Intro to Ecclesiology. Unit 1

Transcription

1 Intro to Ecclesiology Unit 1

2 What is ecclesiology?

3 Ecclesiology The study of the Church

4 Root Word Time! ekklesia - Greek for gathering or assembly In Ancient Greece, it referred to the assembly of voting citizens The Greek root word is ek-ka-lein, literally to call out of Why? These citizens were called out of their homes and villages to assemble for a vote - to become part of something greater than themselves

5 The Christian Ekklesia The early Christians chose this Greek word to represent themselves - the assembly of the people of God They had been called out of themselves to be a part of something greater - the Body of Christ

6 Church vs. church

7 Kyriake Greek word meaning the Lord s house

8 a church = a local parish community

9 The Church = the entire community of God s people around the world; the institution of the Church

10 A Diocese = a particular or local Church; the regional community of believers, who commonly gather in parishes, under the leadership of a bishop Ex: Diocese of Salt Lake City

11 NOTE: The word church is only used to refer to Christianity.

12 1. The pope is the figurehead of a Catholic church. 2. I went to the Church last Sunday, and the praise band was bumping! 3. In class, we talked a lot about the Jewish church and how it s different from the Christian church. 4. All Catholics are part of one church. 5. Excuse me, where is the nearest Muslim church?

13 Catholic vs. Christian

14 Christian = All people who profess Jesus Christ to be the Son of God Catholic = literally means universal ; today, it refers to a particular way of being Christian

15 What makes Catholicism different from other Christian denominations? 1. Emphasizes the doctrine and practices of the early Church 2. The celebration of the sacraments

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17 The Visible Church and the Spiritual Church

18 Visible Church: All those elements of the Church which are visible and human

19 Examples: the community of people, the buildings, the human institution (the Vatican), the liturgies and sacraments, historical events

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24 The Church is in history, but at the same time, she transcends it.

25 Spiritual Church: All those elements of the Church which are spiritual and divine

26 Spiritual Church: the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the presence of Christ, the communion of saints, grace in the sacraments

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30 The purpose of the visible is to make the spiritual present.

31 The one mediator, Christ, established and sustains here on earth his holy Church... as a visible organization through which he communicates truth and grace to all men. In her, the human is directed toward the divine, the visible to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, the object of our quest.

32 1. The Vatican: Visible/Spiritual Why? 2. Praying to the Holy Spirit: Visible/Spiritual Why? 3. The community at Mass: Visible/Spiritual Why? 4. The baptism of a baby: Visible/Spiritual Why? 5. Receiving the Eucharist: Visible/Spiritual Why?

33 Discussion Qs: 1. Why can t we simply focus on one understanding of the Church, such as the visible? 2. How would our understanding of the Church be different if we didn t hold these two understandings of the Church in tension? 3. How does this make our understanding of the Church more complicated?

34 The Church is a Mystery Models and Images of the Church

35 The Church is a Mystery As a mystery, the Church cannot be limited by a specific description, but can be illuminated by analogies that overlap when applied to particular contexts If you focus too much on one aspect of the Church, you lose sight of other aspects of the Church

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38 Images of the Church in the New Testament

39 Studying how the early Church describes itself in the New Testament helps us understand what early Christians understood the Church to be.

40 Images of the Church in the New Testament Body of Christ Bride of Christ Flock of the Good Shepherd Vine and the Vineyard Temple of the Holy Spirit Kingdom of God Mustard Seed and Field

41 Flock of the Good Shepherd Christ is the Good Shepherd, our guide and guardian, and the Church is his flock. The Church is all those who are nourished and led by Christ

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43 The True Vine: As the branches receive life from the vine, we receive life from Christ The Church joins us, the individual branches, to Christ, the vine

44 Temple of the Holy Spirit: The Jewish Temple was the dwelling place of God on earth The Church is made up of living stones, building the temple where God dwells on earth today

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46 Bride of Christ: In marriage, the bride and groom become one flesh and give themselves to one another We become one flesh and one spirit with Christ in the Church, who gives himself in love for us

47 Body of Christ Christ is the head, and the Church is the body The Church, like the body, is made of many different parts

48 Seed of the Kingdom of God: The earthly Church is like a seed that will one day grow into the true Church of God s people Visible -> Spiritual

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51 Discussion Qs: 1. How is understanding the Church as the flock of the Good Shepherd different from understanding the Church as the Temple of the Holy Spirit? How are they similar? 2. How is understanding the Church as the True Vine similar to understanding the Church as the Body of Christ? What is unique about each one?

