Omnes in Adam Ex Pacto Dei ― Ambrogio Catarino's Doctrine of Covenantal Solidarity and Its Influence on Post-Reformation Reformed Theologians

For centuries prior to the Reformation, Christian theologians identified Adam's natural relationship to humankind as the basis for its participation in his own guilt and corruption. Beginning in 1532, the Dominican theologian Ambrogio Catarino challenged the validity of this dogma, arguing that humankind's solidarity with Adam stemmed immediately from divine volition and ordination. For Reformed theologians, it was the «covenant of works» that provided a rationale for universal Adamic guilt. This book exposits Catarino's doctrine of covenantal solidarity, explores the medieval sources of his teaching, and traces his influence on Reformed thinkers. It provides insight into the doctrine of a significant Catholic Reformation theologian, and illumines the complicated and somewhat surprising background to Reformed theology's own eventual teaching on Adam's federal (covenantal) headship.

Aaron C. Denlinger, PhD, is Teaching Fellow in Church History at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.