"Alter Christus": Edith Stein on the Liturgical Sources of "Bildung"

Edith Stein thought that a proper view of education, Bildung, should encompass not only a human person’s natural potencies and purpose, but their supernatural potencies as well. For her, the supernatural telos of a person’s education is that he or she become a unique image and icon of Christ. This transcendent goal requires similarly supernatural means to attain, and in this paper, the pivotal role played by the sacrament of the eucharist and the church’s liturgy more broadly in reaching that goal are examined, while further making methodological suggestions regarding the interpretation of Stein’s theological texts.Keywords: anthropology, Bildung, education, eucharist, grace,