Casta Meretrix. Acerca de la traducción y aplicación eclesiológica frecuentemente de una expresión patrística.

Abstract

Frequently one hears the Church being called holy and prostitute, or as holy
and sinful, using as a compelling argument the saying of the Holy Fathers
that the Church is a casta meretrix. More than one theologian cites this in
Revista Teología writing without quoting the source; some preachers do the same. It seems that this Patristic witness fits in well for one to talk about the sins of the Church. So far so good, however, the first thing to be noted is that this is a hapax in Patristic literature and is found just once in Saint Ambrose. The use of this rhetorical figure indicates something unusual; this modern reader must try to understand. Especially because the one who coined the phrase, far from referring to something sinful, was pointing to the holiness of the Church. This article is a ecclesial reflection on this father of de Church who expressed himself in this way and, at the same time, it invites one to consider the context and concrete perspectives of these Patristic sayings in order to translate, interpret and relate them to our way of confronting problems.