UNIT EIGHTThe Church Is………

8.1 Review and Preview

Ecclesiology

• Means “study of the Church.”

• Root of word, from Greek ekklesia, literally means “to call out”

• The Church is called out of worldly society to gather and proclaim the

gospel of Jesus Christ

The Church Is a Necessary Part of Faith• Christian faith cannot be separated from a

relationship with the Church– Church is the focal point of God’s continuing

presence in history

• Following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, God has chosen to remain visible and tangible through the Church– God established Church to

be body of Christ on earth

The Church Is a Necessary Part of Faith• Members of Church called out of world to

be something new, the body of Christ– To act together on behalf of and in the name

of God– We need each other

• Not everything done in name of Church is will of Christ– People of Church still can

and do sin

The Church Is a Necessary Part of Faith• Certain things guarantee that we can

never completely lose our identity as Christ’s body– Holy Spirit is always present in the Church– Mary permanent signs of God’s promise that

Spirit and Church will never be separated– God always acts through us

in the sacraments– God is always speaking in

dogmas

The Four Marks of the Church

• We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church

• Nature of Church is not something that can be changed.– It is an expression of the nature of God

One

• Church is one because the Trinity is one• Formal structures of Church underscore

importance of unity and make our unity visible in our lives

• United by:– Common profession of faith– Common worship in

sacraments– Common ethical framework– Apostolic succession

Holy

• Church is holy because it is the body of Christ– Also, because the Holy Spirit dwells within it

• To be holy means to be “set apart”– Church is set apart form the rest of creation

because of its intimate connection with God

• Everything made holy given

special purpose– To make God’s presence and

his holiness visible through our

lives

Holy

3 aspects of faith and practice important in giving form to holiness

1. Sacraments

2. Evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and witness of those who live by them

3. Moral teachings of Church

Catholic • Means “universal”, “in totality”, or “in keeping

with the whole.”• The totality of the body of Christ is present in

the Church• It is for all people• What the Church teaches is based upon the

whole of Revelation:

All of scripture, the teaching of

all of the apostles, and the

understanding and witness of

Christians from all times and all

places

Apostolic

• Means “having been sent”

• Church has been sent into the world by Christ

• Pope is the permanent and visible sign and foundation of the Church’s unity

The Church remains faithful to its apostolic nature in 3 ways

1.Recognizing it is built upon foundation of apostles

2.Adhering to foundation laid by apostles and written down in scripture and by faithfully interpreting, living, and teaching what the apostles taught

3.Accepting the continued guidance of the apostles through their successors, particularly through Peter’s successor, the pope

The Church Is Mystery• Church is mystery of faith that can never

be fully expressed from any single viewpoint– Holds apparent opposites together; Joining of

human and the divine and it is essentially both

• From the creation of the world, God has intended human beings to share in divine life– It is in the Church that our

unity with God is complete

The Church Is Mystery• Mystery has been explained using

the analogy of marriage– When two people are married they

become one flesh– In Choosing Church to be his

body on earth, Christ has entered a marriage covenant with her

• Because the Church is completely one with Christ, the Church is necessary for salvation

Unchanging Elements Within the Church• Three things within the Church which

cannot and will not change:1. Permanent body of dogma

2. Permanent ethic

3. Permanent constitution

Permanent Constitution• Church’s basic form and makeup• Hierarchical structure is essential part of

Church's identity• Jesus established a permanent structure when

he chose twelve apostles and promised to remain with them until the end of time

• Presence of hierarchy or magisterium maintains

continuity between faith of

today and faith of past

Magisterium

• Authentic interpreter of scripture and of the doctrinal and moral teachings which have been passed from generation to generation

Permanent Ethic

• There are certain things that have always been and will always be opposed to God

• There are certain moral teachings that will not change because they are essential corollaries of our understanding of the God who was revealed in Jesus

Permanent Body of Dogma

• There are certain absolute truths which must be accepted because they have been revealed to us by Jesus and will never change

The Church Is the People of God

• God created us to be one, and God offers us salvation as people, who are one

• Salvation history is an account of God’s invitation to return the world to the way it was before the sin of Adam and Eve

