- Latin:
- Berengarius
- French:
- BĂ©renger De Tours
- Born:
- c. 999, probably Tours, Touraine [now in France]
- Died:
- Jan. 10, 1088, priory of Saint-Cosme, near Tours
- Subjects Of Study:
- Eucharist
Berengar Of Tours
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Who was Berengar of Tours?
Berengar of Tours (c. 999â1088) was a theologian who is remembered for leading the losing side of the 11th-century Eucharistic controversy. After studying in Chartres, he became canon of the cathedral of Tours and head of the School of Saint-Martin.
Berengar rejected the view of transubstantiation, which stated that the bread and wine became the body and blood of Christ after consecration. Instead, he believed the elements only symbolically became the body and blood of Christ. His views faced severe opposition, leading to his excommunication by Pope Leo IX at the Easter Synod of 1050.
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In which country did Berengar of Tours live and work?
Berengar of Tours was born in Touraine, and he lived and worked in France. He was a theologian remembered for his role in the 11th-century Eucharistic controversy. After studying in Chartres, he became a canon of the cathedral and head of the School of Saint-Martin in Tours. About 1040, he was appointed archdeacon of Angers.
Berengar's teachings went against the belief of transubstantiation, which led to severe opposition and excommunication by Pope Leo IX in 1050.
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What kind of work did Berengar of Tours do as a theologian?
Berengar of Tours is mainly remembered for his role in the 11th-century Eucharistic controversy. He rejected the prevailing view of transubstantiation, which stated that the bread and wine became the body and blood of Christ after consecration. Instead, Berengar supported the interpretation that the elements became the body and blood of Christ in a symbolic sense, a view that aroused severe opposition. He based his argument on the belief that the traditional view went against the scriptures, the Church Fathers, and reason. Berengar applied the method of dialectic to theological development more than any of his contemporaries.
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What was Berengar of Tours' main idea or belief that made him famous?
Berengar of Tours is most known for his role in the 11th-century Eucharistic controversy. He challenged the established doctrine of transubstantiation, which stated that the bread and wine used during mass literally became the body and blood of Christ. Instead, Berengar supported Ratramnus' interpretation, which viewed the elements as symbolic representations of Christâs body and blood. His views sparked considerable opposition, leading to his excommunication in 1050 by Pope Leo IX.
Berengar's theological approach, as evidenced in his De sacra coena, emphasized the use of dialectic in theological development. He argued that the traditional view of transubstantiation contradicted scripture, the Church Fathers, and reason.
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Why did Berengar of Tours' beliefs cause controversy in the Church?
Berengar of Tours' beliefs stirred controversy because he challenged the prevailing view of transubstantiation regarding the Eucharist. He opposed Paschasius Radbertus's view that the bread and wine literally became the body and blood of Christ after consecration. Instead, Berengar supported Ratramnus' interpretation, which viewed the elements as symbolic representations of Christâs body and blood. This divergence from the established doctrine led to severe opposition, excommunication, and condemnation at multiple synods during the 11th century.
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How did Berengar of Tours influence later debates about theology and the Church?
Berengar of Tours challenged the prevailing view of transubstantiation, which stated that the bread and wine, once consecrated, literally become the body and blood of Christ. Berengar instead supported Ratramnus' interpretation, which viewed the elements as symbolic representations of Christâs body and blood. Berengar's application of dialectic to theological development, emphasizing Scripture, the Church Fathers, and reason, influenced later theological debates.
His views sparked severe opposition, leading to excommunication and condemnation at multiple synods. Despite being forced to recant, Berengar continued to defend his beliefs, publishing treatises against the Roman council. Although his position worsened and he eventually retired in silence, Berengar's emphasis on reason and scriptural interpretation influenced subsequent theological discourse within the Church.
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Berengar Of Tours (born c. 999, probably Tours, Touraine [now in France]âdied Jan. 10, 1088, priory of Saint-Cosme, near Tours) was a theologian principally remembered for his leadership of the losing side in the crucial eucharistic controversy of the 11th century.
Having studied under the celebrated Fulbert at Chartres, Berengar returned to Tours after 1029 and became canon of its cathedral and head of the School of Saint-Martin, which rivaled Bec under Lanfranc, who was later to be his opponent. Berengar befriended Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, and Eusebius Bruno, later bishop of Angers. About 1040 he was appointed archdeacon of Angers.
Shortly thereafter, Berengar, who always exhibited great independence of thought, began to teach ideas contrary to prevailing beliefs. Most notably, he rejected the then-current view of transubstantiation credited to the 9th-century abbot of Corbie, St. Paschasius Radbertus, who professed that the bread and wine, after consecration in the mass, became the real body and blood of Christ. Berengar favoured the interpretation formulated in De corpore et sanguine Domini (âConcerning the Body and Blood of the Lordâ) by Ratramnus, a monk of Corbie, to whom the elements became the body and blood of Christ in a symbolic sense. Berengarâs restatement of these views aroused severe opposition. He boldly wrote (c. 1050) to Lanfranc against his condemning Ratramnus. The letter arrived in Lanfrancâs absence and, after being read by several persons, finally reached him at Rome. Pope Leo IX excommunicated Berengar at the Easter Synod of 1050 and ordered him to the Council of Vercelli (1050). Berengar reluctantly obeyed. He went to Paris to get permission from the French king Henry I, his nominal abbot, to attend the synod. He was imprisoned by Henry and condemned at Vercelli in absentia.
On his release from prison, Berengar took refuge with his protector, Geoffrey, and Henry ordered a synod at Paris to judge Berengar and his supporter Eusebius. The synod condemned them both (1051). In 1054 the powerful papal legate Cardinal Hildebrand came to France to preside at the Synod of Tours. To preserve peace, a compromise was reached under which Berengar signed a vague eucharistic statement. In 1059 he was summoned to Rome for another council, at which he was refused a hearing and was asked to sign an extreme statement repugnant to his ideas. After this, Geoffrey died, and Eusebius began to draw away from Berengar. Berengar nevertheless published a treatise (c. 1069) against the Roman council of 1059, which was answered by Hugo of Langres and by Lanfranc, with a rejoinder by Berengar.
Berengarâs position was steadily worsening, and the rigorous pattern of examination, condemnation, and recantation was repeated at the nearly violent Council of Poitiers (1076), the Roman synods of 1078 and 1079, and a trial at Bordeaux in 1080. Thereafter Berengar was silent. He retired to ascetic solitude in the priory of Saint-Cosme.
Berengarâs eucharistic doctrine is expressed in his De sacra coena (âOn the Holy Supperâ), written in reply to Lanfranc. More than any of his contemporaries, Berengar applied to theological development the method of dialectic. He based his argument on belief that Paschasiusâ view was contrary to the Scriptures, the Church Fathers, and reason.