regeneratio

The Christian neologism regeneratio is attested only in prose. Tertullian is the first author who uses it widely: for him, regeneratio is mainly presented as a result of baptism. An analogous perspective comes up in Paulinus of Nola’s letters. The presence of this term in Augustine’s De ciuitate Dei is more varied. In this work, the word frequently appears in the phrase lauacrum regenerationis and refers to baptism. In other passages, the word generatio appears in contrast with regeneratio : the former expresses the condition of the mortal man, while the latter refers to the condition of the celestial man. Finally, in relation to the story of Abraham in the Old Testament, the regeneratio is set off by circumcision, a physical sign of the alliance with God. As a conclusion, the entry refers to the attestations of the expression ius regenerationis in the Justinian Nouellae .