• Judeo-Christian understanding of community is an integral

part of Christian faith

Jesus offers new communal identity• Inclines us toward unity

• Church is the new People of God– All who are baptized are reborn as members

of this people– People in whom God’s Spirit dwells

The Church Is Teacher

• Church encountered God, passed on a knowledge and understanding of the truth through scripture, Tradition, and formal teachings called dogmas

Scripture

• Normative for all religious truth and all Church teachings

• True in its essence• Church teaches that scripture must always

be interpreted– Interpretation must take place first and

foremost within the Church, and be guided by the magisterium

Tradition

• All of the ways in which the Church has passed on its understanding of God’s Revelation:– Creeds– Doctrines– Governmental structure– Liturgies– Patterns of prayer and

service

Church Fathers

• Irenaeus• Clement of Alexandria• Tertullian• Origen

• Established framework for Catholic theology and doctrine

Church FathersIrenaeus Clement of

AlexandriaTertullian Origen

•Theology & doctrine related to both spiritual & physical lives•Outlined understanding of history allowed for development of doctrine over time

•Laid foundations for permanent relationship between theology & reason

•Made Roman legal rhetoric part of Christian theology•Established right of Church to determine boundaries for legitimate interpretation of scripture

•Laid out rules for legitimate Christian speculation•Made clear there are certain things Christians must accept, other things free to argue & speculate

Dogma

• Beliefs which are essential to Christian faith

• Truths we believe have been specifically revealed by God

• No list of Catholic dogmas– Are certain dogmas universally recognized as

essential– First, foremost beliefs stated

in the Apostles’ Creed and in the Nicene Creed

Doctrines• Church teachings have not been directly

revealed by God, but which reflect our best understanding of that which has been revealed

• Have the official approval of the magisterium

• Establish boundaries for preaching and catechesis within particular place and time

The Church Is Sacrament

• Church is both signs that God is acting in the world and the means by which God does act in the world

• We believe God interacts with us through the physical world– God is mediated by people, events, and

things rooted in history

• Jesus is the first sacrament, because in Jesus God is fully present to us

Church: Focal point of God’s action in the world• Liturgical life particularly

• Every element of liturgical life of Church directs us towards the world that God has envisioned for us

• God acts through our liturgy– When we do something ritually,

we receive the grace to do

that same thing in our

everyday lives

Jesus: Focal point of God’s activity in history• Church is focal point of Jesus’ continuing

presence on earth

• Eucharist is focal point of Church’s work

• Sacraments ensure that Church as body of Christ does work Christ would do in the world

Baptism and Confirmation

• From time of early Church, Baptism linked with descent of Holy Spirit and permanent marking of person by God:– In Baptism, individual receives free gift of

God’s grace, given new identity

• Confirmation seals and completes Baptism

Eucharist

• From time of early Church, Eucharist has been viewed as a sacred meal which transcends time and forms and transforms a people, and as a sacrifice which alters our relationship with God.

• It binds us to God.

The Church Is Servant

• Service is an intrinsic part of our faith.• Called to be body of Christ on earth by

doing what Christ did, by caring for the poor and the outcasts

• Church is the primary instrument of God’s grace on earth:– Grace to serve others out of

genuine love, to surrender one’s own power for benefit of another

The Church Is Servant• Church has responsibility for making

Christ known by reaching out in his name to those who are most in need

• Each baptized person has obligation to cooperate with the Church’s service, to particulate in that service according to his/her unique gifts and talents

• Church as whole never will and never could abandon the poor

Guiding Principles In Our Call To Serve As Christ Served• Recognition of dignity of every human

being:– Created in image and likeness of God; can

never be obliterated, no matter what person does or does not do

– Rights flow from dignity: To be respected, seen as autonomous individuals with free choice; to be valued because they are human and not because of what they can or cannot do.

