01.

Explain on the basis of the NT how Jesus Christ Son of God inaugurated the Reign
of God, revealed the Father and Himself, and through His death, resurrection, ascension
and sending of the Holy Spirit completed His work.

OUTLINE:
INTRODUCTION

1.0 God’s kingdom and its nature

1.1 Meaning of the Kingdom of God

1.2 Nature of the Kingdom of God
1.2.1. Inaugurated by Jesus Christ is the reign of God in the
1.2.2. Eschatological rule as a future event and at the same time as a present reality.
1.2.3. Related to the Church
1.2.4. Moral conduct prerequisites
2. The reign of God
2.1 In the Scripture
2.1.1. Old Testament (Chosen race made into a nation)
2.1.2. New Testament (Messiah - “New heaven and New Earth.”)
2.1.2.1. The Synoptic Gospels
2.1.2.2. The Fourth Gospel

3. The Inauguration of God’s reign

3.1. Through His words
3.2. Witnessed

4. Revelation of the Father and Himself

4.1. Revelation of the Father
4.1.1. Through His words
4.1.2. Through His deeds

4.2. Self Revelation

4.2.1. Through His words
4.2.2. Through His deeds

5. Completion of His Mission through His death, Resurrection, ascension and the sending of The Holy
Spirit
5.1. Christ’s Death
5.2. Resurrection
5.3. Ascension
5.3.1. The completion of resurrection
5.3.2. The Beginning of Exaltation and Enthronement (Philippians 2:1ff) –
5.3.3. The Inauguration of the Ministry of Intercession
5.3.4. The Fulfillment of the Divine Mission
5.3.5. The filing of the all things (Ephesians 4:8-10) –
5.3.6. The promise of Bestowing of the Gift of the H/Spirit
5.3.7. The Opening up of Access for Believers –
5.3.8. The Start of the New Age –Parousia.

6. The Sending of the Holy Spirit

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CONCLUSION:

INTRODUCTION
Kingdom of God in Biblical terms used to express the redemptive presence of God. God
reigns whenever His will is Known, Honoured and Obeyed. According to GS 45, “…the church
has a single intention that God’s Kingdom may come and the salvation of the whole human race
come to pass”. We are called to share in a created way the very life of God’s vocation to be in
Friendship with God which was ceased by sin. But God intervened in history to win back
mankind to Himself. He sent His Son into the world for this purpose who inaugurated His
mission, i.e. establishing the Kingdom of God. If the cure of sin is the acceptance/rejection of
God’s will the basis of the Kingdom is the realization of God’s reign on earth. Proclaiming the
Father’s forgiveness, Christ called the sinful to conversion inviting them to the Kingdom by
accepting the Good News. Christ’s mission reached its fulfillment in His Paschal mystery: i.e.
Death, Resurrection and Ascension. When the work given to Him by His Father to do on the
earth was completed, the Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost to continue Christ’s work
through a community which He Himself gathered around Him during His earthly life. This
Christian community experienced the Kingdom in the New life as Christ granted through the
infusion of the Holy Spirit although this new life will be perfect only at the second coming of
Christ when all the just will reign with Christ forever.

1.0 God’s kingdom and its nature

1.1 Meaning of the Kingdom of God

The term, “kingdom” comes from Greek word βασιλεία, and translated from Hebrew
word, malkût, which means “reign”. Therefore, the basic meaning of the term is the reign of
God. It is sometimes referred as the reign of Christ. It should be noted that when the term
kingdom is used without any defining modifier, it is clear that the Kingdom of God is meant.
And that Kingdom is the object of the Gospel preached by Christ.
Nature of the Kingdom of God inaugurated by Jesus Christ is the reign of God in the
present and future. Jesus announces the eschatological rule as a future event and at the same time
as a present reality. The nature of the kingdom of God is related with the Church which Jesus
established and his disciples undertake the work of preaching and receive this power to establish
the kingdom on earth (Mt 28:18-19; Lk 10:9-11, 17-19,). Moral conduct is the condition to enter
to this kingdom. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom as eternal. By baptism one is invited in entering
the kingdom.

1.2 The reign of God

To establish the kingdom of god was Jesus central mission. The reign of this kingdom was
done through preaching and the deeds that Jesus did. According to LG 3, Jesus inaugurated the
church by preaching the Good News of the coming of the Kingdom of God. Although the term
Kingdom appears only in the New Testament, it has a deep root in the Old Testament.

1.2.1 Old Testament

In the Old Testament God is the King who rules over Israel, the nations and the entire
created order and His sovereign direction of history is manifested in the history of Israel. Israel
defined itself as a nation with kings as other nations; but Yahweh is their real King and the

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earthly Kings rule in Yahweh’s place and in His name. The basic elements of the notion of the
Kingdom of God in the Old Testament are that God is the King of all nations and over Israel in
particular on the basis of the covenant, and hope of the final end, the decisive coming of Yahweh
on behalf of people in the future in order to fulfil His promise made to the Fathers and Prophets.
The Key to the understanding of Jesus’ expression of the Kingdom of God is the Jewish
expectation of God’s coming. This expectation grew out of the failure of the Kings of the Israel
to act like God’s representatives and the experience of the oppression that the Israelites gathered
from the hands of various occupying powers/forces. In Jesus’ time the Romans were the
occupying force/ power. And there was a longing for freedom, for salvation, so that God would
come and Israel would be free.
Many associated the coming of God to save Israel with the idea of [Messianic Hope]
Messiah; the anointed one with the term originally referred the sample of the King of Israel who
was anointed as ruler over the people. In the course of time, this term i.e. Messiah has come to
signify a future great King who would free Israel from its persecutions and establish a reign of
justice and peace. This great King would be acting in God’s name and with God’s power. There
was also an apocalyptic outlook among the Jews: when the Messiah comes will end up all sorts
of oppressions, injustice and persecutions and establish a New heaven and New earth. Hence,
they looked toward a “New heaven and New Earth.”

1.2.2 New Testament understanding

The phrase “Kingdom of God” occurs 122 times in the New Testament as a whole. The
Kingdom of God which Jesus speaks here, is eschatological, stands more in the announcement of
salvation of the Souls. The basic message of Jesus about the Kingdom is that He announces the
eschatological kingdom as something close and even imminent, a reality existence of which can
already be detected and which is already active. All these accompanied his mission.

1.2.2.1 The Synoptic Gospels

In the Synoptic Gospels the term kingdom of God is frequently used to designate the
central message of the mission of Jesus Christ. And this is evident because, the phrase kingdom
of God occurs 99 times in the Synoptic Gospels and 90 of these 99 texts report the words of
Jesus.
Matthew by preference uses the phrase the Kingdom of heaven, reflecting the substitution
of heaven for the divine name. He shows that Jesus Christ proclaims the kingdom of Heaven
with just short sentences like, “….the Kingdom of heaven is near” (Mt 4:17), “Your Kingdom
come” (Mt 6:9-13). Also in the Beatitudes reflects the kingdom of God as a rehabilitation of the
faithful. These phrases underline the eschatological nature of the Kingdom of heaven. However,
in Matthew’s Gospel, the Jesus’ message of the coming of the Kingdom of God must be seen in
the context of mankind’s search for peace, freedom, justice, joy and life (Mt 3:15; 5:9; 6:33;
13:44; 21:32). Thus according to Matthew, Jesus is established as the heavenly Son of Man
through His condemnation and crucifixion, a transcendent King, who according to Daniel 7:13-
14 will share in God’s power and dominion.
Mark presents the core message of the Kingdom of God announced by Jesus (Mk 1:15).
He shows that the kingdom is the active presence of God who is healing people and restoring
them to human wholeness, in a powerful way, but hidden way. He also insists that the kingdom
of God points its fulfilment in the future (14:25).

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 In the Gospel of Luke, the Kingdom of God is summarized by the phrase: “Now is the
day of Salvation,” expressed in Lk 4:18-19, where by Jesus is anointed to announce the message
of God. Here, the old prophecies are fulfilled. It is in the Luke’s Gospel primarily Jesus reveals
the purpose of his mission, that He must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God (4:43).
Jesus Christ did extend His proclamation of the kingdom by sending the Twelve (9:2). Jesus also
did send other followers so as to go and proclaim the kingdom of God (Lk 9:60). Jesus gave the
condition of those who will inherit the Kingdom as those who are righteous (6:20).

1.2.2.2 The Fourth Gospel

The Fourth Gospel presents the teaching of Jesus Christ about the kingdom of God that is
actively present in Him as manifested in his words and actions. Jesus Christ made it clear that He
did not come to establish the earthly kingdom but rather the heavenly kingdom (Jn 18:36). One
can enter to this kingdom by being born from above, that is being baptized in water and spirit
(3:3-5).

2.0 The Inauguration of God’s reign

Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God, in one hand, the kingdom of God that is present.
“The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing” (Mt 11:12), and forceful people are
laying hold of it. A parallel verse, Lk 16:16, “the good news of the kingdom of God is being
preached and everyone is forcing his way into it.” What is important here is that these verses talk
about the kingdom as a present reality. This suggests that the kingdom’s advance in this age is,
for practical purposes, roughly equivalent to its proclamation. The kingdom already exists and it
is advancing by being preached. In Mk 10:15, Jesus indicates that the kingdom is something we
must receive in some way, apparently in this life. Also Jesus indicates that the kingdom is among
us. When the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom would come, Jesus said, “The kingdom of
God is within you” (Lk 17:21).
On the other hand, Jesus indicates the eschatological nature of the reign of God in the
prayer of Our Father. This is in the interpretation of “Your Kingdom come” (Mt 6:10), Lk
11:12). We read also in the words of Jesus that He will not drink of the fruit of the vine until that
day when he will drink it new in the kingdom of God (Mk. 14:25). Another clear example of
Jesus’ belief in a future, definitive coming of God’s kingly role, is represented under the
metaphor of a banquet (Mt 8:11-12). Finally, the heart of Jesus’ message is the beatitudes that
are the promise of the definitive coming of God as king who will bring to an end the present state
of things by revealing himself in all his power and glory. In the kingdom that he will establish,
he will vindicate those who unjustly suffer in this world (Mt 5:3-12; Lk 6:20-23).

2.1 Through His words

Jesus introduces the kingdom of God with the words; “the time is fulfilled, and the
Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk.1:14-15). With these words,
the Evangelist Mark describes the beginning of Jesus’ public activity and at the same time
specifies the essential content of his preaching.
Matthew, too, sums up Jesus’ activity in Galilee in similar terms: “and he went about all
Galilee, teaching in the Synagogues and curing all kinds of diseases and every infirmity among
people” (Mt 4:23; 9:35). Jesus gave the mandate of preaching the kingdom to his Apostles (Mt
10:7, Lk. 10:9-11) and Peter is the one who received the keys of the kingdom of God and
authority to decide who will enter into the future kingdom (Mt 16:19a). The sermon on the

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mountain gives the seekers of the kingdom moral qualification for one to enter into the kingdom
of God (Mt 5-7; Lk 6:20-49).

2.2 Witnessed
The term Kingdom appears 162 times in the Gospels and out of which 90 times on the lips of Jesus.
It is the point of reference of most of His parables, the subject of a large number of His sayings and the
content of His symbolic actions, such as the table-fellowship with the tax collectors and sinners, His
healing and exorcism. In His communication with the outcasts, Jesus lived out the Kingdom
demonstrating in actions, God’s unconditional love for the undeserving sinners. This incomprehensible
love, Eph. 3:18-19, became visible and tangible in the person of Jesus. “The Kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” cf. Mk.1:15. Conversion means to turn to someone; it means to
welcome, to accept Jesus as the centre of one’s life. This person becomes the decisive factor of salvation,
for the acceptance or rejection in this Kingdom.
Hence, just as He proclaimed the Kingdom of God; He witnessed to the Kingdom by His very
person and brought about the Kingdom by His deeds. Lumen Gentium no. 5. Jesus never defined the
Kingdom in a discursive language-Hence; He represented the message of the Kingdom in parables.

3.0 Revelation of the Father and Himself

It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal Himself and to make known the
mystery of his will (Eph 1:9). His will was that men should have access to the father, through
Christ. “After God had spoken many times and in various ways through the prophets, in these
last days He has spoken to us by a Son” (Heb 1:1-2).
Christ’s life and His teachings are the revelation of the Father and Himself, the
manifestation of God’s love among us. He is the Son of the Father, the Word-Son, of one being
with the Father. As a result, He himself said “whoever has seen me has seen the father” (Jn
14:9). Christ completed and perfected revelation and confirmed it with divine guarantees. He did
this by the total fact of his presence and self-manifestation by his words and works, signs and
miracles, but above all by his death and resurrection and finally by sending the Spirit of truth
(DV, 4).

3.1 The Father

Christ’s whole life is the manifestation of God’s love among us. Jesus Christ is the mouth
through which the Father has spoken the truth. He can reveal His Father, because He is the only
begotten son who is in the bosom of the Father. In reference to this fundamental truth of our
faith, it is by this revelation then, the deepest truth about God and the salvation of man shines out
for our sake in Christ, who is both the mediator and the fullness of all revelation. Here we have
the full dimension of Christ, the revelation of God, because this revelation of God is at the same
time the revelation of God’s salvific economy in regard to humanity and the world (DV, 2).

3.1.1 Through His words

The word of Jesus is of divine authority because it comes from the Father. Yet the
Father’s divine word is Jesus’ own, not that of an outsider as in the case of a prophetic message.
His absolute authority is based on His absolute dependence on His Father. “My teaching is not
my own but is from the one who sent me” (Jn 7:16). “I do nothing on my own, but I say only

5
what the Father taught me” (Jn 8:28). The book of Revelation goes one step further and shows
not only that Jesus’ word is a response and a witness to the Father, but that Jesus Himself is
“Amen”; His very person is the response, the faithful witness to the Father (Jn 3:14).

At the last supper Jesus Christ clearly declared, the person who sees me has seen the
Father. The Father stays in me and does His work, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me”
(Jn 14: 9). And the Father could say, “This is my beloved son listen to Him” (Mt 17:5; Lk 9:35;
Mk 9:7). Jesus uses the address “Abba”, Father, in most of His Prayers. In using this address in
most of His prayers, Jesus shows the awareness of a unique relationship with His Father.

3.1.2 Through His deeds

The miracles that Jesus performed revealed the Father. When a leper begged Jesus to cure
him, upon being cured, he surely saw God’s hand in what Jesus did (Lk 5:12-13). Also, at the
time of Lazarus’ death, the disciples must have felt the Father’s compassion when Jesus groaned
in the spirit and became troubled and gave way to tears. Though Jesus knew that he was going to
rise Lazarus, He felt the pain that was evident among Lazarus’ family and friends (Jn 11:32-
35, 40-43).
Moreover, Jesus reveals the Father through; the Cleansing of the Temple (Jn 2:16);
healing on the Sabbath in Jerusalem (Jn 5:1-18). And Jesus repeatedly claims that the Father has
sent Him (Jn 6:27; 8: 26). Jesus said that it is of no use to glorify himself but rather the Father is
the one who glorifies Him (Jn 8: 54), and at His Baptism God said that He is pleased by His son
(Mt 3:17).

3.2 Self Revelation

Jesus’ self-designation as Son of Man identifies Jesus as servant of God, who is handed
over into the hands of sinners in order to redeem us from our sins. Jesus revealed Himself as the
one who has come to fulfil the law of the Old Testament (Mt 5:17; 5:21f). Jesus Himself testified
that, “if you knew me, you would know my Father” (Jn. 8:19). Jesus showed His power given to
Him in heaven and on earth (Mt 28:18). He also revealed that, He is the gate of Heaven (Jn 14:7-
11). And therefore, He transcends the prophets and Kings of Old Testament (Mt 12:41; 17:3; Mk
9:4; Lk 9:30, 11:31).

3.2.1 Through His words

Jesus identifies Himself with the Father (Jn 14:9, 17:21). Christ claims equality with God
the Father, “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30). On the argument of Jesus and the Jews about
Him seen Abraham, in reply Jesus affirms his name as I AM (Jn 8:58). Parallel to the name God
identified Himself to Moses (Ex 3:14).
Hence, Jesus Himself supports the truth of His Divinity, His equality with the Father, and
His pre-existence. Jesus identifies Himself as the light of the world (Jn 8:12). Like Yahweh,
Jesus makes covenant with Man (Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20). He reveals himself as the true
light which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world (Jn.1:9), Jesus identifies himself as
the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14). He said of himself, I am the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6).

3.2.2 Through His deeds

God’s power present in Jesus is a power of merciful love that not only heals the sick but,
also goes after and forgives the repentant sinner. The power to forgive sins reveals Jesus Christ

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(Mt 9:2, Mk 2:5; Lk 5:20, 7:48). He is the judge of the world (Mt 12:26, 25:46). Jesus searches
out and calls whom He wills, with a sovereign freedom, while others who wish to join Him He
sends away (Mk 1:16-20); 2:14; 5:18-19; Lk 5:1-11; Jn 1:35-51). He taught them in the
synagogue and performed many miracles.

4. Completion of His Mission through His death, Resurrection, ascension and the
sending of The Holy Spirit
The Paschal mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection stands at the centre of the Good
News. Christianity began with the message of the resurrection of its founder. St. Paul proclaimed
that: “If Christ has not risen, his preaching and Christian faith would be in vain.” (Ref.) It is
resurrection of Christ above all, which confirms Christ’s mission and gives definitive proof of
His divinity.

4.1 Christ’s Death

Jesus approached death as a voluntary act. In fact he considered it to be necessary in
accordance with the divine will, but nevertheless when he undertook it he was fully conscious of
the cost (Mt16:21//Mk8:31//Lk 9:22). The death of Christ was seen to be directly related to the
remission of sins. No understanding of the passion is adequate which does not take full account
of this and does not seek it explain it. Jesus recognized that his death would be vicarious in the
sense that he was doing in the place of others. Moreover, the death was conceived as a sacrifice
with special links with the NC. In some respect it ratified the NC in the same way that sacrificial
blood ratified the OC (Mt 26:26-29//Mk14:22-25//Lk 22:15-20). Since the emphasis on death are
found within the context of the Kingdom (in the synoptics), it must be noted that the passion has
an eschatological aspect. The death was regarded as a necessary preclude to the full realization of
the Kingdom.
In Johannine Lit. There is undoubtedly the sacrificial character of Jesus death. As Lamb
of God, bread from heaven, and corn of wheat; Jesus must die as a sacrificial death. The
necessity of such a death is clearly seen at the ‘hour of destiny/glorification’. The death of Christ
is also related to ‘sin’ and to the overthrow of the devil (Jn12:13). The rest of the NT has a
similar conception of Jesus death as above. Relates the death of Christ to sacrifice and
substitution; redemption; the mediator and high priest; reconciliation and justification (Cf Acts
2:23; 10:43). No real understanding of the teaching of Jesus about Kingdom can be gained apart
from some understanding of his death. Since this had redemptive significance, Kingdom can be
properly understood in term of the redeemed community.

4.2 Resurrection
The resurrection expresses God’s satisfaction with what Christ has done. The exaltation
of the person is the vindication of his mission (Mt 16:21//Mk 8:31//Lk 9:22). If Christ had not
been raised there would have been no certainty that his death had effected anything. Man would,
as Paul says, still be in his sins (1 Cor15). The resurrection is seen, therefore, to be indispensable
to man’s salvation (Acts 1:3ff). Moreover, the conviction that Christ has continued interest in the
welfare of his people and intercedes for them depends on the resurrection (Heb 4:14; 7:23ff). His
exalted position reflected both in the titles assigned to him and the specific statements about his
session at God’s right hand, has a direct bearing on the present reality. His capacity for
effectively acting on behalf of his people in his continued ministry is as unlimited as his
sovereignty.

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 4.3 Ascension
The completion of resurrection – Ascension and exaltation form a separate concept which
sets out the heavenly status of Christ. As Conqueror of death he became the first fruits among his
people. But as ascended Christ he carries forward that resurrection triumph to an exalted ministry
on the part of his people. Resurrection without ascension would leave many essential aspects of
Christian truth uncounted for.
The Beginning of Exaltation and Enthronement (Philippians 2:1ff) – Jesus was highly
exalted and given the name of Lord highlights a significant and immediate result of the
ascension. The present position of Christ as sharing the throne of God is a source of
encouragement for believers; Christ is not only creator of the world, but also its upholder.
The Inauguration of the Ministry of Intercession – the work of mediation between God
and man depended on the entrance into heaven of the mediator, as the intercessory nature of
Jewish High Priest depended on his entrance to the holy holies.
The Fulfillment of the Divine Mission – the mission of Jesus on earth which began with
incarnation ended with the ascension. The main thrust of that mission was the atonement. The
ascension therefore, marks its completion. It is divine man returning to God; its God’s seal on the
whole mission of Christ.
The filing of the all things (Ephesians 4:8-10) – since all fullness of deity dwells in Christ
(Col 2:9), the idea of fullness is connected with the totality of God’s perfection. The filing of all
things by Christ is the gathering of all things into his own perfection, which could be achieved
only by the exalted Christ.
The Bestowing of the Gift of the H/Spirit – only when he was glorified would the spirit be
given (Jn 7:39; Eph 4:8). Pentecost could not come therefore, until after ascension (Acts 2:33).
The Opening up of Access for Believers – as a result of the resurrection Christ is declared
the first of those asleep (1 Cor 15:20). As such he implicates all believers in his own resurrection
and ascension. As he gained access to the Father, so will all.
The Start of the New Age – the present age is bound by two events: the beginning by the
ascension; and the conclusion by the Parousia.

4.4 The Sending of the Holy Spirit

Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God, was not merely imminent but was already
effective through his ministry (Mt 12:41). The Spirit also empowers Christ in his mission, an
anointing which was bound with his divine Sonship. Thus his mission and that of the Holy Spirit
are inseparably united. He also held out the promise of the spirit to sustain his disciples when
they experienced tribulations and trial in their turn (Mk 13:11 // Jn 14).
The mission of the H/Sp. Marks the beginning of the Christian life. In Acts the
outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost is the time when the disciples first experienced the ‘last
days’ for themselves, the time their fully Christian faith began. So Acts 2:38, the promise of the
gospel to the first inquirers centres on the Spirit, as a sign of acceptance by God. Similarly, in
Paul the gift of the Spirit is the beginning of Christian experience (Gal 3:2ff), another way of
describing the new relation of justification. One cannot belong to Christ unless one had the Spirit
(1Cor 6:17); once cannot share Christ’s sonship without sharing his Spirit.
In John, the Spirit from above is the power effecting new birth, for the Spirit is the giver
of life (Jn 6); bringing life to those who believes in him. In Acts Pentecost was a baptism in
Spirit into the new age (Acts 1:15), the birth of the church and its mission. But for John there is a

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 theological unity of the ‘death, resurrection, and ascension with the mission of the gift of the
Holy Spirit (20:21-23).
Luke and John focus attention particularly on the life of the Spirit as directed towards
mission (Acts 7:51; 8:29; John 16:8-11). The spirit is that power which bears witness to Christ.
The Spirit is most prominent in John as the Paraclete, the spirit of truth (Jn 14) which dwells in
the apostles, which the world does not know, which is sent by the Father and by Jesus. John 15,
proceeds from the Father: teaches, witnesses, convicts them of sin, justice and comes after Jesus,
remains forever revealing the true reality of Jesus. The Paraclete shares in the functions of Jesus,
but differs in that the Paraclete is in the continuing life of the church what Jesus is in its
foundation.

5. Conclusion:
*The Relation between the Kingdom of God and the Church
In the Gospels the term “Church” is found explicitly only in Matthew, although Luke speaks of it
in the ACTS.
Alfred Loisy: the Protestant theologian accused the Catholic Church, that Christ preached the
Kingdom of God but what came instead was unfortunately the Church. It is true that group of the disciples
when Jesus gathered around Him during His life on earth became what was called the church after His
death.
Traditionally: that the Church is said to be born from the pierced side of Christ and was
publicly manifested at Pentecost. In the Post-Easter period, Peter and Paul became the great founders of
the church.Gal.2:7-8.Peter and Paul seem to speak little about the Kingdom but much about the
Church.

5.1 What is the Relation between the Church and Kingdom?

A partial answer can be found in the words of our Lord to Peter. “Thou art Peter…” Mt. 16:18-
19. The words of our Lord, assert [state clearly] to connection between the Church and the Kingdom. The
leaders of the church hold the keys of the Kingdom, and hence, implicitly our relation with them has the
same bearing on our relationship to eternal destiny.
The church was publicly manifested and fully equipped for its mission on the day of Pentecost. In
the words of the second Vatican Council. “Church is a mystery. In it is realized the eternal plan of the
Father manifested in Jesus Christ to bring mankind to eternal glory.”
The church’s mission is therefore to reveal this hidden plan of God until the end of time.
Hence, “CHURCH” is not identical with the Kingdom of God, although it is the sacramental
sign of God’s presence and activity in history. It is privileged place “Locus” for the announcement of the
rule of God, still is to be fully realized. In the words of Vat. II.Lumen Gentium… she became on earth the
initial budding for the Kingdom. Hence, the Church does not replace the Kingdom, it is at the service of
the kingdom. The kingdom is present in the Church and the Church constantly makes it present. Thus,
although not identical with the Kingdom, the church makes it present in a particular way. Although the
Kingdom is God’s creation, yet it depends also in the church’s activity. All baptized are called to
cooperate with the Holy Spirit to bring about the kingdom in all its dimensions, personal and social.
Hence, we can say: although the church and the Kingdom are not identical, they are not
distinct. Church is the beginning of the kingdom to come, it did not reach its final stage which will
happen only at the end of time and one has to wait for it brings faithful to its message and then there will
be no church, but only Kingdom.

