Algero of Liège

ALGERO OF LIÈGE. - Theologian and canonist (1060?-1131). Born in a region particularly attached to the emperor and therefore strongly wavering between imperial and papal policy, he lived through the whole drama of the investitures. Scholasticus of St. Bartholomew of Liège, in 1101 he was promoted canon of St. Lambert by Bishop Otbert, loyal to the emperor Henry IV, who only in 1106 submitted to the Pope, bringing the schism to an end. Then all, people and clergy, passed over to the Gregorian party: it was precisely at this moment that A. wrote the De misericordia et iustitia in defense of the canonical dispositions of Gregory VII and to delineate the relations between Pope and Emperor. When his fame spread in Germany, he was sought after by German bishops, but, a man without ambition, he preferred to remain in his homeland. On the death of Otbert (1119) a new division of minds arose over the election of the successor: A., by now weary of so many struggles, withdrew to Cluny, which at that very moment enjoyed peace and prosperity under the wise government of Peter the Venerable. There he received priestly ordination and there prepared himself for death, earning a flattering eulogy from his holy abbot. His biographer and colleague in the chapter, Nicholas of Liège, thus sketches the figure of A.: « Erat subtilis ingenio, facundus eloquio, in proposito stabilis et quod his omnibus est pretiosus existimabatur et erat tam fide quam doctrina catholicus » (Elogium Alg., Leod.: PL 180, 737).

Passing over the lost letters and the De dignitate Ecclesiae Cathedralis, as well as the De libero arbitrio and the Liber Sententiarum Magistri A. of doubtful authenticity, one must dwell on the two works that link the name of A. to theology and to law. The occasion on which he wrote the De misericordia et iustitia, published for the first time by dom Martène in 1717 and reproduced in PL 180, 857-968, has been indicated above. The author begins by noting the strong antinomy of the canons: some are very severe, others too mild, so much so that in their application they leave the mind wavering between condemnation and pardon. This contrast, A. explains, is due to ignorance of the circumstances in which the canonical laws were promulgated: the Church indeed sometimes pardons, while at other times she punishes because she takes into account the particular contingencies in which the crime was committed. It is therefore not the letter but the spirit of the law that must be grasped from the texts, in order to harmonize them: « Ad haec elaboravi, ut in canonibus adeo intentionis, utilitatis, veritatis eluceret unitas, ut nullam contrarietatis discordiam pararet aliqua eorum diversitas » (col. 858). The work is divided into three parts (comprising 358 chapters): in the first he treats of mercy, that is, of indulgence, mentioning the cases in which it must be used; in the second he speaks of justice, that is, of the manner of applying the « strictum ius »; in the third he confronts the burning question of heresies and of the value of the sacraments administered by heretics. The book, more practical than speculative in character, keeps in view the special difficulties in which A. was struggling after his submission to the Pope: many delicate cases had to be resolved concerning excommunicated, simoniacal, and married priests. The work today arouses particular interest as one of the first essays in the theory of the interpretation of law. In it A. followed, in order to resolve divergences of interpretation, a method derived from that of Abelard, called the « sic et non », and which was later followed also by Gratian; and it is furthermore important as a collection of canonical juridical sources, since A. gathered in it, availing himself moreover also of various earlier collections, many texts of the Fathers, 125 decretals, and fragments of letters of St. Gregory the Great (in Gratian's Decree, about a hundred texts and 16 dicta are drawn from the work of A.).

As a theologian he will always be remembered for his De sacramentis corporis et sanguinis dominici, contained in many codices, printed for the first time by Erasmus in 1530 at Freiburg im Breisgau together with the analogous work of Guimund of Aversa, for the purpose of opposing to the innovations of the Protestants the doctrine of four centuries earlier. Many other editions followed, down to that of the Louvain scholar Ulimmer (1561), reproduced by Malou (1847), by Migne (PL 180, 737-856) and by p. Hurter (SS. Patrum opuscula selecta, XXIII, Innsbruck 1873, pp. 58-370). The work, composed between 1110 and 1121, is divided into three books: the first and most important treats de veritate et virtute corporis Christi in 22 chapters. After an introduction on the importance of the Eucharist in the divine economy (ch. 1-3), the two aspects of truth and figure in the eucharistic mystery are particularly studied: the dominant idea is clear, the developments are not equally so; yet three concepts follow one another with sufficient clarity: the body of Christ is present in sacrament (ch. 4-8), the same body born of Mary (ch. 9-16), the sacramental presence does not harm the reality of the body born of the Virgin (ch. 17-22). The second book (10 chapters) consists of a series of quaestiumculae, from which precious complementary clarifications are derived. The third (14 chapters) treats of the value of the sacraments « extra Ecclesiam » and defends their validity with close-knit argumentation. In this work, besides a vigorous affirmation of the real presence, which is shown not to be harmed by the figurative character of the sacrament, the doctrines of transubstantiation and of the permanence of the accidents are sketched out, as a prelude to the syntheses of the 13th century. On the question of sacrifice the Augustinian line is followed, with this felicitous formula: « Christus in sacramento quotidie non passus sed quasi pati repræsentatus » (PL 180, 787). Even more felicitous are the words with which the participation of the faithful in the sacrifice of the Mass is expressed: « In altari Ecclesia concorporalis et consacramentalis est Christo » (ibid., 847).

The scholasticus of Liège worthily closes the ranks of the great adversaries of Berengar of Tours (d. 1088) and merits the eulogy of Peter the Venerable: if concerning the Eucharist Lanfranc wrote bene plene et perfecte, if Guimund melius plenius et perfectius, Algero optime plenissime et perfectissime (Contra Petrobrusianos: PL 189, 788).

Antonio Piolanti