The images through which the mysterious
12. The images through which the mysterious (divine-human) nature of the Church of Christ is illustrated in Sacred Scripture and in Tradition and the Characteristic marks of the Church.
Introduction: Our Roman
Catholicism is a Church of sacrament as well as of Scripture, of the living
experience of Christ preserved in a visible hierarchical structure. The Church,
in Christ, is in the nature of a sacrament. In 1546, the Council of Trent
defined that the gospel which Christ promulgated and ordered to be preached was
" The source of all saving truth and rule conduct and " that this
truth and rule are contained in the written books and unwritten traditions
which have come down to us, having been received by the apostles from the mouth
of Christ Himself or from the apostles by the dictation of the Holy Spirit, and
have been transmitted as it were from hand to hand.
1.3
Relationship between Tradition and S. Scripture:***
Council
of the Trent(1546): Trent
was formulating Catholic doctrine against reformers, but it was reflecting an
ancient Catholic and Orthodox belief in the relationship between Scripture and
traditions, between inspired writing and the Church's experience. Trent thus
rejected the Protestant tenet sola scriptura
"Scripture alone; and reasserted
the Church's role in preserving apostolic teaching" some Catholic
theologians began arguing that tradition was a source of revelation, separated
from scripture, but their position was not universal. So, John Carroll
(1735-1815), the first Catholic bishop of the United States wrote against them;
Tradition is the “living doctrine" of the Church, that we have always
asserted, the whole word of God, unwritten, as well as written, is the
Christian's rule of faith. “Tradition" was the word of God; delivered down
to us by the testimony of the fathers, and in the public doctrine of the
Catholic Church. He thus saw Scripture and tradition closely related.
Vatican Council 1 (1869-1870): Vatican 1 stated on the constitution on
the faith that "supernatural revelation was contained in the written books
and unwritten traditions." The council further declared that "all
those things are to be believed with divine and catholic faith which are
contained in the word of God, written or handed down (Verbo Dei
scriptoveltradito), and which the church either by a solemn judgment, or by her
ordinary and universal magisterium, proposes for belief as having been divinely
revealed.
Vatican Council II (1965): The council final constitution Dei
Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Re) declared: "Sacred tradition
and sacred Scripture make u0p a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which
is entrusted to the Church".
It belong to " the living teaching
office of the Church alone", however, to give " an authentic
interpretation of the word of God, whether in its written from or in the form
of tradition". But the constitution made it clear: “this magistereum is
not superior to the word of God, but is servant. It teaches only what has been
handed on to it."
While too many Catholics, Nat. Its
treatment of scripture and its relation to tradition was revolutionary; it was
in fact a return to an older theology and quite compatible with the teaching of
Trent.
Meaning of the
Church: In general understanding Church is the
A buliding for
Christian worship
Clergy or
officialdom of a religious body
Body or religious organazation of
believers
A compound where
Priest and nun lives
A community who believes Jesus as Son of God
or Christian faith
A group of people.
denominaiton
Clerical profession
Etymological
Meaning of Church: Church is an English term Comes from the Greek word Kuriakon which means Belong to the Lord”. We
find this word twice in NT (e.g. I Cor. 11:20 and Rev. 1:10). Greek word Eklesia is widely used in NT to indicate
Church. Among the Gospel Writers only Mathew used this word twice rest did not
(e.g. 16:18, 18:17). This term was used widely in the Greek Septuagint version
of OT and NT outside the Gospel. Ekklesia is a compound Greek
term from verb Ekkaleo when Ek is a prefix means ‘out’ and Kaleo means ‘to call’. So the meaning is call out
and its noun from would be a called out group, an assembly. Here we remember
Jesus called his 12 disciple to whom he entrusted the duty of the Church. The Word Ekklesia found only 114
times and 109 times it indicates the Church, 3 to general assembly and rest 2
other meaning. Church is the divine institute, community of the faithful of the
world. Ekklesia is the Greek term Translate for Hebrew Kahal (people of God) for Church. Though
kahal refers a non-religious gathering but in the Christian era it has a common
understanding of religious assembly. Four Criteria of Church used in the
Catholic Creed One. Holy. Catholic.