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 Church is not distinct from the Kingdom in the sense that is the beginning of the Kingdom in
its initial stage, an anticipation in time and place of the future glorious Kingdom, the Kingdom is
already present in the church.The church is the Kingdom present in mystery; it is the sign and
sacrament of the Kingdom.The church is kingdom in the world and the church is necessary so as the
Kingdom may remain in the world.

02. The salvific event of the incarnation and of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ Son
of God the Saviour; the essential elements of the Christological mystery in the dogmatic
formulations of the ancient councils.

Introduction
1. The Mystery of Incarnation
1.1. Scriptural foundation
1.1.1. OT (Is 7:14// Mt 1:23 = a virgin shall... God is with us. Jesus = God saves.
1.1.2. NT
1.1.2.1. The Gospels (Mt 1:21ff; Lk 2:11; 30; Jn 1:1-14. Also 3:16.
1.1.2.2. Other NT Writings(1Tim 1:15; cf Jn 3:17; Col.)
1.2. Tradition
1.2.1. Creed. Nicene Creed
1.2.2. The Fathers of the church St Augustine and St Anselm
1.2.3. Thomists
1.2.4. Scottists
2. The Paschal mystery of Jesus Christ the savior

2.1. Passion & Death

2.1.1. The Patristic
2.1.1.1. Various theories on the dogma of redemption
 Recapitulation theory of Irenaeus
 Ransom theory of clement of Alexandria.
2.1.2. The scholastics
 Satisfaction theory proposed by St. Anselm in the middle Ages perfected by
St. Thomas was generally accepted in the Church.
 Hypostatic Union
 The council of Trent
2.2. Resurrection (& Its redeeming value)
2.2.1. Basic truth of Christianity
2.2.2. Central theme of Apostolic preaching (1Cor. 15:4).
2.2.3. Vatican II teaches “the climax of God’s self-revelation (DV: 10).
2.3. Ascension
 The crowning & conclusion of our redemption. Inauguration of Apostolic ministry
3. (The Essential Elements of the) Christological mystery & the Dogmatic formulations of the ancient
councils
3.1. Several Christological heresies before ancient Councils
3.1.1. Ebionites: taught Jesus as only a man who was filled with the Holy Spirit at baptism.
3.1.2. Adoptionists: taught Jesus is not eternal Son of God, was adopted as Son of God to
become an exceptional bearer of divine grace. Therefore the Spirit acted in Him with this
divine power.
3.1.3. Moralism: taught Jesus was a mere moral teacher who inspired figure, like Socrates.

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 3.1.4. Docetism: taught Jesus was not man, He is divine only ‘appeared’ to be man; in line with
Gnosticism taught that God cannot assume the evil flesh. Therefore, Christ did not really
die as His body was a spiritual body.
3.1.5. Marcionism: argued that Christ was not born of a human being, the Virgin Mary and did
not die, He fled and it was Simon the Cyrene who was crucified.

In response before the councils, several church fathers tried to intervene:

3.1.6. Ignatius of Antioch: taught that our salvation depends on the reality of the humanity of
Christ; if Christ did not share our humanity, He cannot be our Saviour.
3.1.7. Iranaeus: against the heresies, taught Christ is truly God and Man for only God could
attain salvation for us;
3.1.8. Tertullian: taught Christ had a human soul so as to liberate our souls. Then the two
natures in Christ are united in one Person and not separated.
3.2. Major heresies
3.2.1. Modalism- Christ as a model of Father’s appearance
3.2.2. Subordinationism- Christ not equal to the father
3.2.3. Arianism by Arius taught that Christ is a creature, there was a time when He was not.
3.2.4. Nestorianism (Antiochean & Alexandrian Schools) & Ephesus (431) on the
humanity and divinity of Jesus and Motherhood of Mary
3.2.5. Monophysitism, by Eutychus and one nature of Jesus (divine nature only)
3.2.6. Monothelitism by Sergius on the will of Jesus –one will (divine will only)
3.3. The ancient councils
3.3.1. The Council of Nicea 325 A.D. Trinitarian & Christological against Arius
3.3.2. The council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. and Cyril aganist Nestorius -The mysterious union
of two natures in one person.
3.3.3. The Council of Chalcedon on Monophysitism (451) (the nature of Jesus)
3.3.4. The 3rd Council of Constantinopole on Monothylitism (the will of Christ)
CONCLUSION
On the occasion of the 15th centenary of Chalcedone in 1951, Pope Pius XII issued an encyclical
Sempiternus Rex and in 1972 the congregation for the Doctrine of Faith issued Mysterium Fidei. Both these
documents confined themselves by paraphrasing the doctrines of the early council and insisted continued validity.

Introduction
Jesus of Nazareth is the long expected Messiah, the Son of God in the true sense of the
word. He is the 2nd person of the Blessed Trinity who assumed a genuine nature & His human &
divine natures are hypostatically united in one divine person. We reflect on his doing and what
he did in relation to our salvation. What’s the purpose of incarnation? This is been pointed out by
john the Baptist. John Baptist pointed out to Him “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of
the world”. No one today seriously doubt about the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth. But
not only Jesus of Nazareth, He is Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed one of Yahweh, the one
foretold by the prophets whom the Jews eagerly waited for. He is more than this; He is the Lord,
true God from true God, one in being with the father. Christianity began when men and women
believed and confessed that Jesus is the Lord and “If you confess that Jesus is the Lord and
confess God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved from your sins” (Rom: 10: 9) We
profess in our creed that Jesus Christ the only Son of God was conceived by the power of the
Holy Spirit, was born of the Virgin Mary and became man for us and for our salvation. Belief in
the incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of the Christian faith, “To be a Christian
one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” CCC. 454.
2. The Mystery of Incarnation

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The church calls incarnation the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to
accomplish our salvation in it. Jesus Christ in one person, that one person is God; he is God who
assumed a genuine human nature. “Before Abraham I am”; he is the Word who became flesh.
The eternal person became man, and in becoming man the Word remained the Divine Person.
How can we understand his eternity and the new temporal character of his being after the
incarnation?
Incarnation is the divine action forming in the womb of Mary a human nature which
subsists in the person of the Word. This mysterious union of divine and human nature in the
person of the Word, is called Hypostatic union. The person of the Word is the point of contact
in uniting the human and divine nature. We cannot explain the way in which this union is
brought about, it is a mystery in the strict sense of the word, i.e. even after revelation, it remains
obscure.We have experience of two kinds of union in our finite world: accidental union and
substantial union. We have also an experience of two finite substances being combined into a
new substance as is the case with the soul and body in the human body forming one nature and
one person.
In Hypostatic union, two complete distinct natures, i.e. divine and human terminates in
one single person, the Word, already pre-existing. Thus Divine Logos possess simply both divine
and human nature without blending them. The two exist side-by-side, but find their unity in the
one person, the divine person. We have no experience of such unity other than revelation. The
Human nature of Jesus is not generated by the Father in the biological/ sexual sense. This nature
comes to existence through’ that act of incarnation.In virtue of the hypostatic union, in Jesus
meet & unite inseparably 2 movements: God to man (self communication, HS, grace & love); &,
man to God (obedience to covenant, sacrifice, Vicarial representation).God Himself is in man
Jesus the redeemer, but by, with & in the assumed humanity of Jesus. This humanity is the
adequate & immediate instrument & the means of the divine salvific will.Forgiveness of sins and
eternal life are confessed as the fruits of Christ’s life, death and resurrection.The Holy Scriptures
testify this fact.

2.1 OT
Is 7:14// Mt 1:23 = a virgin shall... God is with us. Jesus = God saves.

2.2 NT
2.2.1 The Gospels
The conception of man Jesus through’ the work of the Holy Spirit& His birth from the Virgin
Mary, Mt & Lk offer a new focus with a Christological which has as its point of departure the
humanity of Jesus. The incarnation narratives in Lk 1 and Mt 1-2, then compliments the prologue
to the Gospel of John: the eternal Word of God, the Logos of God, the Son of God, took flesh
and dwelt among men, we saw His glory, we drunk and ate with Him (1 Pt 1).
 His name Jesus indicates His redemptive work (Mt 1:21ff; Lk 2:11; 30).
 Jn 1:1ff especially v 14. Also 3:16.

2.2.2 Other NT Writings

Paul elaborates that Christ Jesus J came into the world to save sinners (1Tim 1:15; cf Jn 3:17)
In Hebrew 10:5-7: “Sacrifice and burnt offerings You did not deserve, but a body You prepared
for Me; behold, here I come to do Your will O God.” Hence this will of God Christ speaks about,
is the redemption of man. Their fore the incarnation of Jesus has to be seen from this perspective

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and so too all the mysteries of Christ; they are salvific: they reveal God’s love and they are
recapitulative, restores man to the original justice.

2.2.3 Tradition
The reality of salvation brought out by Christ was the heart of the Good News from the very
beginning and the Christians expressed this faith in the Creed. Nicene Creed testifies this; “who
for us & for our salvation descended from heaven & was made flesh”. – God became man in
order to save us. Hence the Fathers of the church are unanimous in teaching that incarnation was
solely to redeem mankind.
 St Augustine says that; Jesus came to save sinners. There was no other reason 4 His
coming into the world, except for redemption of mankind.
 St Anselm argued that the incarnation was absolutely necessary for our salvation while
Thomas says it was not, it was only convenient and useful, but God would have
reconciled man in many other ways but out of His love, He chose the incarnation of his
Son.
 However, there have been some controversy on this redemptive purpose of the incarnation
with the supposition that suppose man did not sin; the incarnation would have been for what
purpose?
- The Thomists argue that the incarnation would not have happened if man did not Fall,
sin then as a precondition to incarnation for Christ assumed human flesh out of God’s
mercy for the sinful man.
- On the other hand, the Scottists argue that even if man could not have fallen, the
incarnation as the eternal plan of God, could still have happened.
- God willed the incarnation before even man fell; we cannot imagine creation without
Christ, He is the center, Head and purpose of creation: all things were created in Him
and for Him; He is the beginning and end of whole creation according to the Pauline
corpus in Colossians.
- Then he would have still come in flesh but in a body not subjected to suffering
according to them.

3. The Paschal mystery of Jesus Christ the saviour

According to CCC no 571 the paschal mystery of Christ’s death on the cross & resurrection
stands at the centre of the Good News that the Apostles & the Church following them, are to
proclaim to the world. God’s saving plan was accomplished “once for all” (Hb 9:6) by the
redemptive death of His Son Jesus Christ.Nicene Creed: for our sake He was crucified... He
suffered death & was buried. On the 3rd day He rose again in accordance with scriptures.

3.1 Passion & Death

In his letter to Corinthians Paul says, Stumbling block to the Jews & folly to the Gentiles
but those called, the power & mystery of God (1Cor 1:23). We believe that, By His suffering &
death on the cross, He reconciled mankind with God. It is obviously that His redemptive activity
reached its climax in His sacrificial death on the cross. Hence His passion & death is the efficient
cause of our redemption. His voluntary death and obedience manifested in His death & love
expressed in His death. A voluntary implementation of the Father’s will, manifestation of His
obedience gives his death a sacrificial value & the root of which is Love. In obedience, Jesus

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converts his death into expiatory one.His death is the sacrifice in the proper sense. His infinite
love & obedience.“He was crucified, died, buried and on the third day He rose again”. The
Paschal mystery of Christ’s cross and resurrection is the centre of the Good News to be
proclaimed to the world.
Although all individual activity of Christ has a redemptive value, His redemptive activity
reached its zenith in the sacrificial death on the cross. Hence, by its excellence, but not
exclusively, the sacrifice on the cross is the efficient cause of our salvation. Christ’s death on the
cross was at the same time a Paschal sacrifice, which accomplished the definitive redemption of
man. He is the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. It is also a sacrifice of the
New Covenant which restores man the communion with God through the Blood poured out for
the forgiveness of sins. It is a unique sacrifice because it completes and surpasses all other
sacrifices and thus according to Trent, it became the source of our eternal salvation.
However since the faith in Christ as the redeemer of mankind has been universally
accepted by all Christians, we do not find any serious intervention of the Magisterium until the
Council of Trent. Against the reformers:
 The fathers of the church from the very beginning saw Christ’s death on the cross as a
sacrifice for the sins of mankind and held firmly that, men are reconciled with God through
Christ’s death on the cross.
 Various theories emerged during the Patristic period to explain the dogma of redemption,
such as Recapitulation theory of Irenaeus and the Ransom theory of clement of
Alexandria.
 The Satisfaction theory proposed by St. Anselm in the middle Ages perfected by St.
Thomas was generally accepted in the Church.
- Christ through His suffering and death rendered vicarious atonement to God for our
sins.
- The intrinsic infinite value of this atonement lies on the HYPOSTATIC UNION,
which surpasses the negative value of sin. “Wherever sin increased the Grace has
become super-abundantly…” (Rom. 5: 20)
 The council of Trent – taught that Christ offered His life on the cross as a sacrifice for our
salvation.

3.2 Resurrection (& Its redeeming value)

“On the third day, He rose from the dead.” He rose through His own power; the source of which
is the Hypostatic union. He foretold it, and the reality was proved by the empty tomb and by
many appearances. Resurrection of Christ is the basic truth of Christianity and was the central
theme of Apostolic preaching. “If Christ is not risen, our preaching is in vain and your faith also
is in vain.” (1Cor. 15:4).
From the apologetic point of view, it is the greatest of all miracles, the fulfilment of the
prophecies and the strongest proof of the truth of His teaching.For many centuries, the Western
theologians devoted greater attention to the death of Christ as an atoning event than the
resurrection. The New Testament especially St. Paul, saw both death and resurrection as atoning
acts. “Raised for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). We are saved by both His death and resurrection
and each of them contributing to our salvation in its own way:
- By His death, Christ liberated us from our sins.
- By His resurrection, He opened for us the way to new life, bringing redemption to its
perfection.

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 - If death is the efficient meritorious cause of our redemption, resurrection is the efficient
and exemplary cause of our justification.
There is a recent awareness of the importance of resurrection in our redemption. Vatican
II teaches “the climax of God’s self-revelation came with the crucified lord’s resurrection from
the death and sending out the Holy Spirit.” (DV: 10). By realizing the importance of resurrection,
we get a more balanced view of our redemption than a legal consideration in which the work of
Christ is imputed to the sinner, without being changed interiorly. If the resurrection is ignored, as
a cause of redemption, there is no explanation of the grace which changes man interiorly.
Resurrection of Christ is the principle, pledge and model of our resurrection.
The achievement of the New Testament was that faithful could believe in the divinity of
Christ, believing at the same time in one God. The effort of the primitive Christianity was to
show how one could reconcile faith in the divinity of Christ, with strict monotheism.Hence,
speculation of the early church was both Trinitarian and Christological.

3.3 Ascension
 The crowning & conclusion of our redemption.

4. (The Essential Elements of the) Christological mystery & the Dogmatic formulations
of the ancient councils
Christianity did not grow out of an idea that is shaped by a human mind but through a
Person who while living a human life, accomplished a divine work of human salvation: the
historical Jesus of Nazareth. New Testament presented Him as God & at the same time preserved
faith in one God. The Early Christians believed that they were saved by Him and so, Christology
developed along the lines of faith in Christ as the Redeemer Son of God. Fathers of the church
presented him as Logos who became flesh & dwelt among us. Thus can be worshipped.
By faith, Christ’s divinity is revealed through His human aspects perceived in the light of
faith. Therefore, the achievement of the New Testament was the presentation of Jesus as the Son
of God along the strict monotheism of the Old Testament belief in One God, i.e., Jesus as God’s
Logos who became flesh in the Virgin Mary, He is also God and deserves our worship.
Butt from the very beginning we see opposing tendencies in understanding Him. Some
insisted in his divinity (denying his humanity) while others on humanity (denying divinity).
Before the councils, several Christological heresies appeared:
- Ebionites: taught Jesus as only a man who was filled with the Holy Spirit at baptism.
- Adoptionists: taught Jesus is not eternal Son of God, was adopted as Son of God to
become an exceptional bearer of divine grace. Therefore the Spirit acted in Him with
this divine power.
- Moralism: taught Jesus was a mere moral teacher who inspired figure, like Socrates.
- Docetism: taught Jesus was not man, He is divine only ‘appeared’ to be man; in line
with Gnosticism taught that God cannot assume the evil flesh. Therefore, Christ did
not really die as His body was a spiritual body.
- Marcionism: argued that Christ was not born of a human being, the Virgin Mary and
did not die, He fled and it was Simon the Cyrene who was crucified.

In response before the councils, several church fathers tried to intervene:

15
 - Ignatius of Antioch: taught that our salvation depends on the reality of the humanity
of Christ; if Christ did not share our humanity, He cannot be our Saviour.
- Iranaeus: against the heresies, taught Christ is truly God and Man for only God could
attain salvation for us; therefore, Christ as God restored communion between God and
man. Christ again true Man as it is man’s duty to repent for his sins, but how could
sinful man go to God? Man needed a mediator who is both God and Man, then Christ
did not merely pass through Mary, He got humanity from her.
- Tertullian: taught Christ had a human soul so as to liberate our souls. Then the two
natures in Christ are united in one Person and not separated.
The Fathers of the church faced these challenges. On the principles, that only what is
assumed is saved, and we are saved by Christ.Therefore, he should have a human nature,
constituted for body and soul. As regards, his divinity he is our Saviour, if He is not God He
cannot save us.

4.1 Arianism & Nicaea (325)

In trying to reconcile the divinity of Christ with the oneness of God, some considered
Him as a special appearance or mode of the Father, leading to the heresy of Modalism. Others,
insisting on His humanity ended up in ‘Subordinationism’, reaching its climax in Arianism.
Arius taught that Christ is a creature, the first creature of God, through whom God created all
other things. Hence, there was a time when He was not “FuitQuando non Fuit”

The Council of Nicea 325 A.D. condemned Arius and taught that: Christ is One in
Substance with the Father. “Homoousios” and thus the divinity of Christ was unambiguously
defined in the first ecumenical council of the church. Although this council was a Trinitarian
council, it provided basis for the future Christological discussion.

4.2 Nestorianism (Antiochean& Alexandrian Schools) & Ephesus (431)

If Christ is one in being with the father, how can he be a real man at the same time? In answer to
this two schools emerged– Antiochean and Alexandrian Schools – both had the task to show,
Christ as truly human and truly divine.
- According to Antiochean Christology the eternal Word assumed the man Jesus –
Word man – while the Alexandrian school following the Johannine theme taught
that the Word became flesh – Word flesh.
Going to the extremes the Antiochean School denied the unity of person and ended up in
Nestorianism, while the Alexandrian school denied the duality of nature, ending up in
Monophysitism. Decades passed before it became clear that the reference of the union should be
sought in the person and not in the nature. Nestorius a Syrian became the patriarch of
Constantinople. According to him: As there are two natures in Christ there is also two distinct
persons in Him, One divine and the other human. These persons are intimately united, but only a
moral and accidental union and Mary is only the Mother of the human person-Christotokos and
not Theotokos (Mother of God).
This doctrine of Nestorius was opposed byCyril, bishop of Alexandria who came against
Nestorius and the controversy led to the convocation of the council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. The
council condemned the teaching of Nestorius and taught that:There is only one person in Jesus
Christ that is the divine person and that human and divine natures of Christ are hypostatically
united and Mary was declared Theotokos. The two complete natures terminating in one sole

16
 person, the already pre-existing Word. Thus, Christ’s human nature and divine nature enter into a
mysterious kind of union, a physical and substantial union, and not merely a moral and accidental
in which neither of them looses its substantial existence. The divine logos simply posses both
divine and human nature without blending them together and we have no experience of such a
union other than revelation - The mysterious union of two natures in one person.
The Council of Ephesus was a complete victory of the Alexandrian school against the
AntiocheanSchool, hence for the unity of the church. Cyril and John, the bishop of Antioch agreed
upon a union formula where Theotokos was admitted and the two natures in Christ was
emphasized.

4.3 Monophysitism& Chalcedon (451)

After the death of Cyril, Eutychus, a monk from Constantinople, rejected the union
formula.He insisted that as there is unity in person, so also there is a unity in natures and taught
that there is only one nature in Christ, the divine nature and the human nature is absorbed by the
divine nature – Monophysitism. Eutychus got support from Dioscorus, the successor of Cyril.
However Flavian, the patriarch of Constantinople condemned Eutychus. But Eutychus
had support from the emperor who convened a council at Ephesus in 449 A.D and condemned
Flavian, and the council was qualified by Pope Leo the Great, as “Robber synod.” After the death
of emperor Theodosius II in 450 A.D, his successor Marcion convened the council at Chalcedon
in 451 A.D. A well-attended council about 600 bishops and participated. Eutychus was
condemned and sent into exile. The teaching of the council of Nicea was reaffirmed and the
council of Ephesus was clarified.
The council affirmed the duality of natures in Christ:In the Hypostatic union each of the
two natures of Christ continues unimpaired, untransformed and unmixed with one another. Thus
we see in the council of Chalcedone the classical formulation of the Christological doctrine.

4.4 Monothelitism& 3 Constantinople

In order to pacify the monophysitesSergius, the patriarch of Constantinople coined a
formula and taught that:Although Christ has two natures He has only one divine will that is the
Divine Will and one operation. Emperor Heraclius supported Sergius for the sake of the unity of the
kingdom.
Sophornius, bishop of Jerusalem rejected this teaching and a fierce controversy arose.
The matter was finally solved in the third council of Constantinople in 680, where by
Monothelitism was condemned and the council taught that each of the natures in Christ possess its
own natural will and its own mode of co-operation. This teaching does not add anything new to the
content of the council of Chalcedone. For two natures, which were affirmed in the council of
Chalcedone, implies two wills also. But it is an important explication and defence of the
Chalcedonian doctrine.
Thus with the third council of Constantinople the doctrine of the church concerning the
mystery of the incarnate Word was substantially clarified.

Conclusion
Since the publication of the encyclical Sempitermus Rex, a new interest was initiated in
Christology especially by Karl Rahner:In his work, “Chalcedone an end or beginning” he attempted

17
to see greater insights in the teaching of Chalcedone, which paved the way for a Christology from
below, a Christology starting from the historical figure of Jesus an ascending
Christology.Essentially incarnation is a descending movement, which is from above for it is the
Word that became man and not man who became Word.
But actually the object of Christianity was the historical Jesus and Jesus of history was
the starting point of Christianity, one became like us in all things except sin and his divinity was
revealed by his humanity. Hence, one has to start from the human aspect of Christ in order to
discover him.

Before & After Vat II

On the occasion of the 15th centenary of Chalcedone in 1951, Pope Pius XII issued an
encyclical Sempiternus Rex.
 In 1972 the congregation for the Doctrine of Faith issued MysteriumFidei.
 Both these documents confined themselves by paraphrasing the doctrines of the early council
and insisted continued validity.
All in all:Son of God became man in order to redeem men.Christ established again the
relationship of men with God broken by sin in accepting on him being innocent, our sins on our
behalf, in burying them with him in his death & in revealing & making accessible in his
resurrection, the new life in communion with God in love (Rom 4:25; 8:3; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13;
Hb 4:15).
Hence it isGod Himself is the sovereign subject of redemption. He acts in his incarnated
word, Jesus Christ through whom he reconciles himself with the world.Incarnation of the eternal
word & the revelation of the new justice & new glory of God in the creation is a response of God
to the disturbance of the ordoiustitiae.Through incarnation God himself put in the place of man
in the free will of man Jesus & converted like this in reality, the new order of Justice, coz J
recognizes & admits, representing all, the honour& the glory of God in the world.John 3:16 =
For God so loved the world...

03. Beginning with the opinion of the Church Fathers indicate the “traces” of the
Trinitarian mystery in the OT, the synthesis of what is revealed in the NT in this regard
and the clarifications proposed and promulgated in Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381).

INTRODUCTION
 By the Blessed Trinity we mean the mystery of one God in three persons, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, each subsisting distinct in the same identical divine nature.
 This is a Mystery in the strict sense of the word because clearly we are stating a truth which
is above or beyond reason, when we say that in the same divine nature there are three distinct
persons. We can never know it unless it is revealed.

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 Trinitarian theology is centered on the theme of the self-revelation of God in the history of
salvation which we call “Economic Trinity”, and of the Unique God, the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit which is called “Immanent Trinity”.
 The Economic Trinity – salvation history - is the basis of the knowledge of the Immanent
Trinity – intra Divina – while the Immanent Trinity is the fundamental basis of the Economic
Trinity.
 It is the center of Christian faith and love, for it is the mystery of inner life of God and the
source of all mysteries. It enlightens other mysteries of Christian faith.
 The Problem existed from the very beginning. The Christian faith was confessing from the
very beginning that the revealed God is Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, yet, One God. It
was also confessing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God made man, born in time as man and
yet existed in eternity with the Father. This faith was revealed by the sacred scripture and
expressed in Trinitarian structure of the various confessions of Baptism faith confronted with
the challenges which was posed by following questions:
a) If God is absolute, why shouldn’t He remain absolutely one?
b) How is it possible that a revealed God be Father, Son & Holy Spirit & yet remain
invisibly one?
c) How is it possible that God who is absolutely one, be united with finite being through
incarnation?
 The monotheistic idea of God was a faith inherited by the Church from Jews, it was preserved in
the Bible and pertinacious defended against the heathen.
 The problem was not simply whether Jesus Christ is God but how within the monotheistic
system which the Church inherited from the Jews, preserved in the Bible, and pertinacious
defended against the heathen, it was still possible to maintain the unity of God in 3 divine
persons..
 In fact the problem was: should we maintain monotheism, or specifically, how to maintain
monotheism, a doctrine inherited from Judaism which was preserved in the Bible.

