On the Spirit and Essence of Catholicism

A long-awaited English translation of a landmark work in modern Catholic thought that powerfully reframes Catholicism as a living tradition.

On the Spirit and Essence of Catholicism presents the first English-language translation of Johann Sebastian Drey’s influential 1819 essays about Catholic Christianity. The founder of the Catholic Tübingen School and a pioneer of fundamental theology, Drey locates the essence of Catholicism not in any single doctrine but in how the Church lives its continuity between past and present. Central to this vision is his original account of living tradition: Christianity as a reality embodied, transmitted, and continually renewed through the person of Christ, who reveals a God still living and active.

This volume pairs Drey’s essays with a substantial introduction that situates the work within its nineteenth-century intellectual, ecclesial, and philosophical context. Together, the translation and introduction show why On the Spirit and Essence of Catholicism served as a programmatic text for a new theological movement and why it continues to shape debates about tradition, history, and ecclesial identity.

This edition reintroduces a generative theological classic, inviting readers into one of the most influential modern reflections on Catholic tradition, the Church, and the development of doctrine.