ApostolicConcept of Church in the Christian antiquity ♦ Diconia ♦
Koinonia ♦ Eucharistia
Real
Meaning of Church
Church is the
People of God, who incorporate through the sacrament of Baptism. It includes two
class of people Clargy and Laity ( code of canon) and three class of people and
Clargy, religious and Laity (LG).
Church is the Body
of Christ.
In the writing of St. paul specially in Romans and I Corinthians paul describe
how Christ is the head of the Church, here he uses the analogy of the part of
the human body.
Church is Inspired
by the Holy Spirit. By the coming down of the Holy Spirit Chruch beings and the
Spirit lives in the Church in and through its activity, sacraments etc. In the
Church Jesus is also present to the world as He promised to His disciples.
The Church is the
Building or Temple of God: Like a physical building, believers also have a Cornerstone; Jesus
Christ. The foundation is the prophets and apostles. (Matthew 16:16; 1
Corinthians 3:9-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:6; Ephesians 2:19-22).
The Church is the
Bride of Christ: The
Bible makes reference to the Church being the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians
11:2; Ephesians 5:25-32). This also alluded to in John 14:1-3 when Jesus talked
about making a place at His Father’s house for us. This is a direct reference
to when a man proposes to a woman and they are engaged. The man goes back to
his father’s house to build on an addition. When the addition is done and
everything is ready, he comes to call for his bride, which symbolizes the
resurrection (Matthew 25:1; Revelation 19:7-9).
The Church is a
Santifying Factor: Jesus’ incarnation was for the salvation of souls and Church today and always are taking the care of the soul so that it can fulfill the
mission of Christ as a body of Christ.
In brief we see the word Church used three different ways: First, as the body of Christ, the Church is often defined as a local assembly or group of believers (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:1-2). Second, it is defined as the body of individual living believers
Explain the images / models and show the
nature and characteristic signs of the Church of Christ.
The images of the Church: According to the Vatican II, the Church is a Mystery which cannot
see/touch but fill it. The Church which
exists in the world is changing. For this she is not outside of the change. But
the interesting thing is that being a part of this change and changing world
she claims to exist for the world. Therefore, she presents herself in a unique
way, which is considered as the Images of the Church.
A.
The Church is the Temple of God: In the history, Temple was very
precious and sacred for the Israel. Temple was: first of all a place where God
and human beings meet in a special way; secondly it was a privileged place
where God's presence was felt; thirdly it was a place where God manifested
Himself and finally temple was a place where God gathered His people. So before
discussing about the Church as Temple of God we first get the idea of the
Temple from the OT and NT.
1.
The theme of the Temple in Old Testament: At the time of the Patriarchs:
During this period there was no temple. But they felt the intervention of God
in their lives. Some of them erected altars, set up stones and anoint them so
as to mark the spot where they experience the presence of God to offer. That we
find in Gen. 12: 6-8; 13:4; 21:31; Ex. 3:5. For this some important places are
Sichem, Bethel, and Bersabee.
At the time of
Exodus and Moses: In this period we see that in the life of the
Israelites Moses became the meeting place of Yahweh and the Israelites. The
presence of God was upon Moses. “I will be with thee”, (Ex. 3:2; 33:14).
At the time of
Judges:
During the time of the Judges the ark was there but not much attention was
given to it.
At the time of
Kings:
During the time of Kings once again the Israelites experienced the special
nature of the Ark (cf. 1Sam 4:6) which the Philistines took it away and seven
month later the Israelites felt important of it and the ark was brought back
under king David. In this way during the
reign of King Solomon we see that built a temple (1 Kgs. 5:15 ff). The Ark was
placed at the centre that was the holy of holies.
During the
period of Prophets: Before exile the prophets’ attitude was towards the
temple and its worship. They all considerable the Temple and Zion as the
dwelling place of God. Later the city and the Temple were destroyed and they
were in exile. Isaiah in the 8th century had announced that the temple would be
the gathering point of humanity converted to the real faith (cf. Isa 2:1-4).
After the exile they reconstructed the temple that had begun in 536 BC. They
purified the temple in 167 BC and there was no Ark of the Covenant as it had
been destroyed in 586 BC. Thus the love of the Temple continued till the time
of Jesus.
