Next Article in Journal
Transhumanism and the Survival of Transcendence: How Integration Can Save the Future of Humanity
Next Article in Special Issue
Casta Meretrix: The Paradox of the Christian Church Through History
Previous Article in Journal
Spiritual Salvation and Political Critique: Klabund’s Reconstruction of Wilhelm’s German Daodejing and Its Literary Afterlives After WWI
Previous Article in Special Issue
Correction: Sant (2026). Despite Being Spanish by Birth: Cesare Borgia of France and Duke of the Romagna. Religions 17: 5
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Religions
Volume 17
Issue 3
10.3390/rel17030339
religions-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Of Harlots and Holiness: The Church as The ‘Casta Meretrix’ in Hans Urs von Balthasar

by
John Anthony Berry
Faculty of Theology, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta
Religions 2026, 17(3), 339; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17030339
Submission received: 31 December 2025 / Revised: 6 January 2026 / Accepted: 20 January 2026 / Published: 9 March 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Casta Meretrix: The Paradox of the Christian Church Through History)
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Casta Meretrix articulates the Church’s paradoxical identity as simultaneously holy and sinful, a motif profoundly reconfigured by Hans Urs von Balthasar. Drawing on biblical typology, patristic interpretation, and historical allegory—from Rahab and Hosea to Tamar and the Shulamite—Balthasar constructs a nuanced ecclesiology that honors divine grace while acknowledging human frailty. This essay examines his method, showing how Casta Meretrix offers a critical framework for engaging ecclesial sin, historical failings, and the Church’s redemptive vocation, emphasizing vigilance, penitential self-awareness, and the transformative power of divine love within a flawed yet elect community.
Keywords: Casta Meretrix; Hans Urs von Balthasar; ecclesiology; holiness; sin; biblical exegesis; biblical typology; Church; grace; mystical theology; redemption Casta Meretrix; Hans Urs von Balthasar; ecclesiology; holiness; sin; biblical exegesis; biblical typology; Church; grace; mystical theology; redemption

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Berry, J.A. Of Harlots and Holiness: The Church as The ‘Casta Meretrix’ in Hans Urs von Balthasar. Religions 2026, 17, 339. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17030339

AMA Style

Berry JA. Of Harlots and Holiness: The Church as The ‘Casta Meretrix’ in Hans Urs von Balthasar. Religions. 2026; 17(3):339. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17030339

Chicago/Turabian Style

Berry, John Anthony. 2026. "Of Harlots and Holiness: The Church as The ‘Casta Meretrix’ in Hans Urs von Balthasar" Religions 17, no. 3: 339. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17030339

APA Style

Berry, J. A. (2026). Of Harlots and Holiness: The Church as The ‘Casta Meretrix’ in Hans Urs von Balthasar. Religions, 17(3), 339. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17030339

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop