Bonaventure’s Early Life
There is little information concerning the early life of Saint Bonaventure. Though accounts differ on the exact year, he was born Giovanni di Fidanza in Bagnoregio, Italy, near Rome, probably around 1217. [1] His father, Giovanni di Fidanza, was a physician. [2] His mother was Maria Ritella. [3]
Bonaventure received the cognomen (nickname), Bonaventura, which means “good journey,” after he was reportedly healed of a childhood illness by Saint Francis of Assisi. [4] Bonaventure, known as the Doctor Seraphicus[5] which means “brilliant teacher full of burning love,” was a contemporary of the well-known 13th century theologian, Thomas Aquinas. [6]
At age eighteen, Bonaventure enrolled in the University of Paris to pursue a Master of Arts degree[7] under the renowned English theologian, Alexander of Hales. [8] Hales, who headed of the theology department at Paris, joined the monastic order[9] of the Franciscans[10] in 1236, the year after Bonaventure began his studies at Paris. Hales raised the stock of the Franciscans when he established the Friars Minor theology school at the University of Paris. [11] Moved by the simplistic lifestyle of the Franciscan’s and following the example and influence of Hales, Bonaventure also became a Franciscan in 1243. [12]
Bonaventure’s Education and Ministerial Career
Bonaventure received a Bachelor’s of Scripture in 1248 from the University of Paris and lectured on the Bible at Paris for two years. [13] As a part of his continuing studies at Paris, the university required Bonaventure to lecture for an additional two years on the Four Books of the Sentences, the seminal textbook of systematic theology compiled by Peter Lombard in 1150. [14] Around 1253, Bonaventure received licentiate and a doctorate from Paris. [15] He became the Regent Master of the Friars Minor School of Theology at the University of Paris and his tenure lasted more than 20 years. [16]
Near the end of his tenure, Bonaventure became embroiled in a dispute regarding the number of faculty chairs in the school of theology. [17] The secular masters railed against the mendicant orders, those who had taken vows of poverty, because they rose to positions of power and authority within the school and displaced the secular masters. [18] The secular masters in an attempt to regain their lost positions denounced the mendicants as false prophets, who lived an immoral lifestyle. [19] As Regent Master of the Friars Minor theology school, Bonaventure led the defense, ultimately producing his work, Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection. [20] The work defended the Franciscan Order against the false accusations of the secular masters and explained the position and role of the Order within the Roman Catholic Church. [21] The work has stood as a standard for the Order through the centuries. [22]
During the same time Bonaventure dealt with the disputes at the University of Paris, the Order itself, which by that time had grown to more than 30,000 friars, fell into a bitter turmoil. [23] Factions arose within the ranks which had the potential to destroy the Order. [24] A group of zealots led by Joachim of Fiore, a Calabrian abbot, openly rebelled against the organizational structure of the Order and introduced heresies that would supplant the New Testament with a new and eternal Gospel. [25] In 1257, at the age of only thirty-five, the Order of Friars Minor elected Bonaventure Minister General of the order. [26] Bonaventure, only the seventh man to ever hold the post, ascended to it in the wake of the resignation of John of Parma, who may have been sympathetic with the zealots. [27]
Bonaventure’s work, Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, firmly established his reputation as an excellent theologian. [28] This reputation, combined with his pious life and his remarkable administrative abilities, uniquely suited him to the task of reconciling the various factions and returning the Order to a solid footing. [29] Bonaventure resigned his position as Regent Master of the Friars Minor theology school to devote himself entirely to his new responsibilities as Minister General of the Order. [30] For several years thereafter, he traveled to meet with friars throughout Europe to reconcile and rebuild the Order, which proved a successful endeavor. [31]
In 1273, Pope Gregory X made Bonaventure Cardinal-Bishop of Albano. [32] This did not move Bonaventure to pride. It is rumored that when the Pope’s delegates arrived to bestow upon him the honor of the Cardinal’s hat, he happened to be busy at his chores, washing dishes. [33] He requested that the delegates simply leave the hat outside hanging on a tree until he could finish his task. [34]
The following year, Pope Gregory X invited Bonaventure to participate in the Ecumenical Council at Lyons. [35] Church leaders gathered to address several issues, including reforms and the division between the Greek and Latin churches. [36] Bonaventure would attend, but would not survive the Council. [37] He died on July 15, 1274 at the age of 57 in Lyons, France. [38] The Council ended two days later. [39] The reason for his death is uncertain, as is the reason for the abrupt termination of the council.[40]
Bonaventure’s Contribution to Christian Thought
