Theological Virtues
In Christianity, the theological virtues are the virtues that God intended (I Cor 13:13). They adapt man's faculties for participation in the divine nature (cf. II Pet 1:4). They are the consequences of thanks.
They have rights to live in relationship with God. In Heaven, only charity remain, in the form of direct sight of God.
The theological virtues are threefold:
This group originated in a famous passage from the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (I Cor 13: 13): "Now therefore, these three remain, faith (run), hope (HELP) love (or: love, agape) but love is the greatest. "
These virtues are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are proof of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being.
In Russia, the three theological virtues are associated with three female names: Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov (literally: Faith, Hope, Love), and the feast of Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov and their mother Sophia is celebrated on September 17.
Summary |
Virtues theological and cardinal virtues
The human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues, which make them perfect.
The three theological virtues complement the group of four cardinal virtues , human ( prudence , temperance , strength and justice .) Their set is sometimes called the seven virtues Catholics.
The group of four cardinal virtues , which receives its name to Middle Age , is already among the Greek philosophers in the Hellenistic Judaism and in the Fathers of the Church.
The human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues because they refer directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in relationship with the Holy Trinity. They Triune God for their origin, motive and purpose.
Attributes of the theological virtues in art
In works of art from the Middle Ages , the Renaissance and until nineteenth century, the virtues are usually represented in the guise of women identified by their attributes.
Their respective attributes are for example:
- for faith: book (containing the Christian doctrine), monstrance (containing the consecrated host), trefoil cross or dove;
- hope for: anchor (firmness in the storm, even invisible) or boat;
- for the charity open arms, fed or fostered children, flaming heart.
End of two virtues
According to St. Paul :
- The faith has no reason to be at the end of time, it is no longer necessary to establish the existence of God that is revealed.
- The hope will be out of place, everything being done and nothing left to hope so.
The only three theological virtues, which will remain so, he says, the charity - or love.
Art and culture
Filmmaker Bernard Emond completed a trilogy of films on the theological virtues.
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