O możliwości zbawienia poza Kościołem. Wybrane zagadnienia soteriologii św. Augustyna

In Saint Augustine’s teaching, salvation is always an act of God’s grace given to man through the agency of Christ. For this reason, the space of granting this grace is the Church, understood as a component of the structure of totus Christus. The Bishop of Hippo stresses, therefore, the need for belonging to the Church and the importance of baptism in the sanctification and salvation of man, because good deeds done without God’s grace have no value deserving salvation. The Church is, above all, a spiritual community in which a factor decisive to man’s communication with God, besides God’s grace, is primarily the love of God; and what closes up the human heart to this grace is pride. Therefore, aside from the visible community of Christians, there are also those just, who are among the saved. They include also those, who cure the disease of pride with the love of other people and service for the common good.