Bonaventure is not as important for any new ideas he introduced into Christianity as he is for formulating a system of theology which is organized, well thought out, and logical. Bonaventure’s works lost some prominence and eventually fell into obscurity after his death, but they regained prominence in 1440 at the Council of Florence. [41] The Council, actually a continuation of a council originally began some years earlier in Basel Switzerland, dealt with issues regarding the reunion of the Eastern and Western churches.[42] Bonaventure had been involved in the Council at Lyons, which dealt with more or less the same issues with which the Council of Florence dealt, so his works were reintroduced at Florence with the aim of helping to facilitate the reunion of the Eastern and Western churches. [43]
The church exhumed his body in 1450 and discovered that his head had been remarkably preserved and that his tongue had not decayed and still had some color. [44] More than two hundred years passed before the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Sixtus IV, himself a former General of the Franciscan Order, finally canonized Bonaventure on April 14, 1482. [45] Had his writings not been reintroduced at Florence, he might have remained in relative obscurity. [46]
The Trinity
Though a major proponent of Augustinian theology, Bonaventure did not hold to a strictly Augustinian view of the Trinity which emphasized the substance or essence of God. [47] Rather, he leaned more toward the Cappadocian view which emphasized the individual persons of the Trinity. [48] Throughout his writings on the subject of the Trinity, Bonaventure presents a view of God as essentially good.[49] Since God is good, He must necessarily exist in a state of love.[50] In order for God to exist in a state of love, which is the ultimate good, He must exist in a state which allows for the expression of love. [51] Since God is also without need, for God to love and yet be without need, He must exist in a state which, though one in essence, must be expressed in at least two persons (Father and Son) so that love may be shared. [52] For God to exist in a state of love as a single person, He would have to create an object of love. [53] But this would undermine God’s sovereignty and self-sufficiency if creation were required for God to exist in a state of love. God’s existence and nature do not rely upon creation. [54]
Bonaventure continues this line of reasoning when he argues that, in fact, God must be expressed in three persons, for the fullest and most perfect expression of love can not be merely between two persons, for then love is only expressed one for another. [55] Three persons are required for the fullest expression of love, as in the case of love expressed between two persons and then also shared with another (Holy Spirit), [56] such as might be explained when the love of a husband and wife are brought into the fullest expression when a child completes their family. Now love is not selfish, but shared and complete in the fullest sense. If God is love, He must necessarily exist in plurality. [57]
Bonaventure sees God the Father as the progenitor and possessor of all divine ideas. [58] He sees God the Son, the Word of God, as the expressor of the divine ideas. [59] He sees the Holy Spirit as the fruit of love which is His nature given as a gift. [60] To give oneself is the greatest expression of love. [61] Thus, God exists perfectly, completely and necessarily as three persons with one essence. [62]
Creation and Humanity
Bonaventure explains the act of creation as flowing out of God as an act of love.[63] God’s desire to love moves Him to create, as a composer who from the fount of his love for music and desire to express himself composes a symphony.[64] In this way, Bonaventure sees the creation as more than simply a stage upon which God performs His will with humanity, but a means by which He expresses Himself in love. [65] God created human beings in His image, that is, with the capacity to interact with Him and freely love Him. [66] He made a way for humans to reject Him, which they did in the Fall. He also made a way for them to be reconciled to Him through the cross of Christ. God created out of love (the desire to express His nature, which is love), He created for the purpose of love (human beings with which he could share His love and upon which He could bestow His love), and He created by means of love (a creation which would require the ultimate expression of His love through the sacrificial giving of His Son on the cross). [67]
Bonaventure sees everything in the creation as having its purpose and end in Christ. [68] He held that creation is finite, in opposition to the Aristotelian notion of an eternal world, since it must necessarily have a purpose. [69] If the creation exists eternally, then it has no relationship to God and, thus, no purpose. [70] But, the creation does have a purpose and a destiny, and must therefore be finite, rather than eternal, for its purpose is a means for God to express Himself in love. In fact, humanity and creation are theologically intertwined since the destiny of the creation, that is, the material world, is bound up in the destiny of humanity and in man’s relationship to God. [71]
Moreover, the creation is not only a means through which God expresses Himself in love, but it is also a means by which he reveals Himself. As a painting expresses something of the person of the artist, so the creation expresses something of the Creator.[72] God’s glory is manifest in the creation, which itself becomes a theophany. [73] The universe then may be seen as a book that describes God, it’s Author. [74]
Of all the creatures created by God, for the universe to be perfect, there needed to be one creature which had the ability to appreciate the beauty of the creation and the created order and then to contemplate it’s Creator. [75] This means that a perfect God created a perfect universe, which contained perfect human beings.