1. TRACES OF THE TRINITARIAN MYSTERY IN THE BIBLE

1.1 Traces in the Old Testament:
 It was the peculiar glory of the Jews, as God’s own chosen people, to have preserved upon
the earth, among the surrounding polytheism, the worship of the One God; and consequently
the idea of a trinity of divine persons would be alien to their natural outlook.
 We do expect that the OT world had the exact precise declaration on the Trinity, rather they
are only a veiled allusion to this mystery.
 The mystery of the Blessed Trinity was not formally revealed in the Old Testament, but this
Christian doctrine is foreshadowed on many pages of the Old Testament.
 Some Fathers of the church saw a foreshadowing of the mystery in the use of plural form
when speaking about God: “Let us make man in our image (Gen 1:26):
- Ireneaus – interpreted this in the light of the NT – first person speaking to the second and
third. But we can say that plural form is for the name of God, Elohim.
- Others say it is a majestic plural and others it is a literary device used by sacred writers.
 Angel of Yahweh in the OT Theophanies, El and Elohim, thus there two persons He who
sends and the one who is sent (Gen 16; Ex 3); and the Messianic prophecies presuppose that
there is a distinction of persons in God, “sent by God as God and Son of God”. You are my

19
 son today I have begotten you (cf. Ps 2:7; Is 9; Mal 3) – Church Fathers interpreted it as
“divine logos”.
 Wisdom books speak of divine wisdom as “hypostasis” with Yahweh. He proceeds from the
Father from eternity (Prov 8). In the light of NT we can see this as allusion to the divine
person.
 The OT also speaks to us frequently of the “Spirit of God” – this expression does not refer to
a divine person but expresses a virtue of proceeding from God. However, Fathers and Liturgy
applied this to the person of the Holy Spirit (Ezk 36; Is 11; Wis 1).
 Some see in the light of NT an insinuation of the three persons in the trisagius of Isaiah 6:3
and in the triple priestly blessing of Numbers 6:23
 They are to be understood as “vestiges” or in the words of the CCC “traces” of the mystery
that too, only in the light of the perfect revelation in the N.T.

1.2 The full Revelation of the Trinitarian mystery in the New Testament:
1.2.1 In the Synoptics
 Christ the divine teacher revealed this mystery not all of a sudden. He developed the meaning
of the Old Testament concept of God, extended it slowly to himself, and finally to the Holy
Spirit. The most important texts are the following:
- The narrative of annunciation (Lk. 1:35) “ the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the
power of the Most High shall overshadow you and therefore the Holy one who shall be
born of thee shall be called Son of God/Son of the Most High.” three persons are clearly
mentioned.
- Theophany after baptism (Mt. 3:16). “The spirit of God descended upon Him and the
voice from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Beloved
son in biblical language means Only Son.
- Commissioning of eleven (Mt. 28:19). Here it is clearly revealed in the mandate Jesus
gives his apostles before his ascension, go and teach all nations in the name of the
Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Here distinct persons are indicated in the
singular form “ in the name” not in the names plus the repeated use of the conjunction
“and” and the definite article “in the name” manifested the mystery of the Blessed
Trinity.

1.2.2 John & Other NT writings

 In John: During the last supper (Jn. 14:16) Jesus promises another helper, the Holy Spirit
whom He and His Father will send. The Holy Spirit who is sent is clearly distinguished as a
person from the Father and the Son who sent Him.
 Letters of Apostles
- St. Peter uses the Trinitarian formula of blessing in the beginning of his first letter and
St. Paul concludes second letter to Corinthians with the Trinitarian blessing. “the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2Cor. 13:13).
- The “Joannine Comma loanneum” (I John. 5:7) clearly expresses the 3-personalities
and unity of God, although its authenticity is disputed. It can be considered at least an
expression of church belief.
- After the Easter is when the apostles understood Jesus as the Son of God. But we can
conclude that in the NT in the Son and Holy Spirit, God is manifested: God is a
community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

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 2. PRE-NICENE
 Problem in Pre-Nicene: at times son thought to be Spirit (Binarian System: Father & Son).
 The Church fathers confronted the heretical views such as Gnosticism, Marcionism,
Monarchianism (Modalism & Patri – passions), Adoptionists, etc. These were early Church
Fathers from beginning of Christianity to the time of the creation of the Nicene creed.
 The solutions given are based on two cultures, namely, Jewish & Hellenistic. That is to say,
the solutions given were influenced either by Jewish ideas or Hellenistic ideas.

2.1 Jewish idea

2.1.1 Judeo-Christians
 Came from Judeo-Christians. Some ended up being heretical. For instance, the Ebionites, who
tried to answer the question who Jesus is. For them, Jesus was the elect of God and a true
prophet, but they denied his virginal and eternal pre-existence. The Son was created as one of the
archangels who rule over the other angels and over creatures of this world. This heavenly
archangel descended upon Jesus the man. His primary mission in coming to the earth was to end
the Old Testament priesthood. Jesus earned his name of Christ by fulfilling the law and the law
remained the true way to salvation.

2.1.2 Name
 Some fathers used the OT images to describe who Christ is. They began with Jewish meaning of
names. That is, what it means by name: according to them, it means a person, power & nature of
an individual person.
 For the Jews, name meant more than a mere name in our modern sense, but the person, power
and nature of the one named; it meant for the Jews what being meant for the Greeks. For the
Jews, the name of God was glorious, through the name mankind is delivered, one trusts in the
name of God.

2.1.2.1 Shepherd of Hermas (96 AD) – Apostolic Fathers

 Name Son of God is great & incomprehensible. It implies complete transcendence & pre-
existence of invisible part of Jesus, only begotten Son. Sustain the whole cosmos &
foundation & support of all who bears his name.
 This name is present in Christian as a result of Baptism and confession of faith. This name of
Christ is the door to salvation to those who receive his name. Thus, by the use of the name, the
author of the shepherd of Hermas established distinction within God and somewhat vaguely
allowed the foundation of a Trinitarian. Yet, for him God not the Son founded the Church, it is
God not the Son who comes at last judgment.
 The Trinity for Hermas seems to consist of God the Father, of a second divine person, the H
Spirit, whom he identifies with the Son of God, & finally the savior, who was elevated to be
their companion as reward of his merits (cf. J. Quasten, Vol 1, 100).

2.1.2.2 Justin, the Martyr (110-165 AD) – Apologetic Father

 In his dialos. He is the one who identifies Jesus with the law, the Torah in the sense that it’s
active as God establishing laws. Jesus is law & covenant. Influenced by Jewish ideas to

21
 explain the significance of the son. He called Jesus Christ at the same time law and covenant
in his existence. He said it was prophesized that Christ the Son of God was to be an eternal
law and a new covenant for the whole world.
 The main legacy of Justin Martyr is the defence and explanation of Christian Faith and
practice. Justin struggled with the concept Logos in relation to the Father. In his Dialogue
with Trypho(63, 5), the Logos is with the Father before all creatures, put forth as an offspring,
and is divine. He is adorable, he is God (Cf. G. S. SLOYAN, 34). Moreover, Justin the
martyr calls the Logos God’s “child,” his “offspring,” and his “sole begotten.” Finally, Justin
concludes by saying, “…the Father and the Son are not separated thereby.”

2.1.3 Angel Christology

 This view tried to explain the transcendence of Christ by angel Christology – Kristos
Angelos. Explaining this in economy of salvation.
 It tried to explain the function of Christ in the economy of salvation but soon it was seen as
insufficient to express his triune nature. For the Jews, angel Michael was the supreme leader of
the heavenly host and the Son of God is like Michael but more, for he is the way to God even for
the angels.

2.2 Hellenistic Ideas

 They were influence by Hellenistic Culture & thinking (philosophy).
 Influenced most of the Church Fathers, who confronted some Heresies which were as a result
of Hellenistic philosophy.

2.2.1 Adoptionists
 They taught that Jesus is not the eternal Son of God he was adopted as son of God to become
exceptional bearer of divine grace. Therefore the spirit acted in him with his divine power.

2.2.2 Gnostics
 Tried to explain trinity, divine persons as divine entities. Believed that Jesus came as
representative of the supreme Divine Being. They argued that the three persons are the divine
entities. In response to this heresy, Irenaeus said the Father is increate and invisible.

2.2.3 Monarchianism
 They taught that God was rigorous monarch that is only indivisible; originating foundation of
all, the autonomy of the son was overshadowed.

2.3 Irenaeus of Lyons (177-200 AD): Salvation history conception

 His great work AdversusHaeresus i.e against the heresies was directed to refute Gnostics and
he found Christian theology. His inquisitive mind, knowledge in scriptures and depth of faith
merited him the title, the father of Catholic theology. On trinity, Irenaeus declared that: God
the Father, not made, not material, invisible, one God, the creator of all things. The Word of
God, Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord through whom all things were made. The Holy Spirit
through whom the prophets prophesied…was poured…upon mankind in all the Earth,
renewing man to God (Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, no. 6). That is, God of OT,
of Gospel & God attainable through reason are all one & the same God.

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 1st article of our faith: God the Father increate & engendered; invisible, one & only deity
creator of universe.
 Although he doesn’t discuss relationships of the 2 divine persons within God, he is
convinced that the existence of Father, Son & H Spirit is clearly proved in the history of
mankind (J. Quasten, Vol 1, 294).
 From the point of view of universal salvation history, explains how in his salvific actions
from the creation to eschatological consummation God reveals both his essential unity as
well as the differences between the Father, Son and H. Spirit.
 The Son and Spirit are like two hands of God and they belong to divine essence. Thru them
God brings into being the creation thru the hands and thru them to the end.
 The whole economy of salvation in OT is an excellent instruction regarding 3 persons in one
God (J. Quasten, Vol 1, 295). Incarnation is where the Trinity is clearly revealed.

2.4 Tertullian (160-220 AD)

 Coined the words/ terms substance & person into the trinity. Substance connotes divine
essence, that which God is in concrete... share in same divine nature. Person (Latin persona/
Gk prosopon: mask/ face), concrete presentation of individual. Meant otherness or
independency.
 He is the one who introduced most of the technical and important terms in the occidental
theology. He distinguished between the unity of the Trinity and One substance three persons.
 He was the first to use the term Trinitas and the formula which came to express true faith in
the Triune God, one substance, three persons (cf. J. Quasten, Vol 2, 286). His main teaching
on Holy Trinity is this:
The Trinity derives from unity in itself in the sense that God is not just single, but
one… not an entity closed in himself but a reality in process, a self distribution
constituting second and third persons who form part of God’s substance and action.
These two persons are distinct but not divided, different but not separate. There is
an order in the Holy Trinity: the Father is the totality of the divine substance, the
Son and the Holy Spirit are persons of this substantial whole.
 Against polytheism he defended the uniqueness of God and unity – it is the same God who
reveals himself like Creator, like God of Israel and like Father of Jesus.
 The immanent Trinity is the presupposition of Economic Trinity and is revealed in it. It is
thru the Economic Trinity we come to know the relative differences between the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit and his autonomy and personal substance.
 Criticised: More on sensible reality.

2.5 Hippolytus
 Uses creation. Generation of the Word was a progressive development; Word appeared as
Son at time determined by Father. Development was in following stages:
a) When God was existing alone but in plurality coz all time He was with his reason,
counsel, power & wisdom. Started determining to create the world.
b) Begot the word when he determined in creating the world through whom all things came
to be (not yet out).
c) God made Word visible (visibility) by uttering him & begetting him as light in light,
manifested in people & capable of being seen. Thus appeared another beside God himself

23
 but not another God but light from light, word from God as water from fountain who
came into world. Manifested as perfect son of God only when he took flesh.

2.6 Novatian (anti-pope)

 Since son is begotten from Father, he’s always in Father, otherwise he will not always be
Father. Yet Father is antecedent to son & coz son is in Father, he must be less than Father.
 Conceived a kind of circular movement whereby the power of divinity transmitted to son
returns/ comes back to son.

2.7 Dionysius of Alexandria

 In his refutation & apology with reference to the relation of the Father to the Son, which was
the main point in the Trinitarian controversy, states that there certainly was not a time when
God was not the Father (cf. J. Quasten, Vol 2, 105). Since, therefore, the Father is eternal, the
Son is also eternal, Light from Light (J. Quasten, Vol 2, 105 – 106).

2.8 Origen
 st
1 Theologian of Holy Trinity.
 Father is called ho Theos, the God; while son is simply Theos, God by participation &
sharing in the Father’s divinity (arranged in some kind of subordination). Father is greater
than the son (as attested by Jn).
 Against Gnostic dualism and modalism he taught – Unity of One God in Three Persons.
 The source of the divinity is the Father; and the Logos is the Second God as received from
the Father, and the Spirit is the sharer of the divinity of the Father and the Son.

3. NICENE FATHERS
 Around council of Nicaea.
 The beginning of Trinitarian controversy.

3.1 Arianism
 Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius (ca. AD 250–336), a Christian
presbyter in Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of God the Father to the Son of
God, Jesus Christ. Arius asserted that the Son of God was a subordinate entity to God the
Father.
 The Arian concept of Christ is that the Son of God did not always exist, but was created by,
and is therefore distinct from God the Father. Arius taught that God the Father and the Son
did not exist together eternally.
 He insisted on the absolute transcendence and unicity of God who is himself without source but
is the source of all reality. Since the essence of God is transcendental, unique and indivisible and
ingenerated, it cannot be shared.
3.2 The Council of Nicaea (325)
 Condemned Arianism and declared that the Son is ‘consubstantial – homoousios - with the
Father.
 It was the council convoked in Ancyra but later transferred to Nicaea. Around 318 bishops were
present and the aim was to end the Arian controversy and as the result of it the Nicene Creed,

24
 decree on exact date of Easter, 20 Canons concerning ecclesiastical disciplines and synodal
communicating the results of the council to be sent to main Churches were passed.
 As a solution to Nicaea Council the Nicene Creed was introduced. The Nicene Creed's central
term, used to describe the relationship between the Father and the Son, is Homoousios
(Ancient Greek: ὁμοούσιος), or Consubstantiality, meaning "of the same substance" or "of one
being".
 Every local Church had its own creed based on the short formulae of faith patterned after those
found in the New Testament. Its content was as follows: the Christological part occupies the
central and more important place as in the local creed (a) on Father (b) on Son and (c) a final
part of the Church, the saints, eschatological realities; but there is a brief mention of the Holy
Spirit. The reason was the Pneumatological theology was not yet developed this time.
 The focus of the Council of Nicaea was the divinity of Christ. Arius taught that Jesus Christ
was divine and was sent to earth for the salvation of mankind but that Jesus Christ was not
equal to the Father (infinite, primordial origin) and to the Holy Spirit (giver of life). Under
Arianism, Christ was instead not consubstantial with God the Father since both the Father
and the Son under Arius were made of "like" essence or being (homoiousia) but not of the
same essence or being (homoousia).
 Creed problem is Homoousios – consubstantiality.

4. POST – NICENE FATHERS

 After Council of Nicaea (325).
 The Council of Nicaea did not end the controversy, as many bishops of the Eastern provinces
disputed the homoousios, the central term of the Nicene creed, as it had been used by Paul of
Samosata, who had advocated a monarchianistChristology. Both the man and his teaching,
including the term homoousios, had been condemned by the Synods of Antioch in 269.
 4 groups came in place.

4.1 Homoousios Crisis

 The term was an insertion of technical philosophical terms homoousios in the Nicene Creed. The
word homoousios had a long history. Though accepted in Creed it was objected by the majority
of the bishops for at least four reasons.

4.1.1 Objections to Homoousios

4.1.1.1 Strong material overtones
 The term had strong material overtones which would connote that the Father and Son are parts
or separable portion of the same stuff.

4.1.1.2 Father and Son as Material numerical substance

 The doctrine could be Sabellian if Father and Son were identical and indistinguishable.

4.1.1.3 Associated with Heresy

 Since the term has been coined by Gnostics and had been condemned at the council of Antioch
in 268 as used by the Adoptionist Paul of Samosata, it was associated with heresies.

4.1.1.4 Not scriptural

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 Many bishops who are conservative refused the term saying it is not scriptural.

4.2 Cappadocian Fathers

 Explained Trinity – homoousios clarified. Capadocian fathers: Basil the Great, Gregory of
Nazianzen and Gregory of Nyssa helped in solving the problem of Homoousios (as one
substance).
 They were against the Pneumatochians who denied the Holy Spirit.
 They argued that the Spirit’s possession of divinity in all its fullness is part of Christian faith.
They insist that the Spirit shared with the Father and the Son ‘One divine nature’.
 They distinguished sharply between ‘Ousia’ and ‘hypostasis’: ousia is the whole divine
nature while hypostasis is the appropriated nature for the three distinct persons. In the
hypostasis there is particularity and each will have its own properties:
- For Basil – Paternity, Sonship and Sanctifying power.
- For two Gregories – Being begotten, Being generated and Procession.
 The distinction of the three is made in which each one comes from the Father: the son by
means of generation; and the Spirit by means procession which in Western theology will be
termed Spiration.
 The Cappadocian fathers brought back to orthodoxy the Arians and fixed the terminologies
in Trinity.

4.2.1 Basil the Great (330-397 AD)

 He helped in breaking the thinking of the East more into line with the faith of Nicaea. He
insisted on the distinction between Ousia and Hypostasis. For him the only acceptable formula
is One Ousia, three Hypostasis. Ousia for him mean existence or essence or substantial entity of
God while Hypostasis signifies the essence in a particular mode (cf. J. Quasten, Vol 3, 228).
What is particular to the Father is paternally, the Son is sonship, and to the Holy Spirit is
sanctification.
 He was the 1st to insist upon the distinction, one ousia & 3 hypostases in God (J. Quasten, Vol 3,
228). His clarification of the 2 terms ousia & hypostasis, contributed in a high degree to the
universal adoption of the Nicene homoousios & the triumph of the Cappadocian position at the
council of Constantinople I – 381 (cf. J. Quasten, vol 3, 230).

4.2.2 Gregory of Nyssa (335-394 AD)

 While following what Basil said, he insisted that difference among the hypostases rises out of
their natural relationships. The Father is cause, the Son is cause directly, and the Holy Spirit is
the Cause mediately. The Father has no origin; the Son is generated from the Father, the Holy
Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son.

4.2.3 Gregory Nazianzus

 He insisted that there is one sole God found in three unity, in every respect equal, in every
respect one and the same each distinct in his personal property, each God because of his
consubstantiality.
 The Father is Unoriginated, Son is Originated from the Father and the Holy Spirit proceeds from
the Father, in a manner different from the Son. He declares the distinctive characters of the 3
divine persons. For him, the proper name of Unoriginate is Father, & that of the Unoriginately

26
 Begotten is Son, & that of Unbegottenly Proceeding or Going Forth is the Holy Spirit (J.
Quasten, vol 3, 250).

5. CONSTANTINOPLE I (381)
 As the Trinitarian controversy continued on its weary way, the Church was being buffeted by
another error in the theology of the Holy Spirit. Trinitarian theology was extended to include the
Holy Spirit in its speculation.
 Against Arianism it taught the equality of Christ with God; against Apollinarianism it
recognized the full humanity of Christ.
 Against the Pneumatochians and Macedonians, who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit, it
held the consubstantiality and the co-eternity of the Spirit with the Father and the Son. Against
Pneumatochians, Athanasius elaborated his own theology of the Holy Spirit. He argued that, in
the scripture the Spirit is said to come from God, to bestow sanctification and life, to be
unchangeable omnipresent and unique. Thus, the spirit must be accorded the same glory, honor
and ownership as Father and the Son.
 Against Macedonians, the council contributed to the Holy Spirit as follows: Divine title; Divine
function of giving life; an origin from the Father, not by creation but by procession; &, supreme
worship equal to that rendered to the Father and to the Son. So, by this council, the Trinitarian
controversy ended.
 The council reaffirmed Nicaea’s definition and described the Spirit as being equal in dignity
with, and worthy of the same worship as the Father and the Son.
 It was the council that formulated the doctrine of the Trinity as “ Three hypostases in one
ousia”.

CONCLUSION
 The church uses term ‘Substance or nature’ to designate the divine being in its unity, the term
‘person or hypostasis’ to designate the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the real distinction
among them, and term ‘relation’ to designate the fact that their distinction lies in the
relationship of each to the others (CCC 252-254).

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Quasten, J., Patrology, vol I: The Beginnings of Patristic Literature from the Apostles Creed to
Irenaeus, Allen, Texas: Christian Classics 1995.
_________, Patrology, vol II: The Ante – Nicene Literature after Irenaeus, Allen, Texas:
Christian Classics 1995.
_________, Patrology, vol III: The Golden Age of Greek Patristic Literature from Nicaea to
Council of Chalcedon, Allen, Texas: Christian Classics 1995.
SLOYAN, G. S., (ed.), The Three Persons in One God, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1964.

27
04. The Images through which the mysterious nature of the Church of Christ is
illustrated in Scripture and Tradition and the Characteristics marks of the Church.

OUTLINE
1.0. GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1. The meaning of the term “church” and Mystery

1.2. Nature of the Church

1.3. The concept of the church in the Sacred Scriptures

1.3.1. In the Old Testament
1.3.2. In the New testament

1.3. The Magisterial Teachings on the Church

1.3.1. Popes
1.3.2. The councils

1.4. Classification of the Church

1.4.1. Pilgrim Church
1.4.2. Suffering Church
1.4.3. Triumphant Church

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1.5 The Purpose of the Church

2.0. IMAGES OF THE CHURCH IN THE SCRIPTURES

2.1. In the Old Testament
2.1.1. The Church as a community of the chosen people
2.1.2. The Church as the people of God
2.2. In the New Testament
2.2.1. The Church as the Kingdom of God
2.2.2. The Church as the Temple of the Holy Spirit
2.2.3. The Church as the Jerusalem above
2.2.4. The Church as the cultivated field
2.2.5. The Church as body of Christ
2.2.6. The Church as the bride of Christ

3.0. IMAGES OF THE CHURCH IN THE CHURCH TRADITION

3.1. The Church as the city on a mountain (St. Augustine)
3.2. The Church as the mother of Christians (St. Clement of Alexandria)
3.3. The Church as the mystical body of Christ (St Cyril of Alexandria)
3.4. The Church as the Temple of the Holy Spirit (St. Irenaeus)
3.5. The Church as the Ark (St. Cyprian)
3.6. The Church as the sacrament (From the second Vatican Conciliar Fathers)

4.0. THE CHARACTERISTIC MARKS OF THE CHURCH

4.1. The Church is one
4.2. The Church is Holy
4.3. The Church is Catholic
4.4. The Church is Apostolic

CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION

1.0. GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1. The etymology and meaning of the term “church”
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel assembled to renew the covenant. This kind of
gathering was known as qahal in Hebrew translated into the Assembly of God, in English.
Intrinsic to the word qahal is the idea of calling together, convocation. The Israelites were aware
that they had not gathered of their own volition, but because God had called them, gathered them
together. So when the Bible came to be translated into Greek (the Septuagint) it was quite natural
for the word qahal to be rendered as ekklesia (from the Greek verb ekkalein, to call out). Latin
used the same word, ecclesia, and the French have it as eglise. The English word “Church” has
rather a different background, from the Greek kyriake,that is, belonging to the Lord, which the
Germans have adopted as kirche.1

The Mystery of the Church: The Church is in history, but at the same time she transcends it. It
is only "with the eyes of faith"183 that one can see her in her visible reality and at the same time in
her spiritual reality as bearer of divine life.
1
Cf. J. LEBON, How to Understand the Liturgy, the Crossroad Publishing Company, New York 1988, p. 8.

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The Church - both visible and spiritual.The one mediator, Christ, established and ever sustains
here on earth his holy Church, the community of faith, hope, and charity, as a visible
organization through which he communicates truth and grace to all men." 184 The Church is at the
same time: - a society structured with hierarchical organs and the mystical body of Christ; - the
visible society and the spiritual community; - the earthly Church and the Church endowed with
heavenly riches.
These dimensions together constitute one complex reality which comes together from a
human and a divine element: The Church is essentially both human and divine, visible but
endowed with invisible realities, zealous in action and dedicated to contemplation, present in the
world, but as a pilgrim, so constituted that in her the human is directed toward and subordinated
to 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.

1.1.1 Nature of the Church

The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostles; Jesus unites them to the
mission he received from the Father. Inn that she remains, through the successors of St. Peter and
the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin: and in that she is “sent out”
into the whole world. (CCC 857-859)
“The sole Church of Christ which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and
apostolic, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the
bishops in communion with him. Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and of truth are
found outside its visible confines” (LG 8).
The term “Church” in our time suggests in the first instance an institution. St.Thomas
Aquinas, the Church was far more than this. It was above all the way by which the rational
creature returns to God, the source of its being. The Church also is a community, just as in the
natural order man is a social and political animal, so too in the supernatural order, he achieves
his highest fulfillment in community. Hence, the Church then may be called the community of
those who are brought into union with God by the grace of Christ.

1.1.2 The Concept of the Church in Sacred Scriptures

In Scripture, we find a host of interrelated images and figures through which Revelation speaks
of the inexhaustible mystery of the Church. The images taken from the Old Testament are
variations on a profound theme: the People of God. In the New Testament, all these images find
a new center because Christ has become the head of this people, which henceforth is his Body. 144
Around this center are grouped images taken "from the life of the shepherd or from cultivation of
the land, from the art of building or from family life and marriage (CCC 753).

1.1.3 In the Old Testament- preparation of the Church

The Church in the Old Testament is prefigured with the various formed communities by
God. In the first place, God established the first community as He created Adam and Eve to be
worshiping community (Gen 1:27). In the second place, we refer to the Israelites as they
gathered together to form one community or an assembly named as “qahal”. This goal of a
worshipping community was reached after the Exodus from Egypt when the people came to
Mount Sinai. There God declared the Israelites to be His treasured possession, a kingdom of

30
priests and a holy nation (Ex 19: 5-6). The Lord promised to dwell among them as their God (Ex
29: 45).

