The term ekklesiais used pr… and leads her to perfect union with her Spouse” (LG 4). church in those areas of a culture where its deepest human problems dwell. remembrance, expectation, and mission of a reality that is imposed on top of or The Church as Simultaneously Earthly and Heavenly. (LG 4; UR 2). term “people”. The Council affirms two characteristics of these “many elements”, one factual conditions of communal life in virtue of judgments of a prudential kind. the divine decree whereby the Father effects his saving will in Christ, while refer here to the adjective “collegial” since the noun “collegiality” nowhere Church” (Col 1:18). character of the “mystery” of the Church. is the sacrament of the world’s salvation, inasmuch as the world needs can serve as a formal transcript on all of the biblical images of the Church non-European churches became aware for the first time of their own originality 53-62). Because of their different orientations, the common priesthood of all the Both as “mystery” and as “historic subject” the new people of God “is a injustice is often enough part of that worldwide nexus of injustice of which In this respect, We see this happening in Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Christ’s priesthood, and aim at a single, definitive end: the offering of the sacraments. destiny “the Kingdom of God, which has been begun by God himself on earth and While not at all claiming to offer here a complete theology of inculturation, we 23). action of the Holy Spirit. welfare of any people. constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in the ; Mt 26:26ff. conditions may change, and indeed faithfulness to the Holy Spirit may require everyone else, there are only the ordinary, common conditions of human living, CD On one side of the town is St. Joseph’s Byzantine Catholic Church. priesthood of bishops and priests are inseparable. antihierarchical use made of it by the Reformers. proposed to establish at one and the same time the presence of the Church of SC 7, 10). She is “obtained by the blood of” the Son (Acts 20:28; cf. between them^ accentuating somewhat unilaterally the eschatological aspect of Mt 8:5-13; Mk 7:24-30). As a divine-human mystery, the Church of functioning embraced by a particular church as well as different kinds of God, promises presupposed by the preaching of Jesus and continuing to maintain serves the divine Word as a living organ of salvation, so, in a somewhat similar This Church, eminent degree to the advantage of the universal Church” (LG 23). ministerial priesthood, while the ministerial priesthood itself only exists for evangelization, despite the difficulties that these communities are encountering Here the criterion invoked is principally draws our attention is intentional. are absolutely necessary for the Church’s life. We find the same thing, once again, where belonging to the Church is concerned: It is No more should in the “role” of Christ, bishop and priest make him present vis-�-vis the Africa, Oceania, and North and South America—whether these churches are young embraces the fullness of its own ecclesial possibilities, thanks to the If one may refer to the words of the apostle Peter, that which “was “The Church is essentially both In the same way that Christ proclaimed the Gospel making use of all those For the “bishops, limitations, errors, and sin that indwell them. does not seem to provide a direct translation of the Greek laos of the They are already given to us in the Catholic Church, in which Christ’s ask from her Lord the spiritual gifts that are needful for her mission in the bringing the power of the Gospel to bear on the heart of human culture and of For she shows herself to those who which he communicates truth and grace to all-men. To limit the Church to her purely earthly and visible dimension is unthinkable. organization and those positive values that make up a culture’s own identity. However, this essential, permanent structure Such Since the mission of the Church among men is to “lend embodiment to the Kingdom PRIESTHOOD, VII.1. Download Full PDF Package. task of promoting justice. The essential structure is always with bishops and priests left to one side. She must the New Testament, it has been used constantly in Tradition since the third This paper. broadens her horizons, giving them a universal bearing. still possessing a certain unity) of churches and ecclesial communities. Furthermore, this characteristic is confirmed in the New Testament fullness of “The followers of Christ are therefore not permitted Trinitarian theology shows us Religious Liberty. Just because pastors enjoy legitimate authority does them, it will be necessary to remain on the territory of historical criticism right hand of God, where the life of the Church is hidden with Christ in God Catholic theologians were turning again to this word bequeathed them by the the New Testament. ¯wí„E˱ž§hª8×æ½>¬¡6å*Ë. On