Abstract EN:

"fides ecclesiae" is a commonly used expression in the field of theology. It is mainly known as a substitute formula for those infants who are still unable to personally express their faith when being christened. However, far from being restricted to that single occasion, this work of mine attempts to show the way this expression was used in the latin literature written in the western world over the first thirteen centuries of our era - how the expression came into being, how often it was used and to what purpose, and the various meanings it acquired through the centuries. This research therefore brings into focus the whole period i studied through the various uses of "fides ecclesiae" in the sense of a doctrine and ortho- doxy. I have pointed out when and where the expression "fides ecclesiae" as an equivalent for "fides aliena" first appeared in relation with the christening of children. It emphasized the role and importance of this particular sacrament in the theology of the twelft and thirteenth centuries and, amongst other things, the use made of it by some great franciscan and dominican masters of the period.