The Incarnation
The incarnation of Christ is the event that completes the creation. God, in order to make Himself perceptible to fallen humanity, took upon Himself the additional nature of man. [76] But, the second person of the Trinity, the Word, did not leave the Trinity to enter the world, but rather the Trinity in the person of Christ became incarnate, that is, perceptible to fallen man. [77] It is not simply God who became incarnate, but specifically the second person of the Trinity, the Word. [78] Bonaventure’s theology is distinctively Christocentric. [79] He saw Christ as not only the center of creation but the center or medium of the Trinity. [80]
Bonaventure held that sin is not the only or even the primary reason for the incarnation. [81] He states that the first reason for the incarnation is that God is able to complete the fullest expression of Himself in love by condescending in humility to lift man up to Himself (expressing His nature). [82] Second, God is able to bring the creation into perfection and completion (revealing His person). [83] And, third, God is able to complete His plan for the redemption of mankind (fulfilling His desire). [84] Thus, the incarnation, in Bonaventure’s view, is not merely the solution to the problem of sin, but rather the fullest expression of Himself, who is love. Christ as Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, is Christ as Creator of the universe for His own purposes. [85]
Imitation of Christ
Man was created in the image of God, and the aim of a life devoted to God is imitation of Christ. There is one sense in which man is created in God’s image (with the capacity to contemplate and love God) and there is another sense in which man is intended to be conformed into the image of God (Christ). For Bonaventure, the idea of imitating Christ did not regard attempting to mimic Christ’s behavior or to consider how Christ might respond in a certain situation. Rather, he saw imitation of Christ as the expressing of Christ-likeness in one’s life. [86] The internal spiritual nature of a man expresses himself externally. [87] If a man is rooted in Christ, he will express himself externally with the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, gentleness, etc. [88] If a man is not rooted in Christ, he will express himself externally with sinful behavior. [89] To Bonaventure, the goal of living in Christ is to become like Christ, manifesting the Fruit of the Spirit. [90]
Bonaventure carries this beyond merely the Fruit of the Spirit. He argues that Christ lived a life marked by poverty and humility and that the highest form of imitation of Christ is expressed in a life of poverty and humility. [91] Humility is the root of all virtue as pride is the root of all sin. [92] To live as Christ is to be Christ-like. The cross of Christ exemplified the essence of His person and becomes the example for men. [93] Saint Francis gave Bonaventure a human example of poverty and humility. [94] Bonaventure’s position is that being conformed to the image of Christ (imitation of Christ) is not the loss of one’s identity, but the attainment of the fullness of one’s identity, as originally intended by God. [95] For Bonaventure, imitation of Christ is ultimately discipleship with a true and meaningful relationship with God. [96]
Conclusion: Bonaventure’s Relevance for Modern Christians
Bonaventure moved Christian thought forward by delving deeper into its theological questions, clarifying its theological doctrines, and organizing them logically into a coherent, comprehensive and viable system of theology. Modern Christians will find in his work a profound insight into the heart and mind of God. In his era, he stands alone in his ability to vet and explain Christian doctrines with sound reason and clarity. The spiritual superficiality which plagues much of the modern church today is utterly absent in both his works and his life. He is an extraordinary example of a biblical theologian and scholar as well as a humble and zealous imitator of Christ. His accomplishments and his rise through the ranks of the Franciscans and the Roman Catholic Church prior to the reformation are so without controversy or blemish as to defy modern notions of the corruption, which marked other Christian figures of the Middle Ages.
Theology in many sectors of the modern church today has been relegated to the sidelines in preference of a seeker-sensitive, relative message. The life and work of Bonaventure pierces the armor of this thinking and forces one to reconsider what should be the central concerns of the individual Christian, those in ministry and the church as a whole. Any examination of Bonaventure’s writings and life will positively influence even the casual reader. One cannot come away from Bonaventure without being convicted by the life and instructed by the theology of this great master.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Works Cited
Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Basel/ (Online Encyclopedia; accessed December 3, 2006).
Parish of St. Bonaventure Bagnoregio (VT). “The Life Of Saint Bonaventure.” The Internet Guide To St. Bonaventure Of Bagnoregio. http://www.franciscan-archive.org/bonaventura/parish.html/ (accessed December 3, 2006).
Robinson, Paschal. “Bonaventure.” Jacques Maritain Center. http://www2.nd.edu/Departments//Maritain/etext/bonavent.htm / (accessed December 3, 2006).
Delio, Ilia. Simply Bonaventure: An Introduction to His Life, Thought, and Writings. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2001.
English Translations of Works Published in Hardcopy
Bonaventure, Saint. The Breviloquium. Translated by Jose de Vinck. Paterson, NJ: St. Anthony Guild Press, 1963.
Bonaventure, Saint. Collations on the Six Days. Translated by Jose de Vinck. Quincy, IL: Franciscan Press, 1996.
