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UNIT EIGHT

UNIT EIGHT. The 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.

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UNIT EIGHT

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  1. UNIT EIGHT The Church Is………

  2. 8.1 Review and Preview

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. Holy 3 aspects of faith and practice important in giving form to holiness • Sacraments • Evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and witness of those who live by them • Moral teachings of Church

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. The Church remains faithful to its apostolic nature in 3 ways • Recognizing it is built upon foundation of apostles • Adhering to foundation laid by apostles and written down in scripture and by faithfully interpreting, living, and teaching what the apostles taught • Accepting the continued guidance of the apostles through their successors, particularly through Peter’s successor, the pope

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. Unchanging Elements Within the Church • Three things within the Church which cannot and will not change: • Permanent body of dogma • Permanent ethic • Permanent constitution

  17. 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

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

  19. 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

  20. 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

  21. 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

  22. 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

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

  24. 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

  25. 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

  26. Church Fathers • Irenaeus • Clement of Alexandria • Tertullian • Origen • Established framework for Catholic theology and doctrine

  27. Church Fathers

  28. 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

  29. 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

  30. 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

  31. 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

  32. 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

  33. 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

  34. 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.

  35. 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

  36. 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

  37. 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.

  38. 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

  39. 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

  40. 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

  41. 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

  42. 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

  43. 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

  44. 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.

  45. 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

  46. History Key models and themes of the Church through major periods in Church history: • The Biblical Church • The Church Under Roman Rule • Christianity as the State Religion • The Barbarian Invasions and the Germanization of Christianity • The Middle Ages • The Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent • The Second Vatican Council and the Church in the Modern World

  47. 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

  48. 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

  49. 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.

  50. 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

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