Chrétiens dans le Christ : une étude sur la formule ἐν Χριστῷ dans l’épître aux Galates

Details

Supervisors

Burnet, Régis

Faculty

Faculté de théologie et d'étude des religions

Degree label

Master [120] en théologie, à finalité approfondie

Abstract

enThe term « Christian » (Χριστιανός) derives from the word « Christ » (Χριστός). It seems clear, then, that it is in the relationship of the believer to Christ that the foundation of his or her identity must be sought. Thus, the discourse of faith has often expressed the notion of a Christian as one who is in « union with Christ ». But how is this union to be understood? Is it simply a legal membership of a particular group? Is it a mystical experience within a supernatural relationship? One of the many ways of delving into these questions is to begin from the biblical texts, particularly the Pauline epistles, in which the reader is immersed into the concrete experience of the very first Christians. Paul’s epistles are certainly not treatises on theology, but by seeking to respond to particular situations surrounding Christian communities, they give a glimpse of what their author meant by being united with Christ. Contemporary exegesis has seen the locution ἐν Χριστῷ as the basis for such a search, seeing it as the « stereotypical » expression Paul uses to describe the relationship of the believer with Christ. However, as we shall see, these studies often tend to metaphorize this relationship, without giving it concrete content that would reach the life of believers. How, then, can we maintain the link between the formula ἐν Χριστῷ and the union with the Messiah, without falling into the excess of metaphors that lack concrete essentiality? Drawing inspiration from more recent research, we propose to confront this question by looking at the formula ἐν Χριστῷ in the epistle to the Galatians.