The term Christus Victor refers to a Christian understanding of the atonement which views Christ's death as the means by which the powers of evil, which held humankind under their dominion, were defeated. It is a model of the atonement that is dated to the Church Fathers, and it, or the related ransom theory, was the dominant theory of the atonement for a thousand years, until it was removed in the West by the eleventh-century Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm, and replaced with his "satisfaction" model.
The term comes from the title of Gustaf Aulén's groundbreaking book, first published in 1931 and translated in English by Gabriel Hebert, in which he drew attention back to this classic early Church understanding of the atonement. Gustav Aulén writes in description of Christus Victor, "the work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil."
Read more about Christus Victor: Development of The Christus Victor View After Aulén
Famous quotes containing the word victor:
“And in the next instant, immediately behind them, Victor saw his former wife.
At once he lowered his gaze, automatically tapping his cigarette to dislodge the ash that had not yet had time to form. From somewhere low down his heart rose like a fist to deliver an uppercut, drew back, struck again, then went into a fast disorderly throb, contradicting the music and drowning it.”
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