Guiding Principles In Our Call To Serve As Christ Served• Universal destination of goods:

– Asks that all necessary products are fairly distributed

– Reminder that we are not created to live in isolation or to be saved in isolation

– Both physical and spiritual well-being are linked to the well-being of

others

Guiding Principles In Our Call To Serve As Christ Served• Common Good:

– Refers to everything which allows all people both individually and in groups, to be fulfilled more fully and more easily

– To promote, we must respect individuals and also work for the good of communities

• Solidarity and subsidiarity

Preferential option for the poor• God offers special care to those in need

– As the body of Christ we must do the same– In everything we do, we must give special

consideration to the poor and to the effect that our actions will have on them

• Church must work to insure that the poor receive special consideration from the state in defense of their rights– Societies have an obligation

to protect the poor against exploitation and to ensure that they receive adequate wages

The Church Is a Communion of Saints• Church canonizes those who practiced

heroic virtues throughout their lives– We hold them up as examples and guides in

the life of faith

• Communion of saints is the Church, includes all of the members of the Church, living and dead

• Saint is person through whom and in whom God is visible

The Church Is a Communion of Saints• Martyrs: disciples who had given

everything for Jesus and were therefore permanently united to him– Prayers were believed to be powerful

• Saints are signs of hope– We maintain our connection with them even

though they have died. Death has been defeated in Jesus

– Belief in value and intercession of saints, sign of our faith in resurrection

Mary: Model and Mother of the Church• Mary is Mother of God

– God chose to bind himself permanently to humanity

• Mary is sign of God’s willingness to accept human beings as partners for eternity, to share his authority with humanity

• Mary is model of the Church– Shows us what it means to imitate

Christ in everything– If we follow her example, Christ

will also be born in our hearts, he will act in the world through us

Mary: Model and Mother of the Church• Mary is the model of faith in her

commitment to Christ, in her faithfulness, in her self-emptying and in her love.

• Mary is a sacrament. She is the symbol and instrument of Gods’ presence with humanity.

• Mary’s immaculate conception is the sign and the promise that everything which

could separate humanity from

God has become powerless.

Mary: Model and Mother of the Church• Mary’s assumption into heaven is also a

sign of the Church’s hope– Guarantee of final resurrection of all the

faithful

• Mary is sign of the Church's role in the world and love for the world– Christ is the sole mediator

between God and humanity, but Mary shares in work of mediation

HistoryKey models and themes of the Church through

major periods in Church history:1. The Biblical Church2. The Church Under Roman Rule3. Christianity as the State Religion4. The Barbarian Invasions and the

Germanization of Christianity5. The Middle Ages6. The Protestant Reformation and the Council of

Trent7. The Second Vatican Council and the Church in

the Modern World

The Biblical Church• Religious syncretism problem at time of

Christ– Greeks, later the Romans, made effort to

convince all people under their rule that the gods of the varying religions were really all the same

– Jewish community as a whole rejected syncretism but they rejected it in a variety of different ways

The Biblical Church

• Various Jewish sects –Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots –each had a different opinion regarding which aspects of Judaism were essential and unchangeable and which could or should be altered in response to their current situation

• When Church first came into existence, majority of Christians, Jews, and outsiders viewed it as one more sect of Judaism, not a new religion

The Biblical Church• Could Gentiles become Christians?

– Yes.

• Which elements of Judaism were essential for Gentile Christians to observe?– Council of Jerusalem decided Gentile converts

to Christianity did not have to keep the entire Jewish Law, but

only those specific laws given

to Noah, including marriage

laws.

The Church Under Roman Rule• Baptism: sign of person’s entry into the Church

– Linked to descent of the Holy Spirit, permanent marking of newly baptized as God’s own

– Sing of one’s willingness to accept death out of faithfulness to God

• Persecution and prejudice characterized Roman

response to Christian Church in first three

centuries

The Church Under Roman Rule• Prejudice and persecution strengthened

rather than weakened Christian identity and commitment, and courage of those Christians who courageously accepted martyrdom rather than renounce their faith attracted many to the Church.– Initial spread of Christianity occurred primarily

because of the witness of the martyrs and enthusiasm of those who shared their faith in their homes.

The Church Under Roman Rule

• First wave of new Christians, poor and less educated:– Only gradually did Church attract wealthy and

better educated

• Women too found opportunities in Church:– Widows were leaders in early Church. Their

voluntary celibacy, poverty,

and life of service in response

to the gospel were precursors

to monastic life.

The Church Under Roman Rule• During first three centuries several

controversies arose– Marcion and the Gnostics denied goodness

of created order, claimed to have special knowledge about Jesus

• Church responded by developing official canon of scripture, basic outline of Apostles’ Creed, insisted upon apostolic succession

– What to do with lapsed Christians?