2. The theme of the Temple in the New
Testament: Jesus and the Temple: It is evident from the Gospel that there
are many links of Jesus’ life with the Temple. From the presentation of infant
Jesus in the Temple up to the death event that the curtain of the temple was
tore into two pieces.
Jesus transcends
the Temple:
In the life of Jesus we see that through His words and deeds transcended the
temple that the religious system of the temple had come to an end and was
replaced by Him. While Jesus proclaimed that he was, “greater than the temple”
(Mt. 12:6).
Jesus himself is
the Temple:
In Jn. chap. 1 we find, the word become flesh and lived among us and we have
seen his glory, the glory as of a Father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
This is a new and the unique presence of God among the people. He declared,
Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (Jn. 2:19-21), this
means that Jesus was speaking of the temple of his body.
Christ’s Body is
the true Temple:
Jesus Christ announced the destruction of the Temple and also foretold his
death and resurrection. By this saying he alluded that by death and
resurrection, his body would be the true temple. This way in the person of
Jesus the temple is replaced and thus the sacrifice is also replaced.
B.
The Church is The Body of Christ: Among all the images of the Church the
Catholic tradition had particularly favored the image which Church as the body
of Christ. St Paul used this image and gradually devolved by the Fathers of the
Church.
The Pauline
Doctrine of the Body of Christ: The doctrine of the Church as the Body
of Christ was first proposed by St. Paul that all the believers have been made
one by their baptism into one body (1 Cori 12:13).
In the Tradition
of the Church:
In the middle ages the Fathers of the Church spoke the Church as the Body of
Christ. They used to speak the Mystical body of Christ that expresses something
hidden, mysterious, beyond human understanding.
Pope Boniface used this expression and identified the Mystical Body of
Christ with the Juridical Roman Catholic Church and taught that there was only
one head of the Church that is Jesus.
Pius XII's encyclical Mystical
Corpories, 1943: He spoke in his encyclical that the image of the Church as the
Mystical Body of Christ meant that its unity is neither physical nor merely moral;
it is given by Christ and is animated by an internal principal, the Holy
Spirit.
Vatican II and
the Mystical Body: Vat II declares “by communicating his Spirit, he
(Christ) mystically constituted his brethren, called from the nations, as his
body” (LG 7). In another way it can be said that as the human body is one yet
has many members, all the members however, forming only one body, so also
Christ and his Church. The one Christ and Spirit are the basic unity for this
body affected by baptism and Eucharist.
C.
The Church as Communion: The concept of communion is very suitable to
express the core of the mystery of the Church. It gives a complex sense but it
is a rich image of the Church. It can mean the act of sharing; similarity of
feelings, ideas or beliefs, mutual attraction and grouping together found on
this similarity.
`a.
God Himself is a Communion: God himself is the community of three
persons. The unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit draws every one
into a real communion. Hence the Universal Church is seen to be “a people
brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”
(LG 4). This is the sacred mystery of the Church as a communion. The
fundamental task of the Church is to call everyone to enter into communion with
God. For the faithful as the body of Christ participate in the Trinitarian life
of communion and love. This makes the Church koinonia(community) rooted
in, and sustained by the communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
b. Communion in
the New Testament: In the NT the word communion is called Koinoniawhich derives from koinosmeaning common, something shared
in or participated in. This word Koinoniawas
used in three senses.
c. Communion in
the early Centuries: In the early patristic era Koinoniawas connected with Eucharist which means thanksgiving. It
always gave a sign of communion that fostered the sense of communion in the
Church. The word communion does not mean merely similarity in faith but
Sacrament element is very important in the concept of communion. So for
Augustine the communion is Church herself. The Church is the Koinoniaof believers with God and with
on another. Later on it became a term denoting the link that formed the social
unity of the Christian community all over the world.
d. Communion in
the middle Ages:
In the early middle Ages, many writers thought that excommunication handed over
the person excommunicated to Satan. For this William Auvegne (+1249) gave a
distinction between the effects of sin and the effects of the sentence of
excommunication and only the sin could make a person excommunicated, not the decree
of excommunication. According to St. Bonaventure communion is threefold: 1.
Purely Spiritual 2. Corporal and 3.The communion of the reception of the
sacraments. On the other hand St. Thomas Aquinas agrees with Bonaventure.
