy but on ecclesial contemplation. Through the newly developed sacramental understanding of res et sacramentum, the Speculum suggests that signs have enduring value as signs that goes beyond their function as signifiers. The attainment of the signified, in other words, is only part of their gift. Their “sweetness” is found in an appreciation of their mode of signification — a signification that, the Speculum suggests, endures somehow even in heaven as a non-necessary gracious source of delight. That is, external and visible things in the Church have value not merely because they point us to particular invisible things (what the signs “mean”) but because they teach us the Church’s economy of grace. The Church, then, and her sacramental economy, are central not just to the practical life of individual salvation, but to the meaningfulness of all creation. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.