• Christians who sinned could be readmitted once following period of public penance

Christianity as the State Religion• Fourth century: Emperor Constantine issued

Edict of Milan which prohibited persecution of Christians– Church became stepping stone for person to

achieve power and prestige– Appointment of Church leaders needed approval

of state– Priests and bishops chosen

from wealthy and powerful

families– Nepotism and simony

became problems

Christianity as the State Religion• Constantine tried to use Church to unify

empire– Blending of theology and politics– First ecumenical council called by Constantine

to end Arian controversy

• After Christianity was legalized, Church membership increased

dramatically– Infant Baptism became the

norm

Christianity as the State Religion• Church structure began to resemble secular

government– Hierarchy, laws, and common codes of belief and

behavior were established– Church became place where power and prestige

of society flourished

• Hundreds of Christians fled to the desert to get away from the distractions of society, live

life of isolation and deprivation– Many went to the desert

seeking their wisdom and

guidance

The Barbarian Invasions and the Germanization of Christianity• From 5th to 8th centuries series of invasions

swept Roman empire– Majority of conquerors converted to

Christianity as a sign of, and a means, to civilization

– Role of papacy increasingly important as instrument of stability and authority in crumbling society

– Monasteries sings and sources of stability

The Barbarian Invasions and the Germanization of Christianity

• Saint Benedict is considered father of western monasticism– Rule built around prayer and physical

labor, emphasized strict disciple

• Saint Boniface credited with Christian conversion of Germanic lands– When leader embraced

Christianity so did all of his

followers– Boniface moved people by his

persuasive speaking and powerful

personal witness

The Barbarian Invasions and the Germanization of Christianity• Church sign and source of stability in

midst of chaos– Faith weapon against chaos– 8th-9th centuries, Charlemagne used

Christianity to defeat his enemies• Offered them a choice between dying by the

sword and Baptism

The Middle Ages• Gradually Church came to conclusion that it had

duty, responsibility to force all people to accept Christianity– 1095 1st crusade called

• Designed to unite Christians, retake holy land from Muslim control

– Church increasingly concerned with errors of those not in the Church, not

in complete agreement with

Church• Membership within Catholic

church was what entitled person to

basic human rights

The Middle Ages

• Church more involved in secular world, caught up in secular struggles for power and authority, corruption ran rampant.

• Separation of Orthodox Church from Roman Catholic Church and Great Western Schism were sources of scandal to faithful.

• Church blessed by witness

of many saints during this

era who called Church back to

teachings of Christ.

The Middle Ages• Latter Middle Ages period of tremendous

growth in Church in Americas and in Africa– Missionaries had most success when they

honored and respected culture, language, and tradition of native peoples

• Death and sickness were constant companion to Middle Ages– Bubonic plague struck

• Sacrament of Penance

came to dominate

The Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent• 1517 Martin Luther began Protestant

reformation– Reformers wanted to correct some of abuses

in Catholicism including exploitation of poor through selling of indulgences, problem of uneducated clergy who had little knowledge of or interest in faith, used positions to gain personal power

• Reformers also challenged elements of Catholic theology and practice

The Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent• The Council of Trent responded to the

challenges of the reformers by formalizing Catholic position on issues challenged – Essential nature of hierarchy and ordained

ministry– Intimate connection between scripture and

magisterium– Acceptance of God’s grace in Baptism is first step

toward salvation– Possible for those united with Christ to keep

commandments– Veneration of Mary and saints

important part of piety– Standardization of Catholic

worship

The Second Vatican Council, the Church in the Modern World

• Vatican II marked enormous shift in image Church presented to the world, in average Catholic’s understanding of what it meant to be member of Church– People of God– Role of all members of Church-laity, religious, and

clergy

• Right of other Christian denominations to call themselves Christian, encouraged ecumenical dialogue

The Second Vatican Council, the Church in the Modern World

• Council proclaimed right of all people to make own religious choices

• Church questions whether or not a “just war” is possible in the age of modern warfare– Very critical of modern arms race

• Since late 19th century, Church turned attention to issues of social justice– Care for the poor, demand of love,

requirement of justice

The Second Vatican Council, the Church in the Modern World• Church recommitted itself to being

effective sign of God’s love and presence in world– Called for reform and renewal of sacramental

life of Church, so Catholics better understand what called to be, be better prepared to receive sacramental grace

needed to carry out mission

in world