1.2 In the New Testament- fulfillment of the foundation of the church by Jesus Christ.
In contrast to the Old Testament community or assemblies, Jesus established a new religious
community (Mt 16:18). Jesus himself clearly expressed His intention of instituting a new
religious community which will be dissociated from the synagogue. He chose the twelve
Apostles from his disciples and appointed the Apostle Peter to be the head of the Apostles and
the supreme guide of His Church (Mt 16:18). Christ Himself is the founder and head of the
Church (Eph.5:23). The Church is His property, which He has acquired with his own blood (Acts
20:28); His bride, whom He has loved, and for whom He has given Himself, in order to sanctify
her, and to make Himself glorious (Eph. 5:25-27).2
The Church is, accordingly, a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ. It
is also the flock of which God himself foretold that he would be the shepherd, and whose sheep,
even though governed by human shepherds, are unfailingly nourished and led by Christ himself,
the Good Shepherd and Prince of Shepherds, who gave his life for his sheep.
The Church is a cultivated field, the tillage of God. On that land the ancient olive tree grows
whose holy roots were the prophets and in which the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has
been brought about and will be brought about again. That land, like a choice vineyard, has been
planted by the heavenly cultivator. Yet the true vine is Christ who gives life and fruitfulness to
the branches, that is, to us, who through the Church remain in Christ, without whom we can do
nothing(CCC 755).
Often, too, the Church is called the building of God. The Lord compared himself to the
stone which the builders rejected, but which was made into the corner-stone. On this foundation
the Church is built by the apostles and from it the Church receives solidity and unity. This edifice
has many names to describe it: the house of God in which his family dwells; the household of
God in the Spirit; the dwelling-place of God among men; and, especially, the holy temple. This
temple, symbolized in places of worship built out of stone, is praised by the Fathers and, not
without reason, is compared in the liturgy to the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. As living stones
we here on earth are built into it. It is this holy city that is seen by John as it comes down out of
heaven from God when the world is made anew, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband
(
CCC 756).
The Church, further, which is called 'that Jerusalem which is above' and 'our mother', is
described as the spotless spouse of the spotless lamb. It is she whom Christ 'loved and for whom
he delivered himself up that he might sanctify her.' It is she whom he unites to himself by an
unbreakable alliance, and whom he constantly 'nourishes and cherishes' (CCC 757).

1.3 The Magisterial Teachings on the Church

1.3.1Popes
Most of the Popes’ teaching centered on the nature of the Church as it is both human and
divine because her founder has two natures, human and divine nature. Pope Pius X teaches: “the
church was founded immediately and personally by the true and historical Christ during the time
of His earthly life. The establishment of the church by Christ means that He Himself laid down
the essential elements of her teaching, her liturgy and her constitution.”3
2
Cf. L. OTT., Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, Tan Books and Publishers, Illinois 1974, p. 273.
3
Cf. Pius X, Motu proprioSacrorum antistitun, September 1, 1910
31
 Pope Pius XII declared that in order to describe the true Church of Christ which is the
holy, catholic, Apostolic and Roman church, there is no name nobler, none more excellent, none
more divine, than the expression, the mystical body of Jesus Christ.4
Pope Leo XIII also taught about the church; according to her nature and her rights, the
church is a perfect society, as she possesses in herself and by herself, by the will and the
goodness of her Founder, everything that is necessary for her existence and her efficacy.
Nevertheless, even if this society consists of men, just as civil society does yet by reason of the
purpose set for it and by reason of the means, with which it seeks to achieve this purpose, it is a
supernatural and spiritual society and for this reason it is essentially different from civil society. 5

1.3.2 The Councils

Under this heading two general councils are notable to have described what the church
means, namely, the 4th Lateran Council (1215) and the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965)
The 4th Lateran council (1215) insisted on the visible and sacramental nature of the Church.
The council strongly taught that ‘there is no salvation outside the Church’ against the
Spiritualists, who considered the Church as a Congregatio fidelium (lay fraternity), with personal
evangelism, denying the sacramental and mediator role of the Church.
On the other hand, the Second Vatican conciliar Fathers re-interpreted the Lateran teaching
and gave it a new meaning. They said, “those who through no fault of their own, but who
nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do his
will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience- those too may achieve salvation.” 6
Moreover, they taught that, the church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation. Christ
is present to us in his body which is the church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of
faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the church which men
enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the
Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it,
or to remain.
Teaching on what the church means, the Second Vatican council in its document, the
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium, issued on 21st Nov, 1964), presented the
church as the universal sign and sacrament of salvation, for she is at once a visible assembly and
a spiritual community… one complex reality composed of a divine and a human element. 7
Furthermore, this document uses two images to refer the church, that is, the church as the Body
of Christ and the church as the people of God.

1.4 The Classification of the Church

The church can be classified as the pilgrim church, the suffering church and the triumphant
church.

1.4.2 The Pilgrim Church

This is the Church here on earth which includes all the faithful who are redeemed and sanctified
by the grace of Christ and waiting for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the last
4
Cf. Pius XII, Encyclical letter, Mystici Corporis, June 29, 1943
5
Cf. Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter, Immortale Dei, November I, 1885
6
Cf.Vatican II Council, Lumen Gentium, no. 16
7
Cf. J. DUPUIS (ed.), The Christian Faith: in the doctrinal documents of the Catholic Church, Theological Publication
in India, Bangalore 2004, p. 300.

32
judgment. The faithful who belong to this Church have the opportunity to work for their
salvation just as the Evangelist John put it, “the period of earthly life is the Day the time for
work, the period after death is the Night, when no man can work”(Jn.9:4).8

1.4.3 The Suffering Church

This is the Church whereby the members, who departed this life with true repentance and in the
love of God, before they have rendered satisfaction for their trespasses and negligence by the
worthy fruits of penance, are purified after death with punishments of purification. The faithful
in the Pilgrim Church have to pray for them and offer sacrifice for these Souls.9

1.4.4 The Triumphant Church

This is the Church of the Blessed, who are in the company of Christ and angels, and they enjoy
immediate vision of God face to face by being supernaturally elevated by the light of glory so as
to be capable of such a vision. The Church teaches that, the souls of the just, which in the
moment of death are free from the guilt of sin, and punishment for sin, enter into this Church in
heaven.10

1.5 The Purpose of the Church

Christ founded the church in order to continue His work of redemption for all time (De fide).11
The main purpose of the Church is the propagation of the mission of Christ. This mission is the
communication of the truth, commandment and the grace of Christ. The first Vatican Council on
the purpose of the church teaches that, Christ resolved to establish the holy church in order to
give permanent development of the work of redemption (DZ 1821). Pope Leo XIII on the other
hand taught, “Christ wishes to delegate to the church the same office and the same mandate
which He had Himself received from the Father in order to continue them.”12

2 The Images of the Church in the Scriptures

In accordance with Holy Scriptures and the fathers, the church expresses her nature in analogies
and images, whose reference to the church and exact meaning can of course only be gathered
from the whole of revelation.13

2.3 In the Old Testament

2.3.2 The Church as a community of the chosen people
The kingdom of God in the Old Testament was limited to the chosen people by God, that is, the
Israelites. God established a covenant with them, as God said to them if you are really prepared
to obey me and keep my covenant, you, out of all peoples, shall be my personal possession for
the whole world is mine (Exodus 19:5). Through Moses the Israelite came together to hear what
Yahweh had said to them. This gathering to gather of the Israelites as a chosen community
prefigured the church as an assembly convoked for religious purpose by Yahweh (Dt. 23:2-3).

2.3.3 The Church as the People of God

8
Cf. L. OTT, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, p. 474.
9
Cf. Ibid., p. 483.
10
Cf .Ibid., p. 476
11
Cf. L. OTT., op.cit.p. 274.
12
Cf. Ibid., p. 274.
13
Cf. K. RAHNER, Concise Theological Dictionary, Published by Burns and Oates, London, 19652, p. 75.

33
This image runs through the whole of saving history and the other images of the church centered
on the common theme the ‘people of God’ and all images found a new center in the New
Testament, for here Christ becomes the Head of this people.

God’s grace has always been linked with a human group, beginning from the summing up of our
humanity in Adam our common father, the patriarchs Noah, Abraham, and Moses, down to the
new covenant, in which those near and those afar of have come together in the blood of Christ in
the peace of the New Israel.14
2.4 In the New Testament
2.4.2 The Church as the kingdom of God
The church cannot be understood except in terms of the kingdom of God. The power of
admitting people to the Kingdom or of barring them from it has been entrusted to the church (Mt
16:18-20). 15 The term Kingdom of God is on the same plane as sovereignty. It stresses the fact
that, the church is constituted under a ruling principle, it presents the church as the historical
sphere in which God’s will is publicly carried out and shows the church to be the preliminary
phase of that definitive order of creation where God is all in all in the true reign.

2.4.3 The Church as the Temple of Holy Spirit

Since the Church is the Body of Christ, it can also be called the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Here
again the resurrection is central, the Spirit proceeds from the Lord of the Spirit (1Cor 15:45),
nevertheless there is special outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost as the fruit of Christ’s saving
action, the first fruit of the risen Lord (Acts 1:8, 2:3-4, 38, 4:8).
The Spirit is given after the resurrection of Jesus (Jn 1:34; 6:63). Therefore, the risen and
the exalted Lord release the Spirit and with the Spirit, he builds the Church. Since the Lord and
the Spirit work together, the church of the Holy Spirit is the church of Jesus and it is finally of
the Holy Trinity, for the Father and the Son sends the Holy Spirit.

2.2.3. The Church as the Jerusalem above

The Church is also called the Jerusalem above (Gal 4:26), in the sense that, the earthly church
reflects that of heavenly church were God the Father, the son and saints dwell. The earthly
church has her being as it were in exile. It was founded by Christ and is led by the Holy Spirit
and entrusted to human beings to continue the work of salvation.
Consequently, the earthly church seeks and sets her mind on the things, which are above
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God; there the life of the Church is hidden with Christ
in God until she shall appear in glory with her bridegroom (Cf. Col 3:1-4).16

2.2.4. The Church as a Cultivated Field

From the series of agriculture, the church is a cultivated field. It is the field of God where the
ancient olive tree grows, whose holy roots were the prophets and which the reconciliation of
Jesus and Gentiles has been brought about and will be brought about again (cf. 1Cor 3: 9; Rom
11: 13-26). She has been planted by the heavenly Vine dresser as a chosen vineyard (cf. Mt 21:

14
Cf. Ibid.
15
Cf. J. H., The Church is a Communion, Sheed and Ward-New York,1962, p. 64
16
Cf. Vatican II council, Lumen Gentium, no. 16

34
33-43) and also Christ is the true Vine, who gives life and fruitfulness to us the branches; we
abide in him through the Church, apart from him we can do nothing (Jn 15: 1-5).17

2.2.5. The Church as the Body of Christ

The source of this image and the corresponding line of thought are founded in Pauline letters,
showing the interiority of the bond between Christ and the faithful. In the early middle ages, the
expression “corpus mysticum”, appeared to designate the church in contradiction to “corpus
verum”, by which the historical and sacramental body of Christ is understood. During the early
Scholasticism, mystical body of Christ was employed to Eucharist in order to distinguish the
sacrament of the Body of Christ from his historical body. It was only by the end of the 12 th
“Mystical Body” became a general name of the church.18
There are passages which St. Paul in his letters indicates this image. It is one body that
Christ has reconciled us to the Father by his death” (Eph 2:16-17). The church has become one
body his own in which the Holy Spirit dwells (Eph 4:4), Christians are called one body (Col
3:15). In this body Christ is now called the head of his Body the Church (Eph 5: 23, Col 1:18,
2:19), as a head of the church Christ is the principle of union and growth, (Eph 4:16, Col 2:19),
the Body of Christ is something to be built (Eph 4:12, 16).19
This image brings out the fact that it is Christ, Himself Who is the Head of the Church,
who in a vertical dimension, rules and guides the church, ‘here and now’, both through the
authority which He instituted in His church ( Pope and Bishops) but also directly by charismatic,
who will never be lacking in the church.20

2.2.6. The Church as the Bride of Christ

This idea is taken from the Old Testament where relationship of God to His people is often
presented as in the image of marriage (Cf. Hos1-3). Christ loves the church as his bride, having
been established as the model of a man loving his wife as his own body (cf. Eph. 5:25- 28); the
church, in her turn, is subject to her head (Eph. 5: 23-24). “Because in him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily” (Col.2:9); he fills the church, which is his body and his fullness, with his
divine gifts (Eph. 1:22-23) so that it may increase and attain to all the fullness of God (Eph.
3:19). 21

3. THE IMAGES OF THE CHURCH IN THE CHURCH’S TRADITION

The images in the scripture have been used also in tradition to explain the nature and mission of
the church. Here are some church fathers who have used various images to describe what the
church means.

3.1. The Church as the city on the mountain (St. Augustine)

The fathers of the church teach that the church of Christ is easily recognized and distinguished as
such from heretical communions. St. Augustine compares the church to a city on a mountain
(Mt. 5:14): “the church stand clear and visible before all men; for she is the city on the mountain
which cannot be hidden”.22
17
Cf. Ibid.
18
Cf. L. OTT, op. cit., p. 271.
19
Cf. R. P. McBRIEN., Catholicism Vol. II, Winston Press, Minneapolis 1981, p. 595.
20
Cf. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium,no. 7.
21
Cf. Ibid.
22
Cf. Contra Cresconium, II, 36, 45.

35
3.2. The Church as the mother of Christians ( St. Clement of Alexandria)
The Church as the Mother is also an image much used by the Fathers of the Church showing that
the Church plays the role of taking care of all Christians as her children. For St. Clement
ofAlexandria, the Church on earth is at the same time ‘a virgin and mother’, pure as virgin,
loving as mother. This mother has no milk, but nourishes her children with the word of God,
Jesus Christ, whose flesh and blood are given for their strengthening.23

3.3. The Church as the Mystical Body of Christ (St. Cyril of Alexandria)
The church as the mystical body of Christ is the image which has been portrayed by the fathers
of the church since the beginning of the Christian era. For St. Gregory the Great, Christ has
shown himself to be one person with the holy church whom he has taken for himself, but Christ
is the head and his body is the church. The Greek fathers present the doctrine of the church as the
mystical body of Christ, the faithful baptized in and with their Lord, nourished, vivified and
unified by and in his Eucharistic body and by and in his Holy Spirit.
St Thomas Aquinas on the other hand refers the union between Christ and the church the same as
a mystical person. He says the head and the members from as it were one of the same mystical
people. Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical Mystici Corporis 1943, and Humanae generis 1950 tried
to describe the true church of Christ “…there is no name nobler, none more excellent, more
divine than the expression “the mystical body of Christ”

3.4. The Church as the Temple of the Holy Spirit (St. Ireneaus)
St. Irenaeus of Lyons says, for where the church is, there is also God’s Spirit, where God’s Spirit
is, there is the Church and every grace. The Holy Spirit is the principle agent in the sanctification
of the Christian. The Holy Spirit dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful as in a
temple (Cf. 1Cor. 3:16; 6:19). In them he prays and bears witness to the fact that they are
adopted sons (Cf. Gal. 4:6).
The Spirit guides the church into the fullness of truth and gives her a unity of fellowship and
service. He furnishes and directs her with various gifts, both hierarchical and charismatic, and
adorns her with the fruits of His grace (Eph. 4:11-12). By the power of the gospel He makes the
church grow, perpetually renews her, and leads her to perfect union with her Spouse. The Spirit
and the Bride both say to the Lord Jesus, “come” (Cf. Apoc.22:17).24

3.5. The Church as the Ark ( St. Cyprian)

St. Cyprian took the idea of the Ark of Noah; Noah built the ark at God’s command and
according to God’s instructions. Then ark was a means through which Noah and his family were
saved from God’s judgment on the sinful world, the ark became a symbol of salvation.25

23
Cf. Joseph M., Class notes on Ecclesiology, St. Charles Lwanga Seminary – Segerea 2010, p. 21
24
Cf. M. SCHMAUS, Dogma: The Church, Its Origin and Structure, vol. 4, Sheed and Ward, London 1972,
p.62.

25
Cf. P.K. MEAGHER et alii (eds.), Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion, (vol A-E), Corpus Publication: Washington,
D.C.1978, p. 261.

36
 Those who enter inside the ark were saved. In the same way those who enter into the
Church is a way to be saved. Likewise, God founded the church and He waits us to enter in it. It
is through the sacrament of Baptism one is credited membership in the church.26

3.6. The Church as the Sacrament (Fathers of Vatican II Council)

Most of the second Vatican council’s documents, describe the church first and foremost as a
mystery or sacrament. The church is a mystery, in as much as it is a sacrament or instrument of
communion with God and unity among all men, because it has its origin from the Triune God,
and because it remerges from the mysteries of the life of Jesus. Karl Jaspers in his work
“Theology and Church” says, “Different theologians argue that if Jesus Christ could be called the
sacrament of God, then for us the Church is the sacrament of Christ.”27
Therefore according to patristic and scholastic tradition, and in the thinking of the council
itself, Jesus Christ alone is the primal sacrament: the church is a sacrament only in Christ; and
that means that it is a sign and an instrument, both of which by definition point beyond
themselves. The church is the sign which points beyond itself to Jesus Christ, and it is an
instrument in the hand of Jesus Christ, since he is the real author of all saving activity in the
Church. 28

4. THE CHARACTERISTIC MARKS OF THE CHURCH

The Holy Office, under Pope Pius IX (1864), declared: The true church of Christ, by virtue of
Divine authority, is constituted and is knowable by the four characteristics marks namely: The
Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. 29

4.1. The Church is one

The Catholic Church claims for itself alone the mandate to realize the one church which is also
visibly one, as it teaches that, “the church founded by Christ is unique and one.” 30 The Church is
one because of her source. The highest example and source of this mystery is the unity in the
Trinity of persons of one God the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. The Church is one
because of her founder; because, “the word made flesh, the prince of peace reconciled all men to
God by the cross… restoring the unity of all in one people and one body.31

Again the Church is one because of her soul. The Second Vatican Council affirms that “It is the
Holy Spirit dwelling in those who believe, pervading and ruling over the entire church, which
brings about that marvelous communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in
Christ, that he is the principle of church’s unity.”32

4.2. The Church is Holy

The church teaches that, the church founded by Christ is holy. The Church is holy
because of her origin, her purpose, her means and her fruits. She is holy in her founder and
invisible head of the church, Christ the Lord in her inner life, principle the Holy Spirit, in her
26
Cf. L. OTT, op.cit,.p. 309.
27
Cf. W. KASPER, Theology and Church, The Crossroad publishing Company, New York 1989, p. 114.
28
Cf. Ibid., p. 116.
29
Cf. L. OTT, op. cit., p. 309.
30
Cf. Ibid., p. 302.
31
Cf. Vatican Council II, Gaudium et spes, n.73.
32
Cf. Vatican Council II, Unitatis Redintegratio, n. 2.

37
purpose which is the glory of God and sanctification of men in the means by which she attains
her purpose in the teaching of Christ with its propositions of faith, commandments and counsels
concerning morals, in her liturgy especially the holy sacrifice of Mass, in her laws, in her
institutions such as the orders and congregations.”33
Vatican Council II bears its faith in the holiness of the Church on the biblical teaching
that Christ united the church to himself as his body and bride and endowed it with abiding gift of
the Holy Spirit (LG 39). It also speaks about her sinfulness. Thus, while the Church has genuine
holiness, that it cannot lose, this holiness will always remain imperfect during the Church’s
earthly pilgrimage.34
We consider the objective holiness of the church in the following formal elements
namely; Magisterium, Sacraments and Ministry (ministerium et imperium), Word of God, the
Dogmatic and Moral doctrine which are the leaven of mankind raising it from the darkness to the
splendor of heaven. Ministerium (Sacraments), they are the channels of grace, imperium
(ministry), guides the faithful along the way of salvation. In the government of the church where
again despite human defects a Holy principle is at work. That is why it is called “hierarchy”
which means sacred power.
These are the elements which enable the church to be an effective instrument for the
holiness of its members. She is the sacrament of salvation. This holiness is constantly shown
forth in the fruits of grace, which the spirit produces in the faithful.
Considered in its formal elements the Church is without sin. Sin belongs to the members of the
church, in the sense that they can be unfaithful to their identity. “The Church embracing sinners
at her bosom, at once Holy and always in need of purification follows constantly the path of
penance and renewal”35 Through the pilgrim the Church will consist of saints and sinners. Sin
will never so prevail as to deprive the church of her gifts of holiness.
The Church is held as a mother of faith to be unfailing holy. This is because Christ the
Son of God, who with the Father and Holy Spirit is hailed as “alone holy”, loved the Church as
his bride giving himself up for her, so as to sanctify her, joined to himself as his body and
endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.36

4.3. The Church is Catholic

The Church founded by Christ is Catholic which denotes ‘universal,’ that is pronouncing the
universality of Christ’s Church. This refers to the wholeness and totality of all true believers in
Jesus Christ. In the Apostle’s Creed, the Church confesses …credo in…sanctam Ecclesiam
catholicam which means “I believe in the holy Catholic Church.” 37 The Church is Catholic in a
double sense:

First: the church is Catholic because Christ is present in her. According to St. Ignatius of
Antioch, where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church. The Second Vatican Council
declares that “in her subsists the fullness of Christ’s body united with its head; this implies that
she receives from him the fullness of the means salvation” (his letter to Eph. 1:22-23).38

33
Cf. L. OTT, op.cit., p. 305.
34
Cf. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 39.
35
Cf. Ibid., n. 8.
36
Cf. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, no. 39.
37
Cf. THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, Paulines Publications Africa, Nairobi, 1994, n. 830.
38
Vatican Council II, Unitatis Redintegratio, n. 3.

38
Secondly, the Church is catholic because she has been sent out by Christ on a mission to the
whole of the human race (Mt 28:19). Each particular Church is Catholic because, “the church of
Christ is really present in all legitimately organized local groups of the faithful… (CCC 832)
St. Thomas Aquinas bases the Catholicity of the Catholic Church on her universal extension over
the whole world and universality of the classes represented in her and in her universal duration
from the time of Abel to the end of the world.

4.4. The Church is Apostolic

The church founded by Christ is Apostolic. This describes its origin and beliefs. The Church’s
teachings are apostolic, in that they find their roots in the teachings of the Apostles of Jesus.
Apostles are the unique witnesses of the Incarnate Word, and for that reason, hold great authority
in the Church. Thus the Church is One, Holy and Catholic only if it is also apostolic. The Nicene
Creed confesses credo…in …apostolicam ecclesia meaning “we believe in the apostolic church.”
“Apostolic” signifies ‘derived from the apostles.’ We distinguish three fold apostolicity; of
origin (Apostolitas originis), of teaching (apostolitasdoctrinae) and of succession in office
(apostolitas successionis).
Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostle’s in three ways, that is, She was
and remain built on the foundation of the apostles (Eph 2:20), the witnesses chosen and sent on
mission by Christ himself (Mt 28:16-20). With the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the church
keeps and hands on the teachings (Acts 2:42), the good deposit and the salutary words she has
heard from the apostles (2Tim 1:13-14). She continues to be taught, sanctified and guided by the
apostles until Christ’s return through their successors in Pastoral Office; the college of bishops
assisted by priests in union with the successor of Peter, the Church’s Supreme pastor.39
Thus, the whole Church is Apostolic in that she remains, through the successors of St.
Peter and other apostles in communion of faith and life with her origin; and in that, she is sent
out into the whole world. Indeed, we call an apostolate every activity of the mystical body that
aims to spread the Kingdom of Christ all over the earth.40

CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION

Vatican II opened ecclesiology with the mystery of the church. A mystery cannot be exhausted
by rational consideration alone. The scripture gives no complete definition of the church, even
the early Fathers preferred to speak of the work of the church than tried to define her. The
scriptural and the Fathers were satisfied with giving us various images of the church.

The function of an image is to make clear and concrete a distinct quality in her relationship to
Christ and to men, each expresses one aspect of this mystery and each corrects the other by
giving us function under a metaphor which represents a partial view of the reality of the church.
The images are analogical in the sense that they express equivalence of effects rather than any
ontological reality. God is much less interested in telling us about his nature than about His Love
and saving action on our behalf.

Hence, Lumen Gentium uses a series of images to describe the mission and nature of the church,
starting from the Old Testament which can be reduced to four general categories, namely, those

39
Cf. Vatican Council II, Ad Gentes Divinitus, n. 5.
40
Cf. Vatican Council II, Apostolicam Actuositatem, n. 2.

39
from the pastoral life, from agriculture, from construction and from marriage. The multiplication
of the images clearly shows the inexhaustible character of the mystery of the church and often
figures and images are all centered on the common theme, “People of God”, and all the images
we saw above found a new center in the New Testament, for here Christ becomes the Head of
this people, which henceforth is His Body.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. DULLES Avery, A Church to Believe in Discipleship and the Dynamics of Freedom, The
Publishing Company, New York, 1982.
2. FLANERY Austin (ed.), Vatican Council II:The Conciliar and Post Conciliar
Documents, St. Paul Publications, Bombay 1992.
3. HAMER Jerome, The Church is a communion, Sheed and Word, New York, 1964.
4. KASPER Walter, Theology and Church, The crossroad publishing company, New York,
1989.
5. LEBON Jean, How to Understand the Liturgy, the Crossroad Publishing Company, New
York, 1988.
6. OTT Ludwig; Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, Tan Books and Publishers Inc.,
Rockford Illinois 1974.
7. MLOLA Joseph, Class notes on Ecclesiology, St. Charles Lwanga Seminary – Segerea
2010.
8. RAHNER Karl, Concise Theological Dictionary, Published by Burns and Oates, London,
19652.
9. RAHNER Karl, Theological Dictionary, Herder and Herder, New York, 1965.
10. Rusimbya Siegfried, Class notes on Ecclesiology, St. Charles Lwanga Seminary –
Segerea 2011.
11. SCHMAUS, M., Dogma Vol.4, The Church, Its Origin and Structure, Sheed and Ward,
London 1972.
12. SEGUNDO L.J., The community called Church, Gill and Macmillian LTD, Dublin 1980.
13. THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, Paulines Publications Africa,
Nairobi 1994.
14. THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE, Darton, Longman and Todd, London 1985.

