Explorations in Theology IV: Spirit and Institution

The fourth volume of Skizzen zur Theologie, published by Johannes Verlag in 1974 (455 pages); Ignatius Press published the English translation as Spirit and Institution in 1995. In the introduction Balthasar says the title names a leitmotif heard in free variation through most of the essays, not a systematic treatment: the volume is 'merely a sketchbook'. What most threatens Christianity, he argues, is the splitting apart of spirit and institution, and reform never comes by gluing broken pieces back together, so he looks at both at their common source. Essays include 'Who Is Man?', 'The Claim to Catholicity', 'Kenosis of the Church?', 'Christology and Ecclesial Obedience', 'Loving the Church?', 'Spirit and Institution', 'Loneliness in the Church', 'On the Place of Christian Mysticism', 'Preliminary Remarks on the Discernment of Spirits' and 'The Priesthood of the New Covenant'.