In the Barque of Peter: St. Anselm’s Ecclesiology

A selection of letters composed by St. Anselm in the years between his two exiles from England, namely 1100–1104, offer the clearest glimpse into his thinking on the nature of the Church. In particular, they mark an intensification of his commitment to the papacy and eleventh-century ecclesiastical reform. They also reveal points of resonance between, on the one hand, his vision of papal primacy and the Church’s identity as “spouse” and “mother,” and on the other, his devotional writings and pastoral letters to religious women, the brides of Christ.