Bonaventure, Saint. Defense of the Mendicants. Translated by Jose de Vinck. Paterson, NJ: St. Anthony Guild Press, 1966.
Bonaventure, Saint. The Soul’s Journey Into God / The Tree of Life / The Life of St. Francis. Translated by Ewert Cousins. New York: Paulist Press, 1978.
Online Editions of Works
The Franciscan Archive. The Internet Guide To St. Bonaventura Of Bagnoregio. http://www.franciscan-archive.org/bonaventura/ (accessed December 3, 2006).
Secondary Sources (biographies, assessments of his thought, etc.)
Bettoni, Efrem. Saint Bonaventure. Translated by Angelus Gamebtese. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1981.
Etienne Gilson. Philosophy of Saint Bonaventure. Quincy, IL: Franciscan Press, 1965.
Guy J. Bougerol. Introduction to the Works of Bonaventure. Paterson, NJ: St. Anthony Guild Press, 1964.
Ilia Delio, OSF. Simply Bonaventure: An Introduction to His Life, Thought and Writings. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2001.
[1] Paschal Robinson, “Bonaventure,” Jacques Maritain Center, http://www2.nd.edu/Departments//Maritain/etext/bonavent.htm / (accessed December 3, 2006).
[2] Parish of St. Bonaventure Bagnoregio (VT), “The Life of Saint Bonaventure,” The Internet Guide to St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, http://www.franciscan-archive.org/bonaventura/parish.html/ (accessed December 3, 2006).
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ilia Delio, Simply Bonaventure: An Introduction to His Life, Thought, and Writings (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2001), 31.
[6] Ibid., 25.
[7] Ibid., 21.
[8] Ibid., 25.
[9] Monasticism, a mode of life which abandons the world in pursuit of spiritual perfection through hermitical living, poverty, asceticism and the contemplation of God, arose in the vacuum created when Constantine ended persecution of Christianity. With martyrdom no longer a means of one’s proving one’s devotion to God, monasticism became a popular movement throughout the middle ages and is still practiced today.
[10] Saint Francis of Assisi, an Italian monk who lived during the early part of Bonaventure’s life, founded the monastic Franciscan Order in 1209. Francis is said to have received the physical marks of the crucified Christ, that is, wounds in his hands, feet and side, after spending forty days in fasting and prayer on Monte Alverno, in the year 1224, just two years before his death. Bonaventure, who would eventually become head of the Order, would also write the official biography of Francis, Life of Saint Francis, in 1260.
[11] Ilia Delio, Simply Bonaventure: An Introduction to His Life, Thought, and Writings (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2001), 21.
[12] Ibid., 22.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid., 23.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Ibid., 23-24.
[26] Ibid., 24.
[27] Ibid., 24.
[28] Ibid., 23.
[29] Ibid., 24.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Ibid.
[32] Ibid., 30.
[33] Ibid.
[34] Ibid.
[35] Ibid.
[36] Ibid.
[37] Ibid.
[38] Ibid.
[39] Ibid.
[40] Ibid.
[41] Ibid., 31.
[42] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Basel/ (Online Encyclopedia; accessed December 3, 2006).
[43] Ilia Delio, Simply Bonaventure: An Introduction to His Life, Thought, and Writings (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2001), 31.
[44] Ibid.
[45] Ibid.
[46] Ibid.
[47] Ibid., 40.
[48] Ibid.
[49] Ibid., 42.
[50] Ibid.
[51] Ibid.
[52] Ibid.
[53] Ibid.
[54] Ibid.
[55] Ibid.
[56] Ibid.
[57] Ibid.
[58] Ibid., 46.
[59] Ibid., 46-47.
[60] Ibid., 49.
[61] Ibid.
[62] Ibid.
[63] Ibid., 54.
[64] Ibid.
[65] Ibid., 55.
[66] Ibid., 70-71.
[67] Ibid., 54-64.
[68] Ibid., 56.
[69] Ibid.
[70] Ibid.
[71] Ibid., 57-58.
[72] Ibid., 54-64.
[73] Ibid., 61.
[74] Ibid.
[75] Ibid., 67, 71.
[76] Ibid., 85.
[77] Ibid.
[78] Ibid., 86
[79] Ibid.
[80] Ibid.
[81] Ibid., 89-92.
[82] Ibid., 90.
[83] Ibid.
[84] Ibid.
[85] Ibid., 91.
[86] Ibid., 115.
[87] Ibid., 116
[88] Ibid.
[89] Ibid.
[90] Ibid.
[91] Ibid., 116-117.
[92] Ibid.
[93] Ibid., 120.
[94] Ibid., 123.
[95] Ibid., 124.
[96] Ibid., 126.
