Vetus Academia Jesu Christi, Iconibus Exemplis et Documentis Priscorum Pietatis verae Doctorum et Professorum Illustrata.

Title

Vetus Academia Jesu Christi, Iconibus Exemplis et Documentis Priscorum Pietatis verae Doctorum et Professorum Illustrata.

Description

Title translated: The Old Academy of Jesus Christ, in which XXII. Old and sincere icons of teachers of piety, This work is dedicated to the depiction and appreciation of early Christian teachers. It was published in Augsburg by Gottlieb Goebel and printed by Johann Koppmayer. The book presents 22 portraits of significant Church Fathers and theologians, including Cyril of Alexandria, Augustine, John Chrysostom, Jerome, Bernard of Clairvaux, Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil the Great, Athanasius, and Polycarp. The portraits are designed as busts within oval frames, surrounded by inscriptions. These figures are highlighted not only for their teachings but also for their exemplary lives.The work comprises 12 unnumbered leaves, 221 pages, and 3 additional unnumbered leaves. It includes an engraved title page, a full-page copper engraving on the verso of the title page, and 22 full-page portrait engravings within the text.Vetus Academia Jesu Christi is a prime example of the Baroque practice of conveying the virtues and teachings of the early Church Fathers through vivid illustrations and biographical sketches. It served both theological education and spiritual edification.

c. 1671

Artist

Göbel (1640-1701)

Gottlieb Göbel was a prominent publisher in Augsburg during the 17th century. He published numerous works, including the theological book Vetus Academia Jesu Christi in 1671. After his death in 1684, his publishing house was continued by Lorentz Kroniger, who had previously worked in Göbel's business and later married his widow.Johann Koppmayer (1640–1701) was a respected printer and publisher in Augsburg. He served, among other roles, as the official city printer and produced a wide variety of printed materials, including pamphlets and copper engravings.

Historical Description

Theology means "the doctrine of God" or gods in general, and the teachings of the content of a specific religious faith and its documents of belief in particular. The term theologia appeared in ancient Greece to the polytheistic world of gods there. There it denoted the "speech of God," the chanting and telling of stories about the gods. In the second century the term was taken up by Christian authors, the apologists, who used it in contrast to the mythologia (telling of stories about the gods) of the polytheistic pagan authors. In Eusebius, the term means something like "the Christian understanding of God." In all patristic authors, however, the term did not refer to Christian doctrine in general, but only to those aspects of it that related directly to God. Thus, the only early Christian authors who were specifically called "theologians" were the author of the Gospel of John and Gregory of Nazianzus, because God was central to their teaching. Theologians in the early church were often bishops, and in the Middle Ages they were usually monks. The Reformers re-emphasized the practical aspect of theology. Thus Martin Luther also stands in the tradition of the monastic anchoring of theology as it was effective in the Middle Ages, for example, with Anselm of Canterbury and Bernard of Clairvaux. Theology was a practical science in the sense that it was completely related to the appropriation of salvation by God, that is, to the practical execution of the life of faith. The theologies in Christianity are understood as scientific studies of the sources of faith (Biblical Theology and Historical Theology) and of the practice of faith (Practical Theology), as well as a systematic analysis and presentation of faith. (Systematic theology, including fundamental theology, dogmatics, and ethics). In the 20th century, intercultural theology was added as a discipline, which examines the relationship of Christian theology and practice in the context of different cultures, religions, and societies and is dedicated to questions of intercultural as well as interreligious coexistence.