Consequently excommunication affects the person in two ways that is the
Spiritual and the Corporal way.
e. Communion
according to Vatican II and the post conciliar period: The documents
of the Second Vatican Council made use of the word “communion” but the council
did not define the term communion. LG 7 teaches that the Eucharist brings us
into communion with Him and with one another. Communion is an internal,
invincible, sacramental and supernatural unity. Thus the Church is “a new
brotherly community” GS 32; it is a fellowship of life, charity and truth (LG
9, 26). The model of the Church as the “communion of the Faithfull” is
primarily a Post Conciliar one. In the final report of the Synod of the Bishops
in 1985 has given two models that the Church as Mystery and Communion which based
on the Sacred Scripture and was held in great honour in the ancient Church
right up to now.
D.
The Church as the People of God: It is one of the principal images of
the Church in the documents of Vatican II is the “the People of God”. This is the image that having its origin in
the OT where the Israel is considered as the people of God.
1. People of God
in the Old Testament: There are two terms were used to denote people on
the OT. The Hebrews were called am Yahweh
means God’s own people and the others, pagans and gentiles are Gojim. The Israelites are the members of
the same clan which has God as its head. This communion has been established
through covenant between God and the Patriarchs. And this covenant is
continuing process through the Kings, Judges, Prophets and at the end through
His own Son etc. So Israel, as God own people, is called and chosen for a
specific mission to become holy people and a service of others.
2. People of God
in the New Testament: The early Christian community did not consider
herself a distinct group from Israel but as an eschatological renewed Israel.
The community of disciples saw itself as the true Israel, the true people of
God. The Christian community in Jerusalem called itself the “Ekklesia of God” (cf. 1.Cor. 15:9; Gal.
1: 13). Paul teaches us through his writings that anyone who wishes to
participate in salvation must be a member of the people of God, must be a seed
of Abraham. All who believe in Christ are true seeds of Abraham and therefore
they are true people of God. The people of God in the OT were baptized into
Moses and were fed with Manna while in the NT are baptized into Christ and are
given Eucharist.
3. People of God
in the Tradition of the Church: In the early Church the model of the
people of God was frequently used with models such as Body of Christ, Bride of
Christ and so on. But this image had a special applicability to show the
continuity with the people of the OT. The Fathers of the Church used this model
to a great extend and after the fifth century, the image of the Church as the
people of God disappeared from the common usage.
4. People of God
in the Vatican II-Lumen Gentium: Chapter two of Lumen Gentium entitled
“The people of God” was the result of the intervention of the Commission of the
Co-ordination. LG- speaks of the new covenant and the new people of God and the
relationship between the two explains the ecclesial people-hood as a collective
participation in the kingship of Christ as a visible sacrament of the salvific
unity.
E.
The Church as the Servant of God for the World: Christ is the
Head of Church and Church is the body of Christ. As we know that Jesus is the
suffering Servant who caries the sin of human being and whose mission continues
today by the Church hence the Church too is servant, community for others. In
the OT anyone who has a special task to perform in accordance with Gods plan is
a servant like Abraham, Moses, and David etc. In the NT Jesus Himself is a
Servant of God, meek and humble who proclaims the Good news of salvation to
all. Most likely the apostles of Christ introduce himself as the servant of
Christ.
F.
The Church as the Sacrament of Christ: In general sense, Sacrament is the
visible signs of the invisible reality. The Church –the enduring presence of
Christ in world- is a basic sacrament, the sacrament, the sacrament o
Christ. We know all the action of Christ
is sacramental. But all the action of Church is not sacramental always. Since
church is not performing the action of Christ all the time that’s why some
actions are not sacramental. The action of Christ, which is performed by Christ
where Jesus is present, are called sacrament. For sacrament perception,
visibility is necessary. Jesus Christ is sacrament for all humanity and same
way Church is also sacrament. Church is the actual presence and activity of the
risen Lord. She is sacrament in as much as she is united with Christ as the body
of its head. Church is united that is not meant for the believers only but for
everybody. Church is sign of unity of God. Church is sacrament of unity and
hope. Church is the presence of Christ in this world. “The earthly Church is the visible
realization of Christ’s saving reality in history. The Church is a visible
communion of grace. Christ is now acting means it is the Church, which is
acting all the sacraments, instituted by Christ.
Conclusion:
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