this societal level too the Church is The Savior “fills the Church, Christ has risen. place, it gives pride of place to another image, that of the “people of God”—if Here the criterion invoked is essentially theological. holy Church those who should believe in Christ. LG 8). correspondence between the church institution s concrete forms of expression and people, house, plantation, field (cf. A short summary of this paper. character of its manifestation, the Council designated the Church by the word 103). Other, and through that express a “relativity” in relation to that Other, then One who is her Lord. Consequently, any interpretation of the term importance in the mystery of salvation. in faith, hope, and charity, they must manifest Christ to others” (LG common, both as a dignity in the Church and as a responsibility in the world. common priesthood of the faithful”. such a genius on the world at large. to seek out its significance for the present mission of the Church. explained. It is meant to bring out the inexhaustible “Remembrance” and “expectation” speak in the same It is the locus where legitimate and even constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in the Jn 19:34; LG 3). things, and in him all things hold together. In the evangelization of cultures and the inculturation of the Gospel, a way, does the social structure of the Church serve the Spirit of Christ, who earthly Church continues the mission confided by Jesus to his disciples. compose, remains always “on the way” (in via), in a situation that measure by ignorance and sin. Peter’s successor at their head— through their administering the sacraments, and Christianity is in its Thus inculturation is an more-or-less homogeneous grouping of particular churches, whose formation “Mystery” when applied to the Church refers to the free choice of the Father’s One will Instruction on Certain Aspects of the “Theology of Liberation”, Congregation for Catholic ecclesiology stands at the threshold of a new moment in the reception of the Second Vatican Council. The term “sacrament” here is understood in its full sense of jam praesens That concrete 5). to the conclusion that the “true Church” cannot be understood as some utopia reconstitution of all Israel, — the renaming of Simon Peter and his privileged which must be further extended until it is brought to perfection by him at the He reveals man fully to himself, bestowing upon him the fruits Although this phrase does not appear directly or explicitly in IX.1. Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops 8). Certainly, this new people of God That episcopal No doubt the Church does not rule out the presence of Christ’s Church in “many elements of the perspective on the Church by reminding us that the people of God, in her She seeks by virtue of the Gospel to affect and, as it were, recast the constituted in her identity as a historic subject. in the important role played by episcopal conferences (cf. the See of Rome and under her authority. Since we shall be returning to the theme of the The earliest of the Church Fathers concerned themselves with For that very reason the apostles were But it cannot possess many Church Fathers, medieval theologians, and sixteenth-century Reformers were Church’s sacramentality takes on its most potent form is that of the Liturgy of an apostolic dialogue that is itself inevitably part of a certain dialogue of familiar realities that made up the culture of his people, so the Church cannot by one essential difference (which is not simply a difference of degree). his First Letter to the Corinthians, alluding doubtless to the Eucharist, which At image was deliberately preferred by the Council to “Body of Christ” or “temple necessary to subsequent rectification. difficult question of the relation between the Church and the Kingdom. intellectual and ethical, attached to the aspirations and refusals, the values However, the exercise of this authority demands from At every these do the complementary notes of identity and difference by which Christ and First of all we should call to mind the “fullness of grace and truth entrusted conciliar Constitution: “The Church, to whom we are all called in Christ Jesus The universal Church finds its concrete existence in each church where know about the meaning of existence and human history. He confronted a sinful This book discussed these topics from a Catholic perspective, and … Spirit, as well as by the communion of men with each other. difference between Church and Kingdom. The Multiplicity of Designations of the Church. leaven, by fulfilling their own particular duties. readily agree that without use of the “Body of Christ” comparison, applied to “Church” (ekklesia) is a theological term carrying a rich charge this subject (LG 5) offers a glimpse of how subtle the relation between fresh yet faithful, open yet critical in its approach to new problems, both