35.
Joachim of Floris: *
His theories are millenarian; he believed that history, by analogy with the Trinity, was divided into three fundamental epochs:
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The Age of the Father (the Old Testament)
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The Age of the Son (between Christ &1260 and represented by the New Testament)
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The Age of the Holy Spirit (when mankind was to come in direct contact with God, reaching total freedom)
According to Joachim, only in this third Age it will be possible to really understand the words of God in its deepest meanings, and not merely literally. In this period a new Epoch of peace and concord would begin; also, a new religious "order" of spiritual men will arise, thus making the present hierarchy of the Church almost unnecessary.
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36.
Augustine: *
Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions. According to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine "established anew the ancient Faith." In his early years, he was influenced by Manichaeism and afterward by Plotinus (Neo-Platonism). After his conversion he developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, believing that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, formulated the doctrine of original sin and made seminal contributions to the development of the just war theory. When the Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God,