05. Royal, Prophetic and Priestly office of all the faithful and of the Sacramental
Priesthood
CONTENTS
CONTENTS......................................................................................................................41
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................43
1Definition of terms...........................................................................................................43
1.1 Priest........................................................................................................................43

40
 1.2 Royal........................................................................................................................43
1.3 Prophet.....................................................................................................................43
1.4 Sacramental..............................................................................................................43
2Priesthood in General......................................................................................................44
3 Biblical Background of Priesthood.................................................................................44
3.1 Priesthood in the Old Testament..............................................................................44
3.1.1 The name..........................................................................................................45
3.1.2 Installation of a priest.......................................................................................45
3.1.3 The Priest and the Sanctuary............................................................................45
3.1.4 Priests and Divine Oracles................................................................................45
3.1.5 The Priest as Teacher........................................................................................46
3.1.6 The Priest and Sacrifice....................................................................................46
3.1.7 The Priest as Mediator......................................................................................46
3.2Priesthood in the New Testament.............................................................................46
3.2.1 The Priesthood of Jesus....................................................................................46
3.2.2 The Ministry of Apostles..................................................................................47
4Historical development of the doctrine on priesthood.....................................................48
4.1 The council of NICENE..........................................................................................48
4.2 The Middle Ages.....................................................................................................48
4.2.1 Thomas Aquinas...............................................................................................48
4.2.2 Luther and Reformation....................................................................................48
4.3The Council of Trent................................................................................................49
4.4 The Second Vatican Council...................................................................................49
5Origin and Nature of the Christian Priesthood................................................................49
5.1 Origin.......................................................................................................................50
5.2 Nature......................................................................................................................50
5.3 Common Priesthood................................................................................................51
5.4 Sacramental Priesthood (Ministerial Priesthood)....................................................52
5.4.1 Basic Aspects of Sacramental Priesthood.........................................................54
6Relationship between common priesthood and sacramental priesthood.........................54
6.1 Differences...............................................................................................................54
6.2 Interrelationship.......................................................................................................55
7Observations on Contemporary Challenges against Ministerial Priesthood...................56
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................56

41
INTRODUCTION

Definition of terms
The threefold office of Christ namely; Priestly, Prophetic and Kingly are all obtained by every
baptized Christian. As a priest they exercise common priesthood as distinct from
sacramental/ministerial priesthood which is rooted in apostolic succession and in the sacrament
of Hoy Order done by laying on of hands by the Bishop.

Priest
Etymologically, in Hebrew it is “kohen” which means “soothsayer or seer”, and from Greek,
presbyteros, “elder” whose function was not necessarily of liturgical but rather leadership and
service to the community. Later it came to mean an ordained minister who is intermediate
between an episcopate and a deacon, who acts in the name of Christ; 41 consecrated at the service
of the Divine. This word “elder”; presbyteros, presbyter) has taken the meaning of “sacerdos” as
a proper Latin word for priest. The priest is the minister of Divine worship and especially of
the highest act of worship, sacrifice, pardon and blessing and prayers. In this sense, every
religion has its priests, exercising more or less exalted sacerdotal functions as intermediaries
between man and the Divinity (cf. Hebrews 5:1): “for every high priest taken from among men,
is ordained for men in the things that pertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for
sins”.42
Ministerial priesthood

Royal
Connected with or belonging to the king. It is used in the names of the organizations that serve or
are supported by a king.43

Prophet
Etymologically form the Hebrew hōzeh, rō'eh, and nābî’ for “Prophet”, English is “Seer”. The
first two terms come from verbal roots that mean “to see, gaze, or look at.” These words thus
suggest someone who saw the very things of God;
For instance the term nābî occurs most frequently in the OT: according to W. F. Albright with
great probability derives it from the Akkadian root in the sense of “one called” by God to speak
for Him.
Others have interpreted nābî’ as a “proclaimer” or “spokesperson” of God. The 1 st indicates
proclamation of messages from God, & the 2nd emphasizes the commissioning of the prophet for
his or her mission.
The term nābî’, could refer to a “called one,’ someone whom God had especially called to bring
his divine message to his people.
Hence the Eng. word prophet is derived from Gk prophetes, “one who speaks before others”; one
who communicates divine revelation.
Sacramental
A sacred sign instituted by the church which signify and produce spiritual effects through the
intercession of the church. It can be established, suppressed or interpreted by the Holy See (CIC,
41
J.PULICKAL, “Priest”, in A Dictionary of Canon Law, 316.
42
The “Priest”, in the Catholic Encyclopedia.
43
S.WEIHMEIER, et–al Ed, “Royal”, in the New Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 1327.

42
1167). It can be a thing which remain after the celebration of a liturgical action (e.g. holy water,
blessed ashes, palm leaves) or an action (e.g. rites of blessing, dedications, consecration of
virgins) (cf. CIC, 1166). Ministers who can administer sacramentals are the clerics and for
certain sacramental can be administers by laity as extra-ordinary ministers. 44
Priesthood in General
Every religion has its priests, exercising more or less sacerdotal functions as intermediaries
between man and the Divinity (God) (cf. Hebrews 5:1). In various ages countries and cultures,
we find numerous and important differences: the priest properly so called may be assisted by
inferior ministers of many kinds; he may belong to a special class or caste, to a clergy or he may
be like other citizens except in what concerns his sacerdotal functions; he may be a member of a
hierarchy or he may exercise an independent priesthood (e.g. Melchisedech, Hebrews 7:1-33).
The methods of recruiting the ministers of worship, the rites by which they receive their
powers, the authority that establishes them, may differ. But, amid all these accidental
differences, one fundamental idea is common to all religions: the priest is the person
authoritatively appointed to do homage to God in the name of society, even the primitive
society of the family (cf. Job 1:5), and to offer Him sacrifice (in the broad, but especially in the
strict sense of the word). Omitting further discussion of the general idea of the priesthood and
neglecting all reference to pagan worship, I call attention to the organization among the people of
God of a Divine service with ministers properly so-called: the priests, the inferior clergy, the
Levites, and the high-priest. The regulations contained in Leviticus with regard to the different
sacrifices offered to God in the Temple at Jerusalem and the character and duty of the priests and
Levites is undeniable. Their ranks were recruited, in virtue of descent in the tribe of Levi
(especially the family of Aaron), which had been called by God to His ritual service to the
exclusion of all others and not the free choice of individuals. The elders (presbyteroi) formed a
kind of council, but had no sacerdotal power; it was they who took counsel with the chief priests
to capture Jesus (Matthew 26:3). It is this name presbyter (elder) which has passed into the
Christian speech to signify the minister of Divine service, the priest.
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND OF PRIESTHOOD
In the age of the Patriarchs the offering of sacrifices was the function of the father or head of the
family (cf. Genesis 8:20; 12:7, etc.; Job 1:5). But even before Moses, there were regular priests,
who were not fathers of family (cf. Exodus 19:22). Hummelauer’s hypothesis (“Das
vormosaische Priestertum in Israel”, Freiburg, 1899) that this pre-Mosaic priesthood was
established by God Himself and made hereditary in the family of Manasseh, but was
subsequently abolished in punishment of the worship of the golden calf (cf. Exodus 32:26ff.),
can hardly be scientifically established (cf. Rev. bibl. internat., 1899, pp. 470ff.). In the Mosaic
priesthood we must distinguish: priests, Levites, and high-priest.

PRIESTHOOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

There was no official priesthood in the time of patriarchs. Acts of public worship were
performed by the head of the family (cf. Gen.22;31:54;46:1). The book of Genesis never
mentions priests except in reference to foreign nations. There are only two texts which imply the
existence of a sanctuary served by regular attendants (Gen. 25:22). The priesthood properly so
called did not appear until the social organization of the community had developed.
44
J.PULICKAL, “Sacramental”, in A Dictionary of Canon Law, 353.

43
The name
The only name by which the Old Testament ever refers to priests of Yahweh is kohen; the same
word used for priests of foreign gods (eg. Gen. 41:45; 47:22, 2Kings 10:19;11:18, 1S 5:5;6:2, Jer
48:7). The corresponding Hebrew word always in plural K’marim; occurs only 3 times in the
bible and always refers to priests of false gods (1Kgs 23:5; Os 10:5 So 1:4)
The etymology of Kohen is not known. It has been suggested that it is related to the Akkadian
verb kanu which means “to bend down, to do homage”; to connect it with the root kwn
meaning “to stand upright”. Therefore a priest would be a man who stands before God (Dt
10:8) like a servant. (cf. Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Religious Institutions, Vol. II, 345-
346).

Installation of a priest

In Israel, the priesthood was not a vocationbut an office. According to the older documents,
priests were appointed by men without any divine intervention e.g Micah chose first one of
his sons (Jg 17:5) and then a Levite (Jg 17:10) for his private sanctuary. Even kings nominated
and dismissed the servants in their sanctuaries (1Kgs 2:27;12:31). Later on a man was
sufficiently qualified for the priesthood if he was of priestly descent and without any
impediment (Lev 21:16-24).
The oldest and most explicit text about a priest’s assuming office is (Jgs 17:5-12) which uses the
term ‘filling his hand’ for ‘appointing him’, (cf. Ex 32:29;1Kgs 13:33).(Roland de Vaux, 346).
This ‘filing his hand’ phrase’s precise meaning is uncertain though it does not describe the rite
of ordination. In (Nb 8:10) the Israelites lay hands upon the Levites but this is not a rite of
investiture (it is a gesture of offering).
According to the post-exilic ritual, the high priest was anointed (Ex. 29:7; Lev. 8:12). Priests
in the ancient Israel were not ‘ordained’. Yet a priest was made and sacred by virtue of his
work. Priests were ‘sanctified’ (Lev 21:6) and the high priest had to wear a golden flower on
his forehead on which was engraved ‘sanctified for Yahweh’ (Ex 28:36). A priest was
therefore ‘set apart’ (cf. Nb 8:14; Dt 10:8) the Levites were ‘set apart’ for the service of God,
Aaron was ‘set apart’ to consecrate the most holy things (1 Ch 23:13). The priest had to
remain detached from profane things. They were forbidden to marry a woman who had
been a prostitute or divorced (Lev 21:7).

The Priest and the Sanctuary

Every priest was chosen and installed to serve in a sanctuary (cf. Nb 3:23,29,35;Nb 1:53;3:38)
(c.f Roland de Vaux 348). The destinies of the priesthood in Israel were bound up with the fate
of sanctuaries (Roland, 349).

Priests and Divine Oracles

In ancient Israel, men went to a sanctuary ‘to consult Yahweh’, and the priest gave oracles (Dt
33:8-10). They used to consult God by means of the ephod of the urim and Thummim (dices).
The Priest as Teacher

44
A two-fold duty was assigned to the Levites during the blessing of Levi (Dt 33:10). To take
charge of the Urim and Thummim and to instruct the people (cf. Mi 3:11) (cf. Roland, 353).
According to (Dt 33:10) the priests were to teach the torah of Yahweh to Israel (cf. Os 4:6).
Hence he was a messenger of Yahweh. He had to decide what was sacred and what was
profane. Later they became teachers of morality and of religion( cf. Roland, 354).

The Priest and Sacrifice

Use of incense and sacrifice upon God’s altar are mentioned among the functions of Levites
(Dt 33:10). And from the letter to the Hebrews; every high priest was appointed to offer
sacrifices (Heb 5:1;8:3) (cf. Roland, 353). The offering of sacrifice was a privilege of the
priests. For the priest in the Old Testament is not strictly a ‘sacrificer’ in the sense of an
‘immolator’ (cf. Ex 24:3-8; Lev 1:5; 3:2,8).
It was always the priest who presented and who placed upon the altar, that part of sacrifice
which belonged to God. Also incensing was a privilege of the sons of Levi because the incense
had to be burnt on the altar (Dt 33:10) and also descendants of Aaron. In a very real sense, the
priest was the minister of the altar’. Hence the Christian tradition can trace back its ancestry
back to the Old Testament (Roland, 356).

The Priest as Mediator

He presented to God the prayers and petitions of the faithful. He represented God before
men and He represented men before God. He is always an intermediary. Every high priest
was appointed to intervene on behalf of menwith God (Heb 5:1) (Roland, 357 in Roland de
Vaux, Ancient Israel Vol.2; Religious Institutions).

PRIESTHOOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

New Testament authors speak of those who exercise leadership in the church as episcopoi; as
presbyters or elders/ teachers and prophets as pastors and deacons. Nowhere do they call
them priests. This may be because of fear of confusing Christian ministry with the priesthood
of Judaism and paganism. However this May reflect a sense of how profoundly Jesus
transformed the very notion of priesthood.
The bishops and priests are, according to Catholic teaching, the sole bearers of the priesthood,
the former enjoying the fullness of the priesthood (summus sacerdos s. primi ordinis), while the
presbyters are simple priests (simplex sacerdos s. secundi ordinis). The deacon, on the other
hand, is a mere attendant of the priest, with no priestly powers.45

The Priesthood of Jesus

Jesus by virtue of his incarnation is a priest.
 “Christ” means the “Anointed one.”
The very name “Christ” means the “Anointed one.” He attributes to himself the following
passages of Isaiah; “the spirit of the Lord is on me for he has anointed me to bring the good news
to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives” (Cf. Lk. 4:18-19, Jn.10:36).
 Christ as the High priest
45
The “Priesthood”, in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

45
He became one of our humanity by taking flesh, offered prayers to God, chose obedience
through suffering, and sympathized with the struggles of humanity. He offered Himself as the
sacrifice to humanity as High Priest (Cf. Hebr. 4:14). The priestly office of Christ stems from
God who made him our high priest (Cf. Psalm 110:4; Hebr. 5:15); and his priesthood is exalted
over the Levitical priesthood of the Old Covenant.

 He is the Lamb of God;

He shed his blood on the cross as the one sin offering for humankind in contrast to the Old
Testament priests who continuously offered sacrifices on behalf of their people (Cf. CCC.1546).
The priestly office of Christ went hand in hand with his kingly and prophetic office. This is
because these are not separated functions of Christ but a single reality of Christ.

Kingly office of Christ’s Priesthood==to lead

The purpose of Christ’s pastoral office was to show the fallen mankind the rightway to its
supernatural final end. It is concerned with man’s will, the inculcating demands in it of divine
law and of a spirit of obedience to God’s commands. Christ being a king in this world, His
kingship was in a humble style and for service (Cf. Jn. 12:12-15; 13:12-15). When the Father
raised Christ from the dead, He exalted Him and seated Him at the right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is
named, not only in this age but also in the age to come; God has put all things under His feet and
has made Him the head over all things for the Church (Cf. Eph. 1:20-23); crowned in glory as
‘King of kings and Lord of lords’ (Cf. Rev. 19:16).

Prophetic office of Christ

Christ being the Word Himself (Jn. 1:1-18) is the source of revelation (Cf. Heb. 1:1-3); as a
prophet, He is the mouthpiece of God. He speaks and teaches what he is and what the Father
has told Him to do. He is greater than all the prophets of old. As the true light or true
knowledge (Cf. Jn. 1:1-18), Jesus Christ exclusively enlightens humankind in the office of
prophet; by taking away the spiritual darkness stemming from sin. Jesus affirmed his divine
identity and ultimate authority, revealing God to humanity, continuing His work into the future
as the light (Cf. Rev. 22:5).

The Ministry of Apostles

The Twelve enjoyed a threefold office from Christ: cultic celebration, the proclamation of
the word of God and the government of the community of Jesus’ followers. Jesus willed to
share with them his own mission for the establishment of the Kingdom of God. In the Acts of the
Apostles it is stated that the twelve called a meeting of the whole community to elect seven
ministers to serve the Hellenistic community. The seven were chosen to serve the community by
supervising the daily distribution of food. The Apostles became men of great authority and
influence in the early church. The foundation of the apostolic ministry is the Christ event: the
salvific event of Jesus Christ.

46
Ecclesiastical Priesthood in the Christian communities
Historical development of the doctrine on priesthood
The council of NICENE
The pre-Nicene;there was a structural development from charismatic and functional communities
to an institutionalized administrative set up: Bishops, Presbyters and Deacon. In earlier there
were no clear distinction between the role of bishops and presbyters. All concerned the Episcopal
ministry. The two-fold function of the bishop was; the high priest and royal were oriented
towards the teaching office. The presbyterate was only subordinate. The deacon was ordained
not for priesthood but for the service of the bishop.
Post-Nicene (325); the bishops were vested with more powers over the presbyters and deacons.
With the growth and expansion of catholic Christian communities, there emerged the parish
priest who is the liturgist, teacher and pastor but under the supervision of the bishop. During this
period, deacons recognized and were in fact equal to or even superior to the presbyters on the
grounds of their special relationship with the bishop. The council of Nicaea decreed that the
deacons are the ministers of the bishop and inferiors to the presbyters. There were also minor
orders around 4th century: subdeacon, acolyte, exorcist, lector and porter. Later, pope innocent III
(1161-1216) included subdiaconate among the major orders. In 1972 with Pope Paul VI – Major
Orders: Bishop, Priest and Deacon and Ministries: Acolyte and Reader.
The Middle Ages
In the medieval period, the presbyterate is seen as embodying what Catholics understand by
ministerial priesthood: emphasis on the Eucharist.
In scholastic theology, a priest is someone who is empowered through ordination to offer the
Eucharistic sacrifice.46
Moreover, there came about the distinction between the clergy and the laity. The clergy were
granted exemption from civil, military services and from subjection to civil courts and taxation.
They held the teaching office and the laity were listeners. During this period, there were arose
monastic life. For example bishops like Cyril of Alexandria, Ambrose and Augustine who were
earlier monks. During the Lateran council IV (1215), the influence of abbots in the decisions
concerning priests was immense and the ideal of monastic life was transferred to the life of the
clergy. All the sacraments underwent dramatic changes.
Thomas Aquinas
In Summa Contra Gentiles, he argued that it was suitable that order should itself be made into a
sacrament. It fits to the generosity of God. For Thomas, the church is an ordered society
reflecting an orderly God. The Sacrament of Order is a part of the ordered Church. They (priests)
and in the name of Christ and in the name of the church.47
Luther and Reformation
During reformation, Luther and others while emphasizing the importance of the ordained
ministry rejected the priestly understanding of it.
Luther: restricted the word priesthood to Christ and to that sharing in Christ’s priesthood that
belongs to all the faithful. That is to say, he denied any special religious qualifications bestowed
in a sacrament of orders and enshrined in the law of the church to equip the baptized and
confirmed christen for the exercise of this function. For him the qualification was baptism and

46
The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia.
47
Cf.Cf.T.AQUINAS, Summa Theologiae, III, 22, 4.

47
confirmation. Even denial of the sacrificial character of the Eucharist. 48 He insisted on the
priority that was to be given to preaching.49

The Council of Trent

Trent (1545-1562), insisted on the priestly quality of the ordained ministry. This brought a
distinctive image of the catholic priest as; set apart, celibate, religious person called to render
present in his life and in his liturgical activity the sacrifice of Jesus. Their theology focused on
the mass.50 In other words the emphasis is on the “power of consecrating and offering the true
body and blood of the Lord and of forgiving and retaining sins” (D.S.1771).
It decreed the following;
That the pastors have to reside in their churches.
Those who are appointed bishops shall receive the rite of consecration within three months.
Bishops shall confer Order in person on their subjects, except in case of illness.
Good testimonial life from the parish priest.
Subdeacon- 25 yrs, deacon-23 yrs, priest – 25 yrs and Bishop -30 yrs.
Ordination should be celebrated publicly. Two sacred orders shall not be celebrated on the
same day

The Second Vatican Council

It marked a shift in the Roman Catholic understanding of the ministerial priesthood. It affirmed
that; the first task of bishops and presbyter is to proclaim the gospel; draw people to faith and to
the community of faith. Preaching and teaching. It appealed to the practice and theology of the
early church: emphasis was much of the bishop; respond to the social and spiritual needs of the
people; pastoral office; the model was Christ-the good shepherd. It defined the sacramental
nature of the episcopacy; placing the bishop at the center of its theology of the ordained ministry.
The content of such ministry is the three-fold office of Christ; priest, prophet and king. Both three
pertain to the episcopate and presbyterate. Hence to be ordained as a presbyter is to become a
member of a local presbyterium.51
Response of the magisterium to trends that tend to undermine the identity of the ordained
ministry:
1. The priest is to represent Christ the head and shepherd of the church and to act in his
person and in his name.
2. Ordained ministers also act in the name of the church during/ in the liturgy.
3. All ministerial functions are carried out under the impulse and in the power of the spirit.
4. Foster and coordinate the gifts and ministries that the spirit inspires within the community
in its well-being.
Origin and Nature of the Christian Priesthood
When we talk of Christian Priesthood, we are talking of both the common priesthood and the
ministerial priesthood. All these share in the one priesthood of Christ.
Origin
Christ is the Origin of both the ministerial priesthood and common priesthood. He
communicated His priesthood to the church into two essentially different ways: First
48
K.RAHNER, “Priest”, in Encyclopedia of Theology; The concise “Saccramentum Mundi, 1283-1284.
49
The “Priest”, in the New Dictionary of Theology, 801.
50
The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia.
51
The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia.

48
Consecrated and sent in a mission 52 through baptism and confirmation all Christians are
made to share in the priesthood of Christ. Hence, the participation of the faithful in the
threefold mission of Christ as priest, prophet and king, finds its source in the anointing of
baptism, then in confirmation and later its realization and sustenance in the holy
Eucharist.53(Augustine, De Civitate Dei XX, 10: CCL, 48,720) says “we call everyone ‘priests’
because all are members of only one priesthood”.54
The existence of this priesthood is clearly referred in St. Peter (I Pet 2:5; Rev 1:6, 20:6); as
fulfillment of Old Testament predication (Ex19:6). Through baptism one is introduced to the life
of the Spirit, making him capable of worshipping God in Spirit and truth by offering spiritual
sacrifices and living according to each one’s own vocation.
To worship the Father in spirit and truth means to worship Him in Christ who is the truth under
the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Jn 5:21). Thus, a Christian is called to live in
his own individual way worshipping God at all times.
The church is: a structured people of God, living organism, the living Body of Christ, having
various functions exercised by different members. Christ chose the twelve apostles making them
His authentic witnesses, dispensers of His mysteries, and the shepherds of His flock (Lk.6:13).
They were given the authority to proclaim the gospel authoritatively, to celebrate the Eucharist,
to forgive sins and to lead the community, a structure indispensable for the good and
development conferred on them are carried on until the end of the world through the sacrament
of holy orders.
The state of consecration and mission established at baptism in the initial and limited stage
is established as a total dedication of oneself for the glorification of God and sanctification
of man through the sacrament of holy orders.
Christ wished that His priests should participate in a way, in which He belongs to God, and He
served mankind, thus they are called to commit themselves completely to God by a total
commitment to others, realizing in Himself the image of the good shepherd who gave His life to
the sheep.

Nature
The Lord Jesus “whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world” (Jn 10:36) makes his
whole mystical body sharer in the anointing of the Holy Spirit wherewith he has been
anointed. In the mystical body of Christ, all the faithful are made a holy and kingly priesthood:
they offer sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ and proclaim the virtues of him who has
called them out of darkness into his admirable light (1Pet.2:5&9). They have to reverence Christ
and by the spirit of prophecy give testimony of Jesus.55
The Lord has also appointed certain men as ministers in order that they might be united in one
body in which “all the members have not the same function” (Rom 12:4). These men have to
hold sacred power of order, of offering sacrifice and forgiving sins (Tridentine). Exercise the
priestly office publicly on behalf of men in the name of Christ.
The priesthood of priest, whole presupposing the sacraments of initiation, is conferred by its own
particular sacrament. By anointing of the Holy Spirit, the priests are signed with a special
character and so are configured to Christ. They are given the grace by God to be ministers of

52
Cf. Pesbyterorum Ordinis, 2.
53
Christifideles Laici, 14.
54
Cf. Augustine, De Civitate Dei XX, 10: CCL, 48,720.
55
Cf.SC;LG; PO, 2.