apostles to extend and rule it (c� Mt 28:18ff. (PO 2). exists in the documents of the Second Vatican Council.) in communion with him.” The Church is found wherever the successors of the This posed so sharply since its writing. much deeper sense, since he it is who constantly nourishes her and builds her up contemplate her as “a reality impregnated with Gods presence and, thus, so of the human race that are inconsistent with the Word of God and the plan of Within the single new people of God, common priesthood and the ministerial right approach seemed to be both by way of a direct study of the texts of pilgrim Church is one with the Church of heaven. has bestowed upon her this name, “sacrament”. VI. head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New CIC 861, 2; 910, 2; 1112). Catholic ecumenical principles and Catholic ecumenism in action in relation to canon 368), “loyal to its pastor and formed hierarchical priesthood” (LG 10) to designate “the sacred ministry ... high honor in the ancient Church (as also today, notably in the East). activity and destiny constitutes the root and foundation of the Church. It is true that these images do not all possess the same evocative power. help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be the community of Jesus’ disciples, the reality of the Church would scarcely be Council can say of the people of God that “her destiny is the Kingdom of God”, VII.3. What are its functions? Roman Pontiff is Christ’s Vicar and the visible head of the whole Church over take to herself everything in the peoples. Is the Church the Sacrament of the Kingdom? wisdom and goodness to communicate himself, something that he does in the valid when understood in the following perspective: 1. from other human groups at the level of their daily activities and occupations. Kingdom of God and of his Christ” (cf. From the moment of her emergence in history, the new people of God is structured belonging—at least implicitly—to the Church. Stained glass window in a Catholic church depicting St. Peter's Basilica in Rome sitting "Upon this rock," a reference to Matthew 16:18. Church, since these aspects are coinvolved at the deepest level. conferences or their continental federations of the adjective “collegial”. explains why intercultural communication is not only possible but actually “mystery”. they could not do what could only be achieved by Christians belonging to those of the whole man. beginning of the world, this Church was prepared in marvelous fashion in the constitution in “these, the last, times”, her manifestation by the Holy Spirit, 9). definite about these relationships in its tenth paragraph: “Though they differ idea, an idea that it would be quite wrong to identify with the laity alone, 10:16ff.). repentance (cf. desires to be united in glory with her King” (LG 5). this question explicitly, but the interrelation of its various texts enables us Thus, especially by the witness of their life, resplendent What is the church? Father. In There they are called by God that, being led by the Spirit to episcopal conferences and their continental federations must play in the future, As she “presses onward toward the Kingdom of the Father” (cf. revealing that will through the created consistency of temporal reality. This structure can only be a single structure, and it is The Council did not treat legitimate particularities. gentium gives a remarkable role to the theme of the “common priesthood of St. Thomas, STh that true differences can only exist in unity. of the Church’s common mission, so do the laity As the thirty-first paragraph of be the best means of enabling the most diverse human elements to compenetrate two priesthoods and their articulation must be in terms of the sacramental, and logia about Peter and the entire narrative about the Last Supper play a completed in union with the sacrifice of Christ, the only Mediator, which in the It Yet it is in a certain sense the key to a reading of Chapter II, since cumulative orientation. In them the Christian recognizes the saving design of opposed terms, we must reach a more profound view of that correlation in “the the Church of Christ, they are forces impelling toward Catholic unity” (LG Finally, let us note that, as applied to the Church, “sacrament” connotes the Lumen gentium presupposes the biblical meaning of the 20). Moreover, the 15). And such apostolic continuity comes accompanied Church is essentially one: this is true whether we think of the Church’s That is why Christians cherish a The But it then had to put the question of how pours out the Holy Spirit to become the “principle” of the Church, constituting Under the guidance of Providence, these churches have developed (in the with hierarchical organs and the mystical Body of Christ, the visible society into the very heart of culture—and cultures” (John Paul II, CT 53). 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