THE NOTION OF SACRAMENTAL EVENT IN ERIK PETERSON’S ESCHATOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF ST. PAUL’S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Abstract

This article explores Erik Peterson’s theological reflections on the concept of the “sacramental event”, particularly through his interpretation of St. Paul’s Letters and the Pauline inspired notion of the new aeon. Firstly, it situates Peterson’s engagement with Paul as central to his break with Protestantism and his conversion to Catholicism, emphasizing how Paul’s eschatological vision shapes Peterson’s critique of political theology. The notion of the new aeon is introduced as a decisive element in Peterson’s thought, marking a radical temporal rupture inaugurated by Christ’s enthronement, which ends the old cosmos and establishes a new cosmic order. The paper then develops Peterson’s distinction between historical time and eschatological time, highlighting his use of the term Geschehen to describe the eschatological event as more than a chronological moment, namely, as the emergence of a new quality of time. Central to this
theology is the role of baptism, which Peterson understands not merely as a ritual but as the sacramental event that effectuates the believer’s passage from the old to the new aeon. This sacramental incorporation “in Christ” is both a present reality and an “eschatological reservation”, an anticipation of the future resurrection and full fulfilment. Peterson’s critique of Lutheran interpretations of the Gospel is also addressed, where he argues that Paul announces a cosmic
victory over original sin rather than private forgiveness. The article furthermore examines Peterson’s emphasis on the materiality and concreteness of the sacramental substances and their interaction with the believer’s body, contrasting this with modern philosophical tendencies that spiritualize the sacramental meaning. In conclusion, the article situates Peterson’s theology of the sacramental event within broader twentieth-century debates, highlighting its paradoxical character as an event where Christ is both revealed and concealed, historically present yet eschatologically awaited, thus offering a profound rethinking of the Christian conception of time and history