49
Jesus Christ among the nations, fulfilling the sacred task of the gospel that the oblation of the
Gentiles may be made acceptable and sanctified in the holy spirit (Rom. 15:16ff). Through the
ministry of priests, the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful is completed in union with the sacrifice
of Christ, which in the Eucharist is offered through the priest’s hands in the name of whole
church in an unbloody and sacramental manner until the Lord himself come ( ICor. 11:26).56

Common Priesthood

The baptismal or common priesthood of Christians, which is a genuine participation in the

priesthood of Christ, is an essential property of the New People of God57(1Pet 2,9; Aps 1,6;
Aps 5,10; Dt 7,6).
Common priesthood is a consequence of the fact that the Christian people has been chosen
by God as bridge with mankind and involves every believer who has been inserted into this
people.58
The Common priesthood has a secular character; this has a manner of life which sets a person
apart, without however bringing about a separation from ministerial priesthood or from other
men. They are called to fulfill their Christian vocation in the world by their states of life with
a secular character. They are also called to contribute to the sanctification of the world, led by
the holy sprit, by fulfilling their duties (like a leaven). Their position in the church is
fundamentally defined by their newness in Christian life and distinguished by their secular
character. Their proper vocation consists in seeking the Kingdom of God by engaging in
temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God.59
Baptism regenerates us in the life of the Son of God; unites us to Christ and to his body, the
church and anoints us in the Holy Spirit, making us spiritual temples. 60 Hence through baptism,
the lay faithful are made one body with Christ and are established among the people of
God.61They are made sharers in the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ. 62 United
with Christ and with the ministerial priest, they make themselves and their daily activities
as a sacrifice and an offering to God.
They sacrifice their entire lives by rejection of sin and self commitment to newness of life in
Christ through baptism. They are made into new temples of the Holy Spirit and of Christ. Hence
their rejection of sin as a sacrifice in their daily lives is united with the other offerings made by
the ministerial priest and offered together to Christ in the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist.
Through their participation of the prophetic mission of Christ, (LG, 35) they are given the
ability and responsibility to accept the gospel in faith and to proclaim it in word and deed.
Their spirituality is to be nurtured and perfected in their daily Christian witness of life. They
should incite the nonbelievers to a more fervent life (1 Cor 9:16). 63 They should unite their daily
lives with Christ. On their life’s pilgrimage, they are hidden with Christ in God, are free from the

56
Cf.PO. 2.
57
Cf. LG,10,11; PO, 2; CIC, 204.
58
Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), 2(a)6.
59
LG, 31; cf. CL, 15
60
Cf. CL, 10.
61
CL, 22.
62
CL, 9.
63
Cf. CL, 14, AA, 6.

50
slavery of riches, and are in search of the goods that last for ever. They exert their energies in
extending God’s kingdom.64
The ministries for the common priesthood express and realize a participation in the
priesthood of Christ, Not simply in degree but in essence from the participation given to all the
lay faithful through baptism and confirmation.65

Sacramental Priesthood (Ministerial Priesthood)

Ministerial priesthood combines two related but different notions; priesthood and ministry.
The word ministry is rooted in the New Testament term for service, diakonia. Jesus is the model
of Christian ministry. In broadest sense; ministry refers to the services by which the community
of the faithful is built. Therefore the Ordained ministry is an officially recognized form i.e.
blessed and graced by a special sacrament.66 They have their source and spark from Christ
the Lord through the apostolic succession. The ministerial priesthood is a link in the chain of
the apostolic succession down throughout the centuries realized by the imposition of hands by
the bishop during ordination. Hence their duties and service under the guidance of the bishops
to the people of God are those dutiesand responsibilities handed to the apostle by Jesus
Christ himself.
These are the ordained priestly ministers of Jesus Christ, invested with the character and grace of
the Sacrament of Orders and constituted witnesses and ministers of divine mercy who
voluntarily undertake to serve all in the Church.67 Together with the bishop they act in his name
and represent his potestas capitis in the Church.68 The sacramental character which
distinguishes them by virtue of their reception of Holy Orders ensures that their presence
and ministry are unique, indispensable and irreplaceable. The presence of an ordained
minister is an essential condition for the Church’s life and not merely for her effective
organization.69
The ministerial priesthood essentially has the royal priesthood of all the faithful as its aim and is
ordered to it.70
Through the sacred ordination and mission received by the priests from the bishops, the
priests are promoted to the service of Christ the teacher, priest and king. 71 They have been
consecrated in the Church for specific ministry; to the formation of the community of God’s
People. Their task is to tend the flock God entrusted to them72 (cf. 1 Pt 5: 2-3).
Priestly identity is a fruit of the sacramental action of the Holy Spirit (received in the Holy
Orders), a sharing in the saving work of Christ and completely oriented to the service of that
work in the Church as it unfolds in history.

64
Cf. Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.
65
Cf. CL, 22.
66
The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia.
67
Cf.Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), I,1.
68
LG, 11.
69
Cf.Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), I, 2.
70
CL, 22.
71
Cf. PO, 1.
72
Cf. Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), I, 4.

51
Priestly identity is three dimensional:Christological, pneumatological and ecclesiological.
He is the servant of Christ. Through Him, with Him, and in Him, the priest becomes the
servant of mankind.73
The very life and work of the priest are inseparable theological realities. Their object is service in
promoting the Church’s mission74 which is the eternal salvation of all mankind. The reason
for the existence of the priesthood is to be found and discovered in the mystery of the Church. 75
By virtue of the ministerial priesthood, the faithful are made aware of their common priesthood
and actualize it (cf. Eph 4, 11-12).76

Sacramental priesthood is both ‘hierarchical’ and ‘ministerial’: the ministry is a gift for the
community which comes from Christ himself and from the fullness of his priesthood.77
In the Church, the priest, alter Christus, is the minister of the essential salvific actions. 78 Acting
in persona Christi Capitis, he is the fount of life and vitality in the Church and in his parish by
virtue of his sacrificial power to confect the Body and Blood of the Redeemer, his authority to
proclaim the Gospel, and his power to conquer the evil of sin through sacramental
forgiveness. 79
Anointed by the Holy Spirit, is the servant who enters the sacramental sanctuary: Jesus Christ
Crucified (cf. John 19, 31-37). He is “an instrument of salvific communication between God
and man”.
At the pastoral level, he is empowered to be a “man of communion”, government and of
service to all. He is charged with promoting and maintaining unity between the members and
the Head, and between the members.80 Hence they are empowered with powers for the exercise
and execution of royal and kingly powers among the people of God. With such powers they
perform juridical and governmental duties and responsibilities. With such kingly and
authoritative powers, they take the duty of being guardians and directors with regard to the
temporal goods of the church too: With the pope as the head assisted by the bishops and then the
presbyters in subordination of their local ordinaries. As rulers they have to warn their brothers
and sisters in Christ with regard to the righteous discipleship of Christ; on steadfastness in faith
and moral standards. Also they act as judges and counselors, for instance in the sacrament of
reconciliation (confession).
He renders Christ present through the ministry of the Word which is a sharing in his
prophetic office81. In persona et nomine Christi, the priest is minister of the evangelizing word
which calls all to conversion and holiness. He is minister of the word of worship which praises
God’s greatness and gives thanks for His mercy. He is minister of the word of the sacraments
which are the effective source of grace. So with the power of the Holy Spirit, the priest prolongs

73
Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), 2 (a) 5.
74
Pastores Dabo Vobis, 70: 1.c
75
Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), 2 (a) 5.
76
Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), 2 (a) 6.
77
Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), 2 (a) 7.
78
Cf. Congregation for the Clergy, Directory for the Ministry and Life of Priests, Tota Ecclesia (31 January
1994), 7.
79
Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), 2 (a) 8.
80
Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), 2 (a) 9;
Pasotores Dabo Vobis, 18:1.c.
81
Cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis, 26,1.c.

52
the teaching of Christ in His Church.82 He is “sacerdos in aeternum- a priest forever” and a
full-time bearer of an ontological consecration.

Basic Aspects of Sacramental Priesthood

Prophetic aspect; Teaching the Revealed Truth
Presbyterate aspect; Offering the Sacrifice of the Eucharist and forgiving sins
Divine empowerment; The powers which the priest exercises are divine: This power is
transmitted by its own sacrament, the sacrament of holy orders.
The power to hand down the revealed truth authoritatively,
The power to offer Christ’s own sacrifice in the Eucharist,
The power to forgive sins, mediate Christ’s holiness and promote the development of the
kingdom of God. Therefore the priest is a man of God; in whom God acts in a special way.
Relationship between common priesthood and sacramental priesthood

Differences
While being ordered to one another, they differ essentially that is in
Consecration-baptism and Holy Order; and mission- secular realm and service of the common
priesthood.

The common priesthood is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace where as the ministerial
priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood, it is a means by which Christ unceasingly
builds up and leads his Church; it is directed to the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all
Christians. Through baptism, all the faithful become members of His Mystical Body; while in the
ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself, who is present to his Church as
Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of
Truth (cf. CCC, 1548). Through the ordained ministry, the presence of Christ as head of the
Church is made visible in the midst of the community of believers (cf. CCC, 1549). Ministerial
priesthood is for the service; it has been instituted for the good of all the faithful and the
communion of the Church (cf. CCC, 1551). The ministerial priesthood has the task of
representing Christ-Head of the Church-before the assembly of the faithful and acting in the
name of the whole Church when presenting to God the prayers of the Church and above all when
offering the Eucharistic sacrifice (cf. CCC, 1542).
In other words, if the common priesthood results from the fact that the Christian People are
chosen by God as a bridge with humanity and that every believer belongs to this people, the
ministerialpriesthood is the fruit of an election, of a specific vocation: “he called his
disciples, and chose from them twelve” (Lk 6, 13-16). Thanks to the ministerial priesthood, the
faithful are made aware of their common priesthood and they live it (cf. Eph 4, 11-12); the priest
reminds them that they are the People of God and makes them able to “offer spiritual sacrifices”
(cf. 1Pt. 2,5), through which Christ himself makes us an eternal gift to the Father (cf. 1Pt. 3,18).
Without the presence of Christ represented by the priest, the sacramental guide of the
community, this would not be an ecclesial community in its fullness.83

82
Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), 2 (a) 9.
83
Address of John Paul II, To the Plenary Session of the Congregation for the Clergy, Friday 23 November
2001,2.

53
  The common priesthood and the ministerial priesthood differ from each other not only
in grade but also in essence.84 The difference is not simply one of greater or lesser
participation in the priesthood of Christ, but one of essentially different ways of
participating in that priesthood. The common priesthood of the faithful is based on
baptismal character which is the spiritual seal of their having been claimed for Christ. It
“enables and commits Christians to serve God by a vital participation in the sacred liturgy
of the Church and to exercise their baptismal priesthood by the witness of holy lives and
practical charity”85.

 The ministerial priesthood is based on the sacramental character received in the

Sacrament of Orders which configures the priest to Christ so as to enable him to act in
the person of Christ and to exercise the potestas sacrato offer Sacrifice and forgive
sins.86 A new and specific mission is sacramentally conferred on those of the baptized
who have received the grace of the ministerial priesthood: to embody Christ's triple office
- prophetic, cultic and legal. They act in persona Christi Capitis, and consequently, in the
same way, they act in nomine Ecclesiae.87

Interrelationship
They do not exclude each other. Those who are entrusted with ministerial priesthood are
neither dispensed from worshipping God in spirit and truth, nor from the task of bearing witness.
The exercise of ministerial priesthood presupposes the common priesthood; the
ministerialpriesthood is entirely dependent upon the common priesthood. A priest cannot
limit his sacrificial offering to the ritual performance of the Eucharist.
They are called to commit themselves completely by making their total gift of their own self,
which Eucharist implies, in their own personal life.
The ministerialpriesthood is at the service of this baptismal/common priesthood. In other
words, ministerial priesthood is directedat the baptismal grace of all Christians. That is why
ministerial priesthood is called hierarchical priesthood, for it is connected with forming and
governing the priestly people.
It is called ministerial priesthood because it constitutes a special service ‘ministerium’ in
relationship to the community of believers. Common priesthood can only be exercised
incooperation with the ministerial priesthood.
This is particularly clear with regard to the Eucharist. Here the Christians personally offer their
own selves by uniting themselves to the offering of Christ and this offering comes to its fruition
through the mediation of the priest.
A similar cooperation is involved in the whole sacramental life even in marriage; the connection
with ministerial priesthood is indispensable. It is by virtue of the baptism the spouses are enabled
to administer this sacrament to each other, and the blessing of the priest is required over the
exchange of their consent.
Also in the practice of faith this relationship is clear, for faith expresses itself in union with the
teaching authority of the church.

84
LG.10; PO, 2; Pius XII, Encyclical Mediator Dei, 1947.
85
Cf. CCC, 1273.
86
Cf. TRENT, Session XXIII, Doctrina de sacramento Ordinis (15 July 1563); PO, 2,13; CD, 15.
87
Cf. SC, 33; Pastores Dabo Vobis, 13-15; cf.Congregation for the Clergy,The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the
Christian Community, Part I, 1,6.

54
So also the practice of charity and apostolic witness unfold under the guidance of priestly
ministry. Therefore, the common priesthood is not so self-centered as to be exercised
independent of ministerial priesthood.
It can only be exercised in conformity within the structure of the church. But this condition does
not curtail/restrain either their autonomy of personal initiatives far from restricting this vitality;
the ministerial priesthood promotes them giving them direction, in order to make it fruitful.
Hence “…those ministers, who are endowed with sacred powers, are servants of their brothers,
so that all who belong to the people of God, and are consequently endowed with Christian
dignity may through their free and well ordered efforts towards a common goal attain
salvation.”88
Observations on Contemporary Challenges against Ministerial Priesthood
In resent years questions have been raised about the wisdom of maintaining celibacy as a
necessary condition for the presbyterate.89 The ordination of women has become the object of
intense debate in some countries.90 To this problem the church responds thus;
The church has no power to change the substance of the sacraments. Hence the sacrament
of order was conferred to men and the church cannot change this practice.
Only a baptized male can validly receive the sacred ordination (CIC, 1024).
The congregation for the doctrine of Faith judges it necessary to recall that the church in
fidelity to the example of the Lord does not consider herself authorized to admit women to
the priestly ordination.
Only a baptized male validly receives the sacred ordination. The lord Jesus himself chose
men to form the college of the twelve apostles and the apostles did the same (cf. CCC,
1577). The church recognizes herself to be found by this choice made by the lord himself.
For this reason ordination of women is not possible.
The ordination to priesthood is reserved to men, is a matter of divine law. Pope John Paul
II alluded that it was a matter taught infallibly under the ordinary universal magisterium
and he reminded all Catholics to accept it.
The decline in vocations and the rising average age of present presbyters have bee sources of
concern in some countries too.91
The problem arising from the danger of “clericalizing” the laity and of “secularizing”92 the
clergy.

CONCLUSION

06. Relationship between collegiality of bishops and the primacy and infallibility of the
Roman Pontiff.

OUTLINE
88
Cf. LG, 18; Cf. CCC, 1547.
89
“Priest”, in the New Dictionary of Theology, 801.
90
Cf. “Priest”, in the New Dictionary of Theology, 801.
91
Cf. “Priest”, in the New Dictionary of Theology, 801.
92
Cf. CL, 23;Congregation for the Clergy, “The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community” (2002), 2
(a) 7.

55
INTRODUCTION
1. DEFINITION OF TERMS
1.1. College/collegiality
 In its strict sense (effective sense)
 Larger sense (affective sense),
1.2. Primacy
It means full, supreme, universal, immediate and unhindered ordinary power (cf. LG, 22 CL).
1.3. Papal Primacy
(cf. CIC, 333ff).
1.4. Roman Pontiff
pontifex maximus which means chief high priest; also guardian. He has “the full power of
nourishing, ruling and governing”. (Vat.I, pastor Aeternus).
1.5. Infallibility

2. THE PRIMACY OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF (CIC, 333)

2.1. Origin; Biblical Background according to the N.T
(John 21:15-17)
The Catholic Church teaches that the Bishop of Rome is the successor of Peter in his Prematial
service in the UniversalChurch.

2.2. Nature (Cf. LG, 27)

2.2.1. Servus servorumDei (Servant of the Servants of God)
2.2.2. The member of the “college” of Bishops
2.2.3. Brothers in the ministry.
2.2.4. His episcopacy and primacy are of divine institution. (cf. LG, 23; OE, 7,9)

2.3. Purpose (LG, 20)

2.3.1. The purpose of Petrine Charisma is “unity of faith and communion” (D. 3051)
2.3.2. Specific ministerial grace for serving that unity of faith and
 Vatican I, “Pastor Aeternus” indicates the purpose of the primacy and the content or
scope of his power.
 Vatican II,reaffirmed and completed the teaching of Vatican I (LG, 18)

3. INFALLIBILITY OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF (CF. CIC, 331)

3.1. Historical Development
3.1.1. Foundation in the Scripture (New Testament)
3.1.2. The Fathers of the church
 Apostolic Tradition
 Ignatius of Antioch
 Iraneus (185)
 Athanasius, Cyril of Alexandria, Flavian of Constantinople
 Thomas Aquinas (13TH Century)
 Medieval Theologians &Canonists)

3.1.3. The Magisterium (Further Development of Catholic Belief in PapalInfallibility)

 The council of Lyons II

56
  VAT. I and Pastor Aeternus (“ex Cathedra”)
 VAT.II
 The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 889-892,

3.2. The Source of Infallibility

3.3. The Goal
3.4. The Object of Infallibility (The Contents of Revelation/Faith and morals)
 Primarily LG, 25(cf. D. 11)
 Secondary And Indirect Objects
3.5. The Conditions for Infallibility
3.5.1. The Pope must act as the Universal Pastor and Teacher
3.5.2. The Pope must employ his Supreme Apostolic authority
3.5.3. It refer to the Personal act/proclamation of one Pope under three sub-conditions;
a. It is a single Pope who is infallible in his own right.
b. It excludes prior or post explicit approval by the whole Church/ Episcopate
c. Hence the proclamation must be a free act.

4. Infallibility of the Bishops

4.1. When assembled in an ecumenical council
4.2. Bond of unity among themselves and with Peter’s Successor and while teaching
authentically on matters of faith and morals (cf. LG, 25).
4.3. Magisterial teachings on the infallibility of the Bishops
4.3.1. The council of Trent affirmed that bishops have “succeeded the Apostles”.
4.3.2. Vat. I. repeated the same formula.
4.3.3. Pope Leo XII, Satis cognitum,
4.3.4. Pius XII, Mystici Corporis 1943)
4.3.5. Vatican II (on the authority of the Bishops)

5. The Doctrine of Collegiality of Bishops (CIC, 336-ff)

5.1. Membership (LG, 21, 24; CIC, 336)
 Vatican II
 Catechism of the Catholic Church
5.2. Ways Collegiality is Expressed (CIC, 337; Cf. CIC, 367; 336 §2; LG, 22,23)
1. In the Ecumenical Council in a Solemn way
2. In a collegiate action of the Bishops, throughout the world in union with the Pope.

6. Relationship of the Roman Pontiff to the College of Bishops (cf. CIC, 333)
Papal Primacy does not deny, weaken nor replace the role of diocesan bishops.

CONCLUSION
Introduction
Just as in the Gospel, the Lord so disposing, St. Peter and the other apostles constitute one
apostolic college, so in a similar way the Roman Pontiff, the Successor of Peter, and the bishops,
the successors of the apostles, are joined together. Indeed, the very ancient practice whereby
bishops duly established in all parts of the world were in communion with one another and with
the Bishop of Rome in a bond of unity, charity and peace, and also the councils assembled

57
together in which more profound issues were settled in common, the opinion of the many having
been prudently considered, both of these factors are already an indication of the collegiate
character and aspect of the episcopal order, and the ecumenical councils held in the course of
centuries are also manifest proof of that same character. Hence, one is constituted a member of
the episcopal body in virtue of sacramental consecration and hierarchical communion with the
head and members of the body. This college of bishops together with, but never without the pope
has the supreme and full authority over the universal church. Roman Pontiff, the head of the
college of bishops, enjoys in virtue of his office, the Infallibility when as the supreme shepherd
and teacher of all the faithful, who confirms his brethren in their faith (cf. Lk 22:32), by a
definitive act he proclaims a doctrine of faith or morals. Although the individual bishops do not
enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they nevertheless proclaim Christ's doctrine infallibly
whenever, even though dispersed through the world, but still maintaining the bond of
communion among themselves and with the Successor of Peter.
Hence in the course of explaining the relationship between the Collegiality of Bishops
and the Primacy and the Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff, we will first of all see the Collegiality
of Bishops and the way they acquire membership and authority, how they exercise that
Collegiality. This will be supported by proofs from the Bible and the fathers of the church.
Moreover the primacy of the Roman Pontiff as Peter’s successor and the Infallibility of the
Roman Pontiff will also be examine. Lastly we will examine the relationship between the
collegiality of Bishops and the Primacy and the Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff.
1. Collegiality of Bishops
It is the principle that all the bishops of the church with the Pope as their head form a single
College which succeeds in every generation the college of the twelve apostles with Peter as their
head, which Christ instituted as the foundation of the church (cf. CCC, 861,880 and 883).
According to D. Avanzo who participated in the council of Vatican two, said that St. Peter whom
the church honors as the first bishop and the Vicar of Christ, had received the fullness of powers
as an apostle from Christ his master. However Christ never willed that St. Peter should be alone,
but rather make use of other helpers that he gave him, namely the apostles who in fact received
the same pastoral mission from, Christ.93
This Church, constituted and organized in this world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church
governed by the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him (CIC. c. 204 par 2).
Bishops, who by divine institution succeed to the place of the Apostles through the Holy Spirit
who has been given to them, are constituted pastors in the Church, so that they are teachers of
doctrine, priests of sacred worship, and ministers of governance (CIC. c. 375 par 1).Through
Episcopal consecration itself, bishops receive with them the function of sanctifying also the
functions of teaching and governing; by their nature, however, thesecan only be exercised in
hierarchical communion with the head and members of thecollege.
From this explanation, then one can draw out two fold limitations to principle of
collegiality; one active and the other passive one. The active stems from the fact that Christ
himself gives his power to peter, “Christ shall give to you…, I prayed for you Peter… and again
he tells him, and feed my sheep.”94 This power was given to him in order to build the church, the
body of Christ. The mission which is now entrusted to the bishops in union with the roman
pontiff.

93
Cf. B. Kloppenburg., ecclesiology of Vatican II, 182.
94
B. Kloppenburg., ecclesiology of Vatican II, 182.

58
 In the other hand the passive limitation also originates from Christ and consists of the
other apostles who were commissioned to do the same work with Peter. Christ appointed Peter as
the rock of foundation of his church and the same Christ appointed other builders namely the
apostles in order to help in building his church which is his own body.
From such understanding, then it is easy for us to understand the important and the
meaning of the college of the bishops with whom the pope must work with in order to establish
the church and saving the souls of those who accept Chris as their redeemer. The episcopate is a
single organism; by Christ’s institution.
However not all who constitute it or compose it are equal, nevertheless whatever
established for one part influences the others, and whatever is defined about the head affects the
members too. Therefore if Peter is the shepherd of the sheep and lambs, then the bishops also are
the shepherds of the sheep and lambs, and if peter loses and binds so do other apostles too and
likely to the bishops.
2.1 In the Scripture
Considering this, the Principle of Collegiality that “they may all be one” (Jn17: 21) is a broader
notion applying to any group that shares a common purpose and receives from a common source
a joint power to pursue that purpose in cooperation with and under the direction of its head.
This broader notion presents two points that help us understand and apply the Principle of
Collegiality.
2.1.1 A Common Purpose
In Lk 22:31-32, Pope John II explains that “the basic elements of the Petrine mission are found
in those words. First that of strengthening of his brothers by expounding the faith, exhorting to
faith, all the measures necessary for the development of the faith”95.
Moreover unity of communion is well expressed in the Act of the Apostles, where we
have the basis of unity as indicated in (Act 2:41-42). In these verses we find the purpose of the
college of bishops maintaining, one baptism, one faith, one fellowship and one Eucharist- the
breaking of the bread. All these should be based on the teaching of the apostles. Likewise, the
early Christians further expressed this unity in their real life by sharing their possessions (Act
2:44-45).
The last verses of Jesus’ Priestly Prayer cited above were offered during the Last Supper.
These words reveal the purpose of all men–to behold the glory of the Son shared with the Father
from eternity, and to be one with the Trinity in that glory. (Jn 17:21). Jesus’ self-sacrifice on
Calvary obtained for all men the mercy and grace necessary for union with God. 96
2.1.2 A Common Source of Power
Jesus commissioned the apostles to act in His name and with His power (Mt18:18;
Jn13:12-15). As a human person, Jesus knew the limitations of space and time, and He remained
in Palestine throughout His entire life. He did not intend the apostles to do the same, but willed
that all men would have the Gospel preached to them. By commissioning the apostles, Jesus acts
through them to continue His work on earth. They search out souls on earth as Jesus pursued
souls when He descended into hell. He made this crystal clear during His Priestly Prayer with the
words, “As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their
sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated intruth” (Jn. 17:18-19).

95
Thomas PAZHAYAMPALLIL, op.cit., p. 422.
96
www.catholiccanonlaw.com, Collegiality, 21/11/2013.

59
2.2 Tradition
Just as St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a unique apostolic college, so in
like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peters’ successor and the Bishops, the successors of the apostles,
are related with and united to one another.
2.2.1 Cyprian of Carthage
In his famous letter to pope Stephen of Rome (254-257 AD), he calls the Pope to
intervene in a disputed matter, explicitly uses the term ‘college’ he says “for that reason, dearly
beloved brother, the large body of bishops is joined by the bond of mutual concord and the chain
of unity, so that if anyone of our college should attempt to engage in heresy, and wound and lay
waste the flock of Christ, the others, as useful and merciful shepherds, should assist and should
assemble the sheep of the Lord into the flock…For although we shepherds are many, yet we feed
one flock, and all of the sheep whom Christ sought by His blood and passion we ought to collect
and to cherish…” 97
2.2.2 Theodoret, bishop of Cyprus
He wrote to Leo, Bishop of Rome, in the same collegial spirit in which Paul appealed to
Peter. He says “If Paul, the herald of truth, the trumpet of the Holy Spirit, had recourse to the
great Peter in order to obtain a decision from him concerning those at Antioch (Act 15:1-35),
much more do we, small, humble folk, run to the apostolic throne to get healing from you for the
woes of the churches. For it is fitting that in all things you should have the primacy, seeing that
your See possesses many special advantages. Other cities get reputation for size, or beauty, or
population, or some that are devoid of those advantages: but your city has got an abundance of
blessings from the great Provider. Moreover she is adorned by her faith testified to by the
apostles, saying your faith is spoken of throughout the world (Rom1:8…).”98
2.2.3 John Chrysostom
He praises the city of Rome as the city of the twin pillars of the Church, Peter and Paul.
In his Homilies on Romans he says “I love Rome for this reason particularly, although indeed
there are other grounds for praising it- its greatness, its antiquity, its beauty, its populouseness,
its power, its wealth, its success in war. But, passing over all these other reasons, I esteem it as
blessed on this account, that even in his lifetime Paul wrote to them, and loved them so much,
and talked with them in person, and brought his life to a close there. That is more than anything
else makes the city noteworthy. Like a great, strong body it has the bodies of these two saints
like two glistening eyes.”99
2.2.4 Basil the great
Insisting on the collegiality to Athanasius as his model, he says, “Although it is quite
enough for most men to watch over their own responsibilities, this does not suffice for you. On
the contrary, you have as great care for all the churches as for the particular one entrusted to you
by our benevolent Lord. For indeed you never cease reasoning, admonishing, writing, and, on
every occasion, sending the best counselors.”100

97
Thomas HALTON,The Church: Message of the Fathers of the Church, Michael Glazier Inc, Delaware 19854, p.
107.
98
Thomas HALTON,Ibid.,p. 109.
99
Ibid.,p. 108.
100
Ibid., p. 110.

