Faith and Theology

Theology seeks a deeper understanding of faith; hence faith is a necessary antecedent to theological study. Without faith, the study would a best be an exercise in Religious Studies or Phenomenology.

There are two types of faith that a theologian must understand: fides quae and fides qua.

Fides quae ("faith which") is the faith which is held by the Church through revelation or sacred tradition. (Objective faith)

Fides qua ("faith by which") is the faith by which a person is moved to respond to God. This includes a person's own understanding of his or her relationship to God, their own filtered view of fides quae, and in some instances personal revelation. (Subjective faith)

It is imperative that a theologian be able to distinguish between fides quae and fides qua and to always maintain conformity in study and work with fides quae.

Only a few theologian have held a personal faith that has been enlightened enough to illuminate fides quae. These theologians are given the title "Doctor of the Church."

Doctors of the Church:

St. Gregory the Great
St. Ambrose
St. Augustine
St. Jerome
St. John Chrysostom (Eastern)
St. Basil (Eastern)
St. Gregory of Nazianzus (Eastern)
St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Bonaventure
St. Anselm
St. Isidore
St. Peter Chrysologus
St. Leo I
St. Peter Damian
St. Bernard
St. Hilary
St. Alphonsus Liguori
St. Francis de Sales
St. Cyril of Alexandria (Eastern)
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Eastern)
St. John Damascene (Eastern)
The Venerable Bede (Easter)
St. Ephraem
St. Peter Canisius
St. John of the Cross
St. Robert Bellarmine
St. Albert the Great
St. Anthony of Padua
St. Lawrence of Brindisi
St. Teresa of Avila
St. Catherine of Siena
St Therese of Lisieux