What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to explore how Balthasar's concept of Casta Meretrix provides insights into the Church's identity.

March 12, 2026Open Access

Of Harlots and Holiness: The Church as The ‘Casta Meretrix’ in Hans Urs von Balthasar

Key Points

The aim is to explore how Balthasar's concept of Casta Meretrix provides insights into the Church's identity.
Analysis of biblical typology and figures like Rahab and Tamar.
Examination of patristic interpretations influential in Balthasar's thought.
Discussion of historical allegories related to ecclesiology.
Balthasar reframes the Church's identity as both divine and fallible.
Highlights the importance of vigilance and self-awareness in ecclesial contexts.
Emphasizes the redemptive role of divine love within a flawed community.

Abstract

Casta Meretrix articulates the Church’s paradoxical identity as simultaneously holy and sinful, a motif profoundly reconfigured by Hans Urs von Balthasar. Drawing on biblical typology, patristic interpretation, and historical allegory—from Rahab and Hosea to Tamar and the Shulamite—Balthasar constructs a nuanced ecclesiology that honors divine grace while acknowledging human frailty. This essay examines his method, showing how Casta Meretrix offers a critical framework for engaging ecclesial sin, historical failings, and the Church’s redemptive vocation, emphasizing vigilance, penitential self-awareness, and the transformative power of divine love within a flawed yet elect community.

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Cite This Study

John Anthony Berry (Mon,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69b2585696eeacc4fcec7ee8 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17030339

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