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3. The primacy and the Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff
It means first in rank. Therefore, it is the authority which the pope has over the whole church. A
primacy may be of honor, of control, of direction primatus directionis or jurisdiction that is of
government.
Is the charism by which the church is preserved from the possibility and liability to error
in teachings on matters of faith and morals. This charism has a two-fold aspect; it enables its
recipients authoritatively both to believe and to proclaim God’s revelation. It is that gift of the
Holy Spirit which preserves the Church in its teaching as well as its members in believing from
error in regard to what is divinely revealed.
“He is the head of the College of Bishops, the vicar of Christ, and the pastor of the
universal Church here on earth.”101
3.1 The primacy of Roman Pontiff
The primacy of the Roman pontiff is rooted from the primacy of Peter, who was given
pre –eminence and not of honour only, but of real authority so that he surpasses all in power and
all others were given a bounded duty to obey him. Likewise, the Roman Pontiff has equal
primacy of jurisdiction which comprises the power to teach and rule. And it means that, by virtue
of this Peter’s primacy the Roman Pontiff as the visible head of the universal church has full and
supreme power to teach and rule as the Vicar of Christ.
3.2 Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff
The Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff was announced in different councils, the council of
Constantinople 869-870, of Lyons 1274 and of Florence 1438-1445 are the ones which, having
already proclaimed the teaching on the primacy of the Pope which in its essence involved
infallibility. The first Vatican Council defined that the Roman Pontiff when he speaks ex-
Cathedra that is when in discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all Christians by virtue of
his supreme apostolic authority, he defines the doctrine regarding faith and morals be held by the
universal Church, by divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter is possessed of that
infallibility with which the divine redeemer willed that His church should be endowed with it.
3.3 The primacy and the Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff as found:
3.3.1 In Scripture
From the scriptural writings we get different indications or proofs that show the Primacy
and infallibility of the Roman Pontiff. From the Gospel of St. Mathew, we find Christ who made
Peter the foundation of His Church the one who leads the Church to her unity and unshakable
strength and duration that will not pass away (Mt 16:18). Peter is also the supreme teacher of the
faith, is to be infallible in the official promulgation of faith (Mt 16:18). Likewise, Christ installed
Peter and his successors as supreme pastor over the whole flock (Jn 21:15-17).
Also the task of teaching Christian truth and of protecting it from error is part of the
function of the supreme Pastor. But he could not fulfill this task if in the exercise of his supreme
teaching office, he himself were to be subject to error. Christ prayed that Peter should be fortified
in faith and commissioned him to fortify his brothers (Lk 22:31).

101
Thomas PAZHAYAMPALLIL, Pastoral Guide, A Handbook on the Latin and Oriental Codes of Canon Law,
(3ed), Kristu Jyoti Publications, Bangalore 20043, p. 420.

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3.3.2 In Tradition
3.3.2.1 St.Cyprian
Commenting on Mt 16:18-19, he, indicates that Jesus built His church up on only one
man, and that is Peter (De unitate ecclesiae). Moreover, he characterizes the Roman Church as
the teaching chair of Peter (Cathedra Petri), as the starting point of the Episcopal unity, he says
“you do not bear in mind that it is the Romans whose faith was praised by the commendatory
testimony of the Apostles (Rom 1:8) and to which teaching can gain no admittance” (Ep. 59.14).
3.3.2.2 St. Leo the great
He indicates that only Peter was chosen out of the whole world to be the Head of all
called peoples, of all the apostles and of all the fathers of the church (Sermo 4.2).
He says, “The fisherman of that faith which was recommended in the prince of the Apostles is
something perpetual” (Sermo 3.2).
3.3.2.3 St. Augustine
He says the chief of the apostles Peter in whom primacy over the apostles shines with
such brilliant beauty; who is unaware that the apostolic primacy of his is to be preferred to any
other episcopate. (De Baptismo 2.2). In endingthe Pelagius controversy he says “for this reason
two deputations were sent to the apostolic See and the See has sent back the answers the case is
finished” (Sermo 131.10).
3.3.2.4 Ephreme
In his hymn of St. Peter he indicates blessed are you whom the son of God chose and
appointed head of His disciples and to whom he gave the power and authority to bind and to lose
(Hymni disputati 3.2).
3.3.2.5. St. Irenaeus of Lyons
Recognizing the faith of the Roman Church as the norm for the whole church, he says
“with this church in account of its special eminence every other church must agree, in her
Apostolic Tradition, has always been kept pure; (Irenae. Adv. Haer. III, 3, 2).” The freedom of
the Roman Church from error in faith presupposes the in fall of her Episcopal teacher of faith.
3.3.2.6 St. Ignatius of Antioch
In the preface of his epistle, to the Romans, he calls the church at Rome “a Church
without blemish [stain] which holds the primacy of the community of love” (SC. 10. 106). 102 He
went on saying that “they are purified of every foreign colour” that is “they are free from every
false doctrine.”
4. The relationship between the Collegiality of Bishops and the Primacy and the
Infallibility ofthe Roman Pontiff.
In 1863, Pope Pius IX declared that the infallibility of the church is exercised in matters
of faith, by the Extra Ordinary Magisterium, namely, by the solemn definition of the Ecumenical
Council and the Sovereign Pontiff but also by the Ordinary Magisterium, of the Church as a
whole, namely, through the teaching of the Bishops scattered throughout the world in
communion with the Pope.
4.1The exercise of the Extraordinary and Ordinary Magisterium
When the Bishops of the Universal Church assemble under the Pope in an Ecumenical
Council and decide on matters of faith and morals. “The supreme authority with which this
102
Thoma HALTON, Ibid.,p.95.

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college is empowered over the whole Church is exercised in a solemn way through an
ecumenical Council” Just as, in accordance with the Lord’s decree St. Peter and the rest of the
apostles constitutes a unique apostolic college, so in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter’s
successor, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related with and united to one
another (LG. 22). With the Pope, the college shares the pastoral care and government of the
Roman Catholic Church. “The college of Bishops whose head is the supreme Pontiff and whose
members are Bishops by virtue of sacramental ordination and hierarchical communion with the
head and never without this head is [also] the subject of supreme and full power over the
universal Church” (CIC. c. 336). It is for the Pope to determine how the college of Bishops
exercises that power. Normally as we have hinted before it would be through ecumenical
council.103
The exercise of the Ordinary Magisterium, It is when each Bishop who is the Pastor of
his diocese, has the responsibility and the authority of teaching the Christians doctrine in his
diocese. His teaching function is described as to preach the Gospel, to lead new disciples to
Christ, to make their faith be fruitful, to ward off errors which threaten their flock and to witness
to divine truth. The bishops exercise their infallible teaching power in an ordinary manner when
they, in their dioceses in moral unity with the Pope unanimously promulgate the same teachings
on faith and morals.104 The first Vatican Council indicates that the truth of Revelation proposed
as such by the ordinary and general teaching office of the church are to be firmly held with
divine and Catholic Faith (D.1792).
4.2 The Synod of Bishops and Bishops’ Conferences
The expression of Collegiality is primarily manifested in Synod of Bishops and the
Bishops’ conferences. The Synod of bishops was established by Paul VI in 1965, a consultative
assembly drawn from the whole Catholic Episcopate, to discuss matters of the world and the
Bishop of Rome. The Pope is its president, and he determines its agenda and can grant it the
deliberate power if he so chooses. Although it only meets every five years at the call of the Pope,
it is the permanent body, with a permanent general secretariat, presided over by a General
Secretary appointed by the Pope and with the assistance of the Council of Bishops (CIC. cc. 342-
348).
4.3 Ad limina visits of a Bishop
The Pastoral Decree on the Bishops (CD), encourages Bishops’ Conferences. It is the
expression of collegial spirit. This spirit of collegiality is expressed also in the ad limina visits,
and in local level, through presbyteral and pastoral councils. Adlimina means ad –to, limina–
threshold , a visit of each diocesan Bishop is required to make to Rome, where he meets
personally with the Pope and with the various officials of the Roman Curia. It is a canonical
obligation of every Bishop (CIC. c. 400), to be fulfilled personally by the Bishop, or if impeded,
by his coadjutor or auxiliary or designated priest of his diocese. “The aim is to strengthen the
bond of hierarchical communion and as a witnessing to the catholicity of the church and the
unity of the Episcopal College, while providing an opportunity for the Bishops to discuss
personally with the Pope particular matters of concern in his diocese.”105
CONCLUSION

103
CF. Fr. Mlola, Class Notes
104
Cf. Fr.Rusimbya Sigfried, Class Notes
105
Cf. Fr. Mlola, Class Notes

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We can conclude by saying that the universal Church enjoys the Collegiality of Bishops for they
teach what was taught by our Lord Jesus Christ. The Pope, bishop of Rome, successor of Peter,
enjoys primacy and infallibility since he is entrusted with the custody of the deposit of faith,
namely, Scripture and Tradition and morals of the people of God. The Pope practices this power
of governance without intermediaries and when he speaks ‘EX CATHEDRA’, that is as the
supreme teacher in matters concerning faith and morals. Infallibility of the Pope has its origin in
the Holy Spirit, who guides the people of God.

Creation, Sin and Grace (15,16& 17)

07. The Christian doctrine of the creation: the faith of Israel’s and of the early Church;
the major points of the doctrinal development and the theological-systematic outline.

Outline:
Introduction
1. The Christian Doctrine of Creation (The Meaning and Nature of Creation)
1.1 The Meaning of creation
2. The Biblical Foundatio1 n of The Doctrine of Creation
2.1 Creation in the Old Testament
2.1.1 Israel and the idea of Creation
2.1.1.1 Creation and the Ancient myths
2.1.1.2 Creation and Covenant
2.1.2 The Genesis (Biblical) Accounts of Creation
2.1.2.1 The Priestly Creation Account (Gen 1:1 – 2:4a)
2.1.2.2 The Yahwistic Creation Account (Gen 2:4b – 3:25)
2.1.2.3 Creation of Man in the Bible
2.1.3 Creation in the Psalms
2.1.4 Creation in theq Wisdom Books
2.1.5 Creation in the Book of Maccabees (2Macc 7:23ff)
2.2 Creation in the New Testament
2.2.1 Creation in the synoptic Gospels
2.2.2 Creation in the Gospel According to John
2.2.3 Creation in the Acts
2.2.4 Creation in Pauline Literature
2.3 The General Outlook
3. Creation in the Tradition and Magisterium of the Church
3.1 Tradition

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 3.1.1The Non-Christian Ideas on the origins
3.1.1.1 Gnosis
3.1.1.2 Dualism
3.1.1.3 Neo-Platonism
3.1.1.4 Stoicism
3.1.2 Symbols (Creeds) and faith in Creation
3.1.3 The Church Fathers
3.1.3.1 Ireneus
3.1.3.2 Clement
3.1.3.3 Origen
3.1.3.4 St. Justine
3.1.3.5 St. Augustine
3.1.3.6 St. Thomas Aquinas
3.1.3.7 Telhard De Charldin
3.2 Magisterium
3.2.1 Nicaea
3.2.2 Constantinople I & II
3.2.3 Vatican I
3.2.4 Vatican II
4. The Major Points of the Doctrinal Development and the Theological – systematic outline

INTRODUCTION
 Creation theology is a part of Christian dogmatic theology that deals with the origin of the
world and of man. It is basic to the Christian understanding of the value of created things and
human life.
 Traditionally this treaty called De Deo creante et elevante, established a neat separation
between creation and redemption. Thus it presented the man created by God, the fallen man
into sin and the redeemed man by grace. It dealt with creation as a neutral premise for
theology, a kind of courtyard for the pagans, a place of encounter for all possible religions
and as an open field for philosophy.
 It dealt with creation as a platform for the discussion later, on sin and elevation. Normally, it
forgot the fact of creation in Christ (Col 1:15-20; Eph 1:4-14), in order to present Incarnation
from a perspective influenced by St. Augustine thought which seems to find salvation from
sin as the only motive for the incarnation.
 Nowadays a renewal of the treaty is being done whereby it would be radically Christocentric,
in the sense that all should be presented in unity with Christ. Christ appears present already
in creation because in him and for him the world has been created from the beginning, in
such a way that incarnation is understood as recapitulation of all in Christ after the sin of the
first parents. There is nothing more than a salvific plan of God in Christ, already present in
creation which will be restored by redemption.
 The belief that God created the world illuminates our understanding of God and of man: it is
of fundamental importance because of the light it throws on the relationship of God to the
world and of God to man.

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 Only through a true doctrine of creation can we understand grace, the supernatural, and the
promise of the ultimate consummation of things.
 The teaching that God is the sole creator of all things can be established from the scripture
and Tradition. It would also be necessary to point out as to why God created? Was He
impelled by necessity?
 God is not only the creator of the things but also sustainer and provider of the things through
divine providence.

1. THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF CREATION(THE MEANING AND NATURE

OF CREATION)
 The Catholic Church teaches that God created all things (Gen. 1/1). The Holy Scripture
attests this.
 The profession of faith confesses that God the Father almighty is “Creator of heaven and
earth”…“of all that is seen and unseen” – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth.”

1.1 The Meaning of Creation

 The Gk verb krinen meaning to create, denotes to found or to make habitable. Thus there are
many resonances: founding/begetting/shaping/making.
 The Hebrew bara reserved for the almighty and wondrous act of God. it denotes a work of
God independent of any pre-existent material and realized without effort on the part of him
who wills it ( Leo Scheffezyk).
 ‘To create’ means to make something out of nothing. Man cannot make something out of
nothing, only God can create ex nihilo that is out of nothing. God just spoke and it was made.
 He created by means of His word, and not through pre-existing matter. For man to create
something, there is a need for pre-existing matter.
 Creation is not a transformation of one thing into another, nor is it an emanation or outflow
of something from the creator’s own being, nor any kind of action about or upon some pre-
existing subject or material.
 Creation means just this: that besides God, and apart from God, there was nothing, no being
of any sort whatsoever; God willed, commanded, and behold, at his command things sprang
into existence, without a gradual process; meaning that creation is instantaneous, or even
more exactly, timeless.


2. THE BIBLICAL FOUNDATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION

2.1 Creation in the Old Testament
2.1.1 Israel and the idea of Creation
 It is something positive to start talking about the origin of the concept of creation in Israel
(cf. G. Von Rad, The Book of Genesis; id., The Theological problem of creation in the OT;
C. Westermann, Genesis 1 – 11; id., Theology of OT)

2.1.1.1 Creation and the Ancient myths

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 In the cultural area of Israel (Babylon, Egypt and Chaldea) one undoubtedly will find
mythological accounts about the creation of the world. They are mythical cosmogonies,
including even theogonies, which are also mythical. A good example is the Babylonian poem
on the origin of the world (Enuma Elish) which contemplates an origin in which nothing
existed be it the earth or the heaven. It was only Apsu (sweet water) who was ruling and
appears as the progenitor, and the Tiamat (salt water), the bearer. The waters were in a
chaotic confusion. Creation is understood here as fighting carried by Marduk, the king of the
gods, against this primordial chaos, in such a way that its portions become the origin of the
different parts of the universe.
 No doubt that the Biblical narrative especially the Priestly tradition which originates from the
6th BC, has taken some elements from this mythology but we can see clearly later that the
biblical narratives, both the Priestly and Yahwist (10 th BC) do present an idea totally distinct
of creation, which can be summarized as follows:
- Creation appears as the first savific act of God in history
- God presents himself as the only God, transcendent and pre-existing
- God creates (barah) through an action, which has no any analogy, independently of any
pre-existing material and by the power of his word.

2.1.1.2 Creation and Covenant

 The idea of creation from nothing has an evident origin in the Bible. This idea came into the
Jewish world not from a philosophical or metaphysical consideration, rather as the result of a
reflection on the activity of Yahweh in the history of salvation.
 Gerhard von Rad maintained that the idea of creation is born in Israel in connection and
departing from the notion of covenant. It has been the history and the living God in which
Israel has encountered that which lead her to the idea of creation. Primordially there has been
in Israel a reflection on God who has acted in the history. Israel developed the faith on the
God of creation through the God of the covenant.
 C. Westermann in the contrary maintained that Israel in the antiquity could not fail to
understand the concept of creation, which was already possessed by the ancient mythologies.
The confession of God the creator does not depend from the idea of the covenant.

2.1.2 The Genesis (Biblical) Accounts of Creation

 The Genesis account (1:1-2:4a; 2:4b-25) differs from other cosmogonies like Enuma Elish in
that; it is unambiguously monotheistic. God is transcendent, pre-existent.
- His creative work needs no prior substratum; his fiat is creative: “God said….and it
was so”. Bodies which in other cosmogonies are divinized here are treated as
creatures of God.

2.1.2.1 The Priestly Creation Account (Gen 1:1 – 2:4a)

 This account as already insinuated above comes from the Priestly tradition. It comprises a
wide dimension than that of Gen 2. It elaborates all dimension of the universe and in doing so
he has utilized the popular mythologies (idea of the original chaos, the idea of waters as
perturbing potencies, but giving a new and original interpretation).

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 The entire cosmos emerges step by step from the hands of God, progressing from chaos to
the cosmos and culminating in the summit of creation which is the human being, created in
the image and likeness of God.
 For the Genesis the human being appears in the pyramid of the creation as the creature nobler
from all the others.
 It is an account or a report on how it happened. The priestly writer is not interested in the
cosmological and biological data, rather wants to offer a doctrine of important repercussion
in his faith: that the God of our fathers is the creator of all.
 The narrative of creating act in six days is not an information of what happened at the
beginning rather a didactic scheme which wants to show the seven days as a rhythm of work
and rest in the life of man.
The use of the verb barah
 It uses the word barah instead of verb hasad which means to make. The verb barah which
means to create expresses the singular and transcendent action of God. It is an action of an
absolute character which excludes a pre-existing matter. The creature is not a subject of this
verb. It is used exclusively to God. Creation has an absolute beginning. The term “in the
beginning” (bereshit) means the beginning of all, showing that time begins with the creation
of the world.
 The expression, “created the heaven and the earth” is a synthetic expression which means
that he created all. The primordial chaos which appears at the beginning appears as
something inert without life and comes to mean disorder, emptiness.
 The transcendental character of creation is seen in the expression “and God said”. All come
into existence by the command of his word.
 The summit of creation is the human being, not only because he comes at the end, rather
because at the moment of creating him, the verb barah is applied three times significantly in
order to make in this moment the coming of the creative energy in its more and full
development. Also in the moment of creating the human being, what seems to show that the
creation of man implies a solemn act of creation in the part of God, is that God says that “let
us make man”. The human being is created in the image and likeness of God.
 All creation points towards Sabbath, which is the sign of the covenant and into it overflows.
Sabbath is the rest of creation, in a way that it is called to participate in the final rest of God.
Sabbath is the symbol of the covenant to which all creation directs. With that the author
wants to teach that creation is in function of the covenant.
 In short, the priestly account on creation does not employ explicitly the concept of creation
from nothing; but clearly in an implicit form.

2.1.2.2 The Yahwistic Creation Account (Gen 2:4b – 3:25)

 This account has as its end, already mentioned, to explain the origin of evil and death,
inspiring itself from the wisdom tradition which developed during Solomonic Period. Thus
creation serves to explain how man being good by the hands of God, is the one who gave
origin to evil through sin.
 This account does not cover the creation of the universe, rather only that of the human being.
The initial situation is not that of chaos rather of dry land.
 It does not apply the word barah rather the verb yasar, which means to model, to form. In
effect God models man from mud on the earth (afar adamah).

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 Paradise here certainly is not a geographical dimension rather a symbol which expresses the
total harmony of man with nature and God.

2.1.2.3 Creation of Man in the Bible

 In the priestly narrative man is presented as the summit of creation and that the Yahwist
locates him as the only being created in view of explaining the origin of evil.
 Man is created in the image and likeness of God.
 (The somatic and spiritual nature of man): created in the image of God, human being is a
being at once corporeal and spiritual. The biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic
language when it affirms that then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.
 Man is first and foremost a unity of soul and body.

2.1.3 Creation in the Psalms

 Psalms – presents creation as an article of faith emerged with the spirituality of the
synagogue. It is therefore, relatively late as an explicit teaching.
 They witness a belief that we are God’s creatures, living in God’s world. Psalms are imbued
with praise of and devotion to the Creator and express awe and jubilation at the order and
beauty of the world.
 The psalmist describes the acts of creation in the same order as Gen (Ps 8//Gen 1).
 The piety of the psalmist is founded in the creation of God. The continuous references of the
psalms to creation are a proof of its importance in the Israel piety.
 Psalm 8:2-10 celebrates the divine work of creation expressing its joy for the creation. Man is
the lord of all creation because God put everything under his feet.
 Psalm 104 has a clear relation with the priestly tradition for it resorts step by step the work of
creation for praising God.
 Psalm 136 expresses the sentiment of the action of grace to Yahweh for the work of creation.
It invites to give thanks to Yahweh for his mercy is eternal. Creation seems to be like the
fruit of the love of God and invites all to give thanks to the creator of all and the maker of all
the salvific interventions in order to save Israel. The creator is the saviour (Ps. 136:1-9).

2.1.4 Creation in the Wisdom Books

 Wisdom Literature – another aspect of creation. It leads to God by contemplation of nature as
witness to the divine (Wis 13/ Job 28:12).
- Here divine wisdom is personified and taken as co-principle: “Yahweh created me at
the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old…(Prov 8)”.
 Wisdom is reflected, before all, in the fact that God creates all by love (Wis 11:24-26).
 In the wisdom books there is a tendency of personifying little this Wisdom. They attribute to
this Divine Wisdom perfections which are only attributed to God (Wis 10:1-5, 18). It pre-
existed even before creation, collaborates with God in creation and in governing the world
and it is responsible for the moral and religious education of the human beings and
especially of the chosen people (Wis 1:1ff).
 There is uncreated Wisdom (Prov 8:22-31), - in the NT this is identified with the Logos –
which as the Word of God, has come from the mouth of the Most High, was there at the
origin of creation and has come to establish himself in Israel.

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 2.1.5 Creation in the Prophetic Books/ Literature
 Prophetic writings (Exile Witness) – Deutero-Isaiah and Ezekiel ate the chief source of the
biblical doctrine of creation or origin.
 They speak of New Exodus/New covenant/New creation. The God of covenant is the God
who created, and who therefore, has the power over the universe (Isa. 43 – 44).
 Gives salvific interpretation of creation i.e. creation is linked to redemption and eschatology.
It is a chain of events in which creation is an initial stage, to the present and future.
 Creation in Deutero Isaiah: Von Rad claims that it is possible that the idea of creation to have
been present in Israel in some ancient texts but it required time to be harmonized in the
theological context of history of salvation.
 It is with the exile prophets and particularly Deutero Isaiah when the idea of a unique and
creator of all was popularly felt (cf. Is 40:22-28; 42:5-6; 44:24-26). The word applied by
Deutero Isaiah to speak about creation is Barah (cf. 43:18-19; 48:6-8); a verb which means to
create without having a pre-existing matter.
 Jeremiah tries to bring again hope to Israel basing himself in the creating power of God (cf.
Jer 31:35-37; 32:17-22).

2.1.6 Creation in the Book of Maccabees (2Macc 7:23ff)

 The technical term creation ex nihilo is not contained in these chapters until the second book
of Maccabees 7:28: the mysteries of the origins are linked with eschatological mysteries
where God is the consummator and creator – he created out of nothing including human
beings.
 Not from anything – deals away with the ambiguity of Wis. 11:17 – out formless matter; -
and the chaotic mass of Genesis.
 For the first time we find here explicitly the affirmation of creation out of nothing (creation
ex nihilo). It is an exhortation to put one’s heart to God, given that He is the creator of all.
The argumentation is found in the mouth of the mother of the Maccabean brothers who
appeals to God the saviour and exhorted her sons to accept martyrdom believing in him,
given that all was created out of nothing by him (2 Mac 7:28).

2.2 Creation in the New Testament

 Creation in NT appears logically in reference to the OT. The biblical faith in God the creator
is present in it and Christ is referred with it to the Father.

2.2.1 Creation in the synoptic Gospels

 Synoptic Gospels: Jesus proclamation of the Kingdom of God is rooted in a biblical faith in
God the Creator.
- Salvation by God in Jesus Christ happens within the framework of creation (Mt
25:34; Mk 2:27; 7:19).
- Christ demands them to have confidence in the Father because he is the creator (Mt
25:34).
 Christ reveals the face of the Father, God the creator. With the motive of divorce, Jesus refers
to the fact that God created human beings man and woman (Mk 10:5-6).

