The Sources of Catholic Dogma

An essential, critical resource for every Catholic home and parish library.

Enchiridion Symbolorum, the Sources of Catholic Dogma by Fr. Heinrich Denzinger

(PLEASE NOTE: This is a damaged copy, pages 16 through 65 in the index are crumpled - it is a FINAL CLEARANCE item and is non-returnable)

In this age of doctrinal latitude and speculative innovation there is a pressing need for a comprehensive source book on authentic Catholic dogma that is magisterially anchored while at the same time both practical and non-voluminous.
 
You have such a book in this English translation of Fr. Heinrich Denzinger’s Enchiridion Symbolorum et Definitionum. Since it was first published a century and a half ago, this handbook or collection (enchiridion) of articles (symbols in Latin) of faith and morals has enjoyed universal appeal and approbation since the pontificate of Blessed Pope Pius IX.

The Enchiridion has been updated periodically; the edition being offered here is that issued in 1957. The collection includes all articles and creeds of the Catholic Faith beginning with that of the twelve apostles, all dogmatic definitions stamped with the Petrine authority of the apostolic See (ex cathedra), decrees of the solemn magisterium, papal bulls, encyclicals and letters, as well as some of the more weighty decisions of the Holy Office prior to 1957.

Although not every entry in this 653 page compendium (with an additional 67 pages of indexes) of Church teaching is definitional (i.e., ex cathedra) it still should be considered the "locutus est" for every wayfaring Catholic whose patria, this side of heaven, is Roma. In addition to a general index there is a scriptural index plus an invaluable systematic or topical index making for very easy reference.

Note, too, this edition (reprinted in 2009) comes with a one page Corrigenda which is a list of sixteen corrections that must be applied to errors (usually omissions) that escaped the eyes of editors in previous editions.

Freshly reprinted on fine natural-colored paper and handsomely hardbound in a navy blue cloth cover with silver embossing on the cover and spine, this important theological reference book makes a great addition to any bookshelf, always ready for referral! 

Read a short article about the book right here.

About the author:

Heinrich Joseph Dominicus Denzinger (1819 - 1883) was a leading German Catholic theologian and author of the Enchiridion Symbolorum et Definitionum (Handbook of Creeds and Definitions) commonly referred to simply as "Denzinger".

Heinrich Denzinger was born on 10 October 1819 at Liege. In 1831 his father, who was a professor at the Liege University, took him to Würzburg, the original home of the family. Here he attended the gymnasium and studied philosophy at the university, where he received the Ph.D. degree. In 1838 he entered the Würzburg seminary, went to the German College at Rome in 1841, was ordained priest in 1844, and the following year took a degree in theology.

On his return home he was first curate at Hassfurt-on-the-Main, became professor extraordinary of dogmatic theology at Würzburg in 1848, and ordinary professor in 1854. He continued to occupy this position, in spite of ill-health, until his death. Denzinger was one of the pioneers of positive theology and historical dogmatic (Dogmengeschichte) in Catholic Germany. In the generation after Johann Adam Mohler (d. 1838) and Döllinger (1799-1890) he carried on their methods and helped to establish what was the special character of the German school, exact investigation of the historical development of theology, rather than philosophical speculation about the corollaries of dogma.

He died on 19 June 1883 at Würzburg.

Nearly all his important works are in the nature of historical theology. The best-known and most useful is his Enchiridion Symbolorum et Definitionum (first ed., Würzburg, 1854), a handbook containing a collection of the chief decrees and definitions of councils, list of condemned propositions, etc., beginning with the oldest forms of the Apostles' Creed. The first edition contained a mere 128 documents, the sixth edition, the last edited by Denzinger himself, had 202.

After Denzinger's death, Professor Ignatius Stahl continued the work of re-editing the Enchiridion with additional decrees of Leo XIII. Clemens Bannwart, S.J., prepared a revised and enlarged edition (10th ed., Freiburg) in 1908.

Since then, the Enchiridion, or Sources of Catholic Dogma, has been repeatedly republished, with considerable additions by different editors. As a result, the numberings in more recent editions do not correspond to those in the original. By no means are all the entries from conciliar or papal ex cathedra definitions, but they are all considered to be of high authority for understanding the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.