Augustine and the Mystery of the Church

This book argues that the church for Augustine is a mystery that is both visible and invisible. Far from discarding the visible community, Augustine places greater emphasis on the empirical church as his thought develops. To demonstrate this, the author traces Augustines ecclesiology from early writings to later works. Further, this study explores Augustines exegesis of biblical images of the church, such as body of Christ, bride of Christ, city of God, and sacrifice, in order to show how the visible community is intrinsic to the mystery of the church.