52 Analysis: (please complete under today s warm-up) Write a short paragraph (5-6 sentences) answering the following question: Given these 6 New Testament images of the Church, what do you think the early Christians understood the Church to be? What specific qualities of the Church did they emphasize (or not emphasize)? Why do you think that is?

53 The Mission

54 The events portrayed in this move really happened. Probably not exactly in the way we show, but something very close to it. It was a simple but harrowing story about political realities versus all that s best in human nature. We re a strange animal, so often destroying what we love for selfish ends, and yet tantalized by the sense that there are other choices if only we had the strength to make them. In the politics of 400 years ago, we find the same questions we battle with today. - Roland Joffe, director of The Mission

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56 Models of the Church By Avery Dulles Uses 5 different models of the Church that overlap and help us understand the Church more deeply

57 Church as Institution The Church in its visible structures, as a tangible community Esp. Hierarchy Respects apostolic succession and authority of Tradition

58 Church as Mystical Communion The Church as a spiritual community, those bound together in Christ Primarily spiritual or pneumatological, although reflected in external signs

59 Church as Sacrament Sacrament: Visible sign of invisible grace The Church as the sign and transmitter of God s grace in the world Through the Church, we encounter Christ

60 Church as Herald Herald = one who receives an official message (i.e., from a king) and passes it on The Church receives the Good News of salvation and passes it on to all people

61 Church as Servant The Church exists to serve others, especially those in need A community for others Ex: Catholic Social Teaching

62 Go In Depth: In groups of 4-5, you will create a short skit based on one of the 5 models of the Church. The only criteria are that your skit must: Portray your model of the Church in action Clearly show the model s strengths AND weaknesses In 15 minutes, you will present your skit to the class. No smiling or laughing allowed. At the end of class, your group must hand in an outline including (a) a brief definition of your model, (b) descriptions of its strengths and weaknesses, and (c) a script of your skit. All work must be in your own words. I can read the handout myself just fine - I can t read your brain!

63 Models of the Church and The Mission 1. The Cardinal 2. The Jesuit priests 3. The Guarani people 4. The Spanish settlers

64 Why do we need 5 models? As a mystery, the Church can not be limited by a specific description, but can be illuminated by analogies that overlap when applied to particular contexts. Each model offers particular strengths and weaknesses, and we need all 5 to truly understand what the Church is.

65 Strengths Church as Institution Church as Mystical Communion Church as Sacrament Church as Herald Church as Servant Weaknesses

66 Strengths Weaknesses Public, visible, and tangible community Can lead to rigid conformity; idolatry of the Church Emphasizes role of Holy Spirit; shows relationship between God and Church community, and within community itself Lack of visible structure or guidelines; can lead to mere Christian fellowship without any strong basis or unity Church as Sacrament Holds tension between Institution (visible) and Communion (spiritual) models Can become self-enclosed or narcissistic ; no need to serve or evangelize Church as Herald Emphasizes Gospel and Church s mission of evangelization Can sometimes ignore the importance of acts of service (overemphasizes spiritual conversion) Church as Servant Emphasizes living out the Can ignore spiritual aspects Church as Institution Church as Mystical Communion

67 Why do we need 5 models? On the back of your worksheet, choose one of the situations and answer the three questions on the bottom: A parish community that runs a soup kitchen every Friday Pope Francis proclaiming a homily while visiting the United States 1. Which models of the Church would you use to describe this situation? 2. What specific aspects of the situation does each model explain? 3. What would be missing if you only used one model?

68 The Church is a Mystery

69 Scheeben - Mysteries of Christianity 1. What is the difference between the way we typically define mystery and the way the Church defines mystery? 2. What are the two elements needed for something to be called a mystery? 3. How might the Church fit the category of a mystery?

70 Two Criteria of a Mystery 1. Cannot be known through reason alone a. Part of revelation 2. Can only be understood through analogy

71 True or False The Incarnation is a mystery according to Scheeben The existence of God is a mystery... The Church is a mystery...

72 Church as a Mystery The Church satisfies the first criterion. What about the second? There are some aspects of the Church that can be talked about without analogies Ex: History, structure, laws, etc. There are some that cannot be adequately explained, even with analogies Ex: Communion of saints, kingdom of God, work of Holy Spirit

73 Application to Images and Models So how do we talk about these elements of the Church? Through analogies aka images and models! Choose 3 images or models of the Church from this unit, and explain how, together, they give us a more complete understanding of the Church.