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 2.2.2 Creation in the Gospel According to John
 In John and Paul: theology of the resurrection is linked to the pre-existence of Christ and his
role as mediator as well as to the church and the eschatological consummation of man and
the world.
 “In the beginning was the word…and the word was God…all things were made through him,
and without him was not anything made that was made.” (Jn. 1:1-3)
 This is the Christological dimension of creation. Therefore Christ was there before creation
of the world. He existed as “word” before he became flesh (Jn 1:1).

2.2.3 Creation in the Acts

 Acts of the Apostles – Paul proclaims a God:
- Who has created the universe and everything that is in it, who is Lord of heaven and
earth;
- Who has appointed a day on which he will judge the world according to rightness;
- Through a man whom he has appointed for that purpose (Acts 17).
 In Acts 17:24-31, we have the first affirmation in the book of the Acts whereby departing
from the idea of God the creator which has passed over the time of ignborance. This God has
fixed the day when he will judge the world through the man who was destined by God and
who was raised in order to save the human beings. This was the goal of creation.

2.2.4 Creation in Pauline Literature

 1Cor 8:4, St. Paul wants to underline monotheism insisting in the absolute and unique
character of God whereby he also confesses that Christ is the Lord. Paul attributes to the
Father the initiative of creation in such a way that all come from him.
 He puts together this confession of God as the creator with that of the Christ’s divinity (cf.
Rom 8:3, 8; 9:5; Acts 13:33). If creation comes from the Father, Christ is attributed also
mediation of the same. Christ is thus mediator of creation because the mediator of salvation
should also be the mediator of creation.
 Col 1:15-20: he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation... “All things
were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold
together.” in this text appear united the economy of salvation with that of creation.
 Eph 1:14: in this text we find that the salvific plan of the Father in Christ. Thus, Christ is the
unifying centre and the full meaning of all history.

2.3 The General Outlook of Creation in NT

 What is specific in the NT is that it discovers to us also the Christological dimension of
creation. This is not done by Christ rather by the Christian reflection which contemplates
creation departing from the central act and the cosmic repercussion which has the
resurrection of Christ.
 NT Christology, Jesus is the link between protology and eschatology, creation and salvation
(1 Cor 8:6; Heb 1:10-11; Eph 1:9-10).
 NT focuses our ideas on creation to embrace a cosmic Christology (L.Boff), an eschatology;
Theocentric, Trinitarian, Pneumatological and an existing perspective on discipleship.
- Pneumatologically, it points up the identity of the creative Holy Spirit with the spirit
of which hovered over the aboriginal chaos.
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 3. CREATION IN THE TRADITION
The first Christian reflection on creation had to be done from principle against
conceptions of the world and human being which coming from the Hellenistic thoughts
or related with it posed a challenge.
 The fathers had to fight against the Gnostics, dualism, neo Platonism and stoicism, while at
the same time developed the Christian doctrine in the symbols of faith.

3.1. THE NON-CHRISTIAN Traditions ON THE ORIGINS-

Philosophical

3.1.1. Gnosis (Gnosticism)

 There have been always discussions on the origin of Gnosticism.
 Gnosticism makes a neat differentiation between a good God and evil matter. Between God
and matter is the pleroma, an intermediate world habited by intermediate beings or eons
emanated one from the other or put in pairs.
 One of these eons the Demiurge (the God of the OT) elaborated the matter in the actual form
of the world.
 Another of the eons Christ came into the world and united with the earthly Jesus taking a
body apparently lived and died in order to liberate the spirit from matter in spiritual human
beings while the psychics will remain as they are.

3.1.2. Dualism
 Dualism emerged in the history as an attempt to explain the problem of evil. If all that is
created is good, evil would be seen as coming from a bad example.
 Dualism explains the origin of good and evil by two supreme and original principles.
 Elements of this dualism are found also in the Gnostic conception of Marcion and above all
in Manichaeism. Dualism conceived as such leads also to the tendency to depreciate matter
and exalt the soul.

3.1.3. Neo-Platonism
 Has its great representative in Plotinus. We find in Plotinus an interpretation of creation
using emanation principles. The one is the source of the Spirit, an inexhaustible source. The
spirit is inferior to the One, but is coeternal with It and It depends on It as light to the sun.
 From the spirit flows the soul (psyche) which is a demiurginal activity which produces
besides matter, the wolrd of phenomenon.
 For Plotinus the sensible world is not an immediate derivation from the one. Matter has not a
temporal origin, it is eternal but it is not a direct work of the One. Between matter and the
One exists intermediate hypostasis which covers the emptiness between them.
 For him, all things emanate from the one a kind of natural descent which is not a free descent
and he thought that the souls would return to the One.

3.1.4. Stoicism

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 It lacks also the idea of creation, even the idea of God is not that of a transcendent God. For
them the order of the world is due to an immanent element (logos) which explains it (this
order). He is matter, he is the principal element of all things, but they conceive it as very soft
and intelligent fire which penetrates all and which directs the evolution of the universe.

3.2. CRISTIAN TRADITON

3.2.1. Symbols (Creeds) and faith in Creation

 Apostolic Creed
The symbols of the Apostles (3rd century) have a Trinitarian stricter which will be something
habitual in the symbols of faith. In this we find in the West the inclusion of creation
confessed of the Father: I believe in God Almighty Father, creator of heaven and earth. No
doubt that the first symbols do not make reference to creation with Christ. The reason lies in
the fact that in the structure of the formulas of three which separates the functions of each
person and attributes to the father that of creation.
 Nicene Creed
The formula of Nicea specifies more the creative action of the Father when it affirms that he
is the creator of visible and invisible things, that is to say matter and spirit (D. 125. In this
creed a distinction is made with respect to Christ: generatum, no factum. The son is begotten
from eternity, he has not been created. Thus he is creator together with the Father and so it
adds “through him all things were made, of heaven and on the earth.” It is only the Son,
eternal together with the Father and shares the relation to creation. Of the father is affirmed
that the creation comes from him (ex quo), and at the same time it affirms the mediation of
the Son (per quem) D. 421.

3.2.2. The Church Fathers

St. Justine
 St. Justine is one of the apologetic fathers who made a big contribution to the Christianity,
who knew stoicism and middle Platonism. He knew in one side the Johanine doctrine of
logos made flesh and reason diffused in the world to which it communicates its intelligibility.
His theology is fundamentally of logos. The transcendent and incogniscible works through
his Logos whom he conceived for this work. The generation of Logos seems to be the action
through which G, before creation, by his power and will emits the Logos as the
artifice/wisdom of Creation.
Irenaeus
 He attacks the Gnostics, by proclaiming the unity of creation and redemption. He establishes
that God the creator and the God the redeemer are one. Since it is the same god who creates
and redeems, there is nothing outside the scope of his creative and redeeming power. God did
this out of nothing and out of his beneficent love.

Clement
 Clementbelieves that creation is a continuing reality. It is a timeless act thru which all things
were brought into being.

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Origen
 He speaks of divine pedagogy guiding things back to original unity in God. The creation goes
out of God only to find an original unity in him.

St. Augustine
 Augustine (354-430) is probably the first to provide a synthesis of Christian thought on
creation viewed as a whole. There is in his work a confluence of all the traditional currents of
West and East (Basil, Gregory of Nyssa) in a new over – view of surprising richness and
intellectual depth. Augustine shares with Ambrose the same interest in the moral and
religious aspect of the doctrine of creation. But unlike his teacher at Milan, Augustine often
brings in the philosophical elements of ancient thinking on creation and tries to insert them
into a Christian view. Hence, the two key aspects under which Augustine reflects on the truth
of creation: rational and ontological, the other religious and ethical.
 He is very clear about ‘creation out of nothing’. Even matter is a creature. Creation is neither
a semi-divine emanation nor independent of the Saviour God.
- Everything has come from God, being called by him out of its own nothingness.
- Time and cosmos –world is not created with time but in time.
- Creation and Trinity – creation is from the Father, thru the Son. Its eventual
perfection is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. Hence all things bear the mark of the
Trinity.

3.2.3. Scholasticism
Anselm
 Anselm does not neglect the connections between creation and redemption. Creation, of
course, has light cast on it by the historia salutis, but only to the extent that these are two
mysteries that happen successively. Anselm does not put forward an economy of salvation in
which creation is completed in the Saviour and his work.

St. Thomas Aquinas

 Creation as relation.
 St. Thomas Aquinas: the thought of St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) is also marked by
a predominance of metaphysical reflection, and many elements of his work will find their
way into the synthesis worked out by St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274).
 Creation is the reception of being from the giver of all existence. Creation is a relation to the
creator as the fount of our being, God is Being. All creation have being as a participation in
what God is fully and perfect. Thus participation defines creature hood.
 According to Thomas creation may be viewed in two aspects:
- Creation Activa – refers to the creative act of God, creating out of nothing.
- Creation Passiva – creation in this aspect, answers the questions of the ground of
being. It is a relation which arises from the gift and reception of existence.

Telhard De Chardin
 Creation as Process

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 Views the cosmos as process which mirrors the inner life of God. Despite its pain, failure and
apparent absurdities, creation is destined to share the life of the Trinity.
 Creative Evolution –all life is developmental. It is a process, its direction is centripetal. Thus
his ideal is related to Fathers and medieval scholars, on Creation continua.

3.3. MAGISTERIUM

3.3.1. Nicaea
First Council of Nicea 325
 In this profession of faith, which many regard as the first dogmatic definition of the solemn
Magisterium of the church, creation is attributed to the Person of the Father, an attribution
that does not exclude the creative role of the Son and Holy Spirit.
 In fact the creative function of the second Person is expressly mentioned also: “the only Son
of God, eternally begotten of the Father …thru him all things were made.”

3.3.2. Constantinople I (381) & II (553)

 Adopting the Nicine it taught – Unlike the Son, who is begotten, but not created; the world is
created and is totally devoid of any divine substance (381).
 Const II: States creative activity of God: “For one is the God and Father from whom all
things are, one is the Lord Jesus Christ thru whom all things are, and one the Holy Spirit in
whom all things are.”
 The particular importance of this council are:
- speaks of the roles of the Father and Son in causing things to be: “from whom
everything” and “thru whom everything”
- For first time speaks explicitly about the creative role of the Holy Spirit.

3.3.3. Lateran IV

3.3.4. Vatican I
 Affirmed ‘otherness’ and transcendence of God: the one true God is the creator and Lord of
all things, visible and invisible. Creation is divine gift freely give.
 The first chapter of its Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith entitled “God the Creator
of All Things” defines Christian doctrine on God or deny his transcendence (materialistic
atheism and pantheism); which acknowledge that God exists but do not accept that he was
free to create or that he takes an interest in the world of men (deism); and the error of
ontologism, which by regarding the divine essence as the proper object of human knowledge,
concludes that there is a kind of pantheistic identity between God and creature.
 The council underscores the personal and transcendental nature of God and thereby takes
issue with philosophical approaches, particularly idealist ones, which see the supreme reality
as an infinite being immanent in the world and which becomes complete through
contributions made by finite beings. It is also opposed to the idea that the divine essence
exists through a process of evolution. It solemnly restates the traditional teaching that God
and the created World are distinct.

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 After asserting the clear distinction between God and the world, the council then draws the
two closer together by a brief and effective exposition of the doctrine of Providence, whereby
God looks after the world he has made and guides it to its final goal.
 In sum, the council teaches the following:-
- The world is completely distinct from God, who is its Creator.
- Everything that exists in the material and spiritual order was created by God out of
nothing, that is to say, in every respect without exception.
- The universe is the excellent work of a good and wise God, who in making all things
acts with total freedom.
- Things are not eternal; they had a beginning.
- God conserves and governs all creation by means of his Providence.
- The purpose of the universe is for the glory of the Creator, who made the world in
order to communicate his goodness and perfections.
 Creation is ex nihilo, its motive is the glory of God, not for the increase of God’s happiness,
but manifestation of his perfection.

3.3.5. Vatican II
 The second Vatican Council (1962-1965)provided both explicitly and implicitly, an entire
creation theology which it expresses not in a formal and intellectual mode but primarily as a
theology of the loving action of the Triune God, of the goodness of the created world, and of
human activity as a perfecting of the work of Creation.
 In the teaching of Vatican II, the Church’s awareness of itself is fundamentally united to the
awareness of creation. The relationship between God and man and between the Church and
the world, as described by the council imply a creation theology which hinges on four main
questions.
 Presents creation theology as loving action of Triune God, which hinges on four main
questions:

3.3.5.1. Mystery of Creation

 The council sets the whole work of creation in a religious awe, which leads believers to
praise and adore God.
 In accordance with gratuitous and mysterious design of his wisdom and goodness, created the
whole universe (LG).
 God in his great and merciful kindness freely created us and moreover, graciously calls us to
share in his life and glory (AG).
 The created world is a mystery to contemplated, where the glory of god proclaims God’s
work.
 The creation teaching is set in a view where reason and faith, science and mystery are in
harmony.

3.3.5.2. Christocentric Outlook

 They mystery of creation has Christ as the centre. The word thru whom all things were made.
The council stresses the role of Christ as the First born of all creation, to express the purpose
of divine creativity.

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 3.3.5.3. Theology of Man
 The goodness of creation and generous hand of God is reflected in the positive nature of all
reality and of man’s life and destiny.
 The theology of work is the result of man’s cooperation with divine work of creation and
redemption (GS and J.P. II, LE).
 This consist in ecology, culture, science, economics, politics and other activities related to
autonomy, goodness, order and laws of their own. But this however, does not make the world
independent of the creator.

3.3.5.4. Creation and Eschatology

 The connections of these two ideas depend on:
 Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end of creation.
 God is leading the created world towards its final fulfilment by the exercise of his
providence.
 The world will be renewed at the end of time, when the new heavens & the earth comes.
 The expectation of a new and definitive earth should not lessen our real efforts to perfect the
present world.

4. THE MAJOR POINTS OF THE DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE

THEOLOGICAL – SYSTEMATIC STUDY/ OUTLINE (THEOLOGICAL
REFLECTION ON CREATION)
4.1. Act of Creating
 This refers to creative act whereby God makes everything that exists.
 Different from mythical and philosophical emanentism and Pantheism, Christian theology
claims, that creation is a divine act implying a radical and absolute change from non-being to
being.
 Creation then can be understood as the production of the entire being of things in their entire
substantiality.
 Active creation can also be understood as emanation of all being, brought about by God.
Emanation here is means the original production and thus different from generation.
 The act of creation has three basic things:
- The creator undergoes no change or modification of any kind as a result of creating;
he does not lose or acquire any perfection.
- What is created is really distinct from the creator –the creature has participated being
(Thomas Aquinas).
- What is created is created in its totality, that is, created out of nothing and does not
involve a pre-existent or formless matter or prime matter that God uses.

Properties and consequences of the Divine act of Creation:

4.1.1. Creation is a free act of God

 There is nothing outside God nor within him that obliges him to create. His freedom in
creating is a direct consequence of his divine transcendence and of the radical distinction
between God and the world. God doesn’t need the world to be God. V.II, God brought about
the creation of the world by means of an absolutely free decision.

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 Thus the theory of absolute optimism of Leibniz is invalid: that God’s goodness and wisdom
require that he create the best of all possible worlds. It is contradictory because in so far as
the world is finite, shows the existence of one more perfect.
 Created things did not derive from God necessarily, in the way, for example, the Son
proceeds from the Father; nor do they emanate from the divine being, in the way a ray of
light comes from the sun or a spring comes from a source.
 The world exists because God wills it to exist. He could have not willed it. He could have
willed this world or another, different, world. Creation is a free gift of God and a free
expression of his goodness and love.
 Over the course of the history of philosophical and religious thought many reasons have been
put forward which seem to argue that creation did involve necessity as far as God was
concerned. God had to create, so these theories go:
i. To enrich his own inner life.
ii. To enable him consciously to perceive, as he perceives himself, things distinct from
himself and in this way increase his own perfections.
iii. Because of an inevitable expression of his goodness, given that his happy and good
nature morally obliges him to create, so that other beings should exist and also be
happy.
iv. The proponents of process theology think that there is a direct connexion between the
creation of the world and God’s own happiness: according to them, it is via creation
that God’s life enriched and deepened. If God had not created the world, he would have
been responsible for a certain ontological impoverishment of himself. These writers
start out from the idea that there is a symmetrical relationship between God and the
world, in such a way that God affects the world and the world affects God.
 If God acts freely in creating the world, then, the so-called theory of absolute optimism could
not be valid. Proposed by Leibniz towards the end of the 17 th century and originally outlined
by Peter Abelard (12th C), this theory argues that God’s goodness and wisdom require eh
Creator to create the best of all possible worlds. Leibniz starts from the position that in the
creation of the world God must produce all the best possible options open to him, and
therefore he must produce to his utmost capability.
 God’s freedom in creating connotes the idea that there is in the divine mind a model or
exemplary cause of creation. The book of Proverbs suggests as much when it speaks of
divine Wisdom in these words: “Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of
the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs
abounding with water.”

4.1.2. The World was made by God out of Nothing (ex

nihilo)
 This means that his free creative action, God is not conditioned by anything outside himself,
i.e a prior condition that could limit his freedom. Therefore, nothing exists independently of
God and nothing can be confused with him.
 Creation from nothing means that, in his free creative action, God is not conditioned by
anything outside himself, that is, by any prior condition which could limit his full freedom.
Divine omnipotence and Love are expressed both in the fact that he creates freely and in the
fact that he creates out of nothing.

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 The fact of the creation of the world out of nothing is present in the Bible implicitly and
explicitly although some texts admit of various meanings and are not easy to interpret.
i. The OT describes God as the Lord of all that exists and as the only Lord, who exercises his
power in every corner of the universe, both in the physical order and in the spiritual and
moral order. It is this notion of absolute sovereignty that makes it possible to speak of creatio
ex nihilo. We read in the book of Esther: “O Lord, God, and King who rules over all things,
for the universe are in your power and there is no one who can oppose you if it is your will to
save Israel. For thou hast made heaven and earth and every wonderful thing under heaven,
and you are Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist you.
ii. The opening verse of Genesis solemnly declares that In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth, and the text goes on to describe God’s work of creation in terms of
imposing order on chaos, which God does by a series of separations (light form darkness;
higher from lower waters; earth from the sea). The text does no mention creation ex nihilo
(this expression come much later, in the second book of Maccabees).
iii. The Biblical passage which explicitly describes the creation as being made out of nothing
is 2 Maccabees 7:28. The second book of Maccabees dates from the second century BC and
was written in Greek. During the cruel persecution inflicted by king Antiochus Epiphanes
(168BC), a Jewish mother exhorts her son to stay true to the Law and not to fear the
martyrdom the king threatens to carry out. The mother says to her youngest son: “I beseech
you, my child, look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and
recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed.”
 C. Creation out of nothing means that the created thing is made by God in its entirety, that is,
no pre – existent matter is used.
 D. Creation is a religious and metaphysical notion and therefore not something one can
experience; it cannot be proved by the scientific method, either mathematically or by
experimentation.

4.1.3. The World was created within time

 The means that it had a beginning and does not exist from all eternity. Lateran C., God
created cre79atures from beginning of time. Aristotle against Plato argued that the world
had a beginning and it will have an end. Jesus taught that the world had a beginning and
will have an end (Mt 5:18; 13:40) and also Paul (1Cor 7:31).
 To say that the world was created within time means that it had a beginning and does not
exist from all eternity. What we have here is a truth of faith defined by the Fourth Lateran
Council which teaches that God created creatures “from the very beginning of time” (ab
initio temporis). The First Vatican Council uses these same words but it does not simply
echo them: the cultural and philosophical situation was very different from that of the 13th
century, and the First Vatican Council had to take issue with pantheism and similar notions.
To do so, it did not confine itself to repudiating these errors but elaborated a whole doctrine
about creation.

4.2. Theology & Scientific Objections on Creation: The Status of

the World and Man –
 They are not ultimate but simply divine production.

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 They do not belong themselves nor are they autonomous, they are God’s property. They are a
product of divine knowledge.

4.2.1. Creation & Evolution

 This assertion that in plants animals, one species derives from another by means of an
evolutionary process based on natural selection.
 Thus human races are thought to be an outcome of a process of natural selection in other
biological species. Hence it seems to argue for a materialistic view of the origin of the world
and of man.
 Evolution should not be taken as an exclusive alternative to Christian theology of creation;
otherwise there will be room for dialogue. We have to acknowledge that all things owe their
ultimate origin in God and created directly by him, but God can also work thru secondary
causes.
 What the church doesn’t accept is the materialistic philosophy which sees the cosmos as the
outcome of an evolution of matter arising from chance and necessity.
 Evolution is an empirical concept concerned with “what is the origin of things as they now
exist in time and space?” while Creation is a theological concept concerned with the ultimate
origin of everything.
 Evolution always presupposes something that changes and develops; while Creation shows
why and for what purpose that something exists, which is capable of change and evolution.
 Hence, if “theory of Natural evolution” is understood in a way that does not exclude divine
causality is not in principle at odds with the truth of creation in Genesis.
 M. Schmaus, God has chosen that things should develop from an initial original state towards
their present state in accordance with his plan. God himself is the point departure of
evolution. Thus these theories highlight the power and wisdom of God.

4.2.2. Scientific Creationism

 This is not the same as Christians Doctrine on creation of the world and of man out of
nothing at the beginning of time.
 Scientific creationism developed in American fundamentalist Protestants groups. They have
moved from biblical basis of creation to one of science.
 They claim that the bible is scientifically accurate, they interpret 6 days of creation as real 24
hour periods, take the flood literally…
 Against this approach Augustine taught that in Scripture, the Holy Spirit does not teach us
mathematics nor astronomy or bible is not scientific information.
 J.P.II, Divine revelation as such does not provide a scientific theory of the universe and the
constitution of the physical world.

4.2.3. Quantum Theory – ‘Principle of Uncertainty’

 Since the universe had a beginning, may well have a limited duration (Rupert Shadreck).The
world is a mechanism where freedom and contingency are at minimum while necessity and
predictability are at the maximum.
 Freedom and Responsibility:
- We are all free enough to make a response to God’s loving invitation to love him.
No scientific proof of freedom.

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 - Freedom is a theological concept; it is a transcendental category and not an
empirical category.
- There is a secular view of freedom – the capacity to do what I want, when I want it.

4.3. The Church’s Stand on the Doctrine of Creation

4.3.1. Creation, the Work of all the Trinity
 Like every external divine activity, is a free act of God, and therefore common to the Three
Persons.
 Lateran Council (649) speaks of the Trinity as creating and preserving all the things; and
that the Trinity is the principle of all things, visible and invisible.
 J.P.II, Donum et Vivificantem, speaks of the Spirit as the Creator, emphasizing on the
oneness of divine actions of creation and redemption.

4.3.2. Creation and Redemption

 The mysteries of creation and redemption are inseparable from one another in Christian
doctrine. Christianity is a religion of redemption and creation.
 Redemption is not just something added on creation by God as if sin had taken him unaware
and causes him to change his plans.
 If creation and redemption were not to be interconnected, redemption would seem to be
something which annuls creation, as if God was correcting his mistakes.
 Creation itself contains salvific elements. Creation is the first salvific event.

4.3.3. The purpose of Creation

 Christian tradition teaches that the world was created for the glory of God, and that God
created the world neither to intensify his happiness nor to acquire but to manifest his
perfection (V. I).
 The psalmist sings that “the heavens tell the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his
handiwork. Thus the glory of God, in scriptures and church tradition, mean a manifestation
of Divine presence.
 CCC, the glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of
his goodness, for which the world was created. Hence the end of free created beings is in line
with the Creator. V.II, the dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to
communion with God.
 Therefore against Ludwig Feuerbach and Karl Marx, whose vision of God is the personal
enemy of man, against whom man must fight to assert his will own will is rejected. God is
man’s purpose and life, human being should never see God as a rival even if he is sometimes
tempted to do so.

4.4. The Doctrine of Divine Providence

 In scripture: providence of God means God’s guidance, taking care towards perfection (Prov.
19:21). The purpose of the Lord will be established. In the New Testament Mt. 6:31-33;
10:29-31; look at the birds of the air, God provides for them. “Do not worry because the
Father knows what you need.”
 In tradition: Vat. I, we read that God protects and governs all things he has made. The idea of
God’s providence is not that God takes care of his creation.
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Divine Providence.
 First Vatican, however, declared that, "By his providence, God watches over and governs all
the things that he made, reaching from end to end with might, and disposing all things with
gentleness (Wis. 8.1). For 'all things are naked and open to his eyes' (Heb. 4.13), even those
things that are going to occur by the free action of creatures.''
 In theological language, providence (from the Latin providere [to see in advance]) is the plan
conceived in the mind of God, according to which he directs all creatures to their proper end
or destiny.
 It may be said to partake of prudence, since it refers mainly to the means that God chooses
with reference to the end he has in mind.
 As such, therefore, providence belongs to the divine mind, but presupposes that he wills the
goal or end. Moreover, it logically precedes the divine government of creation, which is
God's practical means of carrying his providence into effect.
 Thus God's providence is universal, infallible, and immutable.
 Saying that providence is universal is only another way of affirming that all events taking
place in this world, even those apparently fortuitous or casual, are part of God's eternal plan
for the universe. With God there is no such thing as chance.
 Nothing merely "happens" as far as he is concerned. Everything is meant to serve a purpose,
mysteriously foreseen and foreordained by God.
 Providence is infallible because the ultimate plan that God has for the universe cannot fail.
Whatever occurs in the world takes place within the mosaic of his infinite knowledge and all-
embracing will. In spite of so much ostensible evidence to the contrary, what God has
intended for the world will eventually come about.
 Divine providence is also immutable because God himself is unchangeable. His eternal is not
make-believe, as though he adjusted things as time goes along or unexpected situations arise.
 Nothing unexpected can ever occur with God, nor can anything take place that would make
him change his mind or will about the world he brought into being.
 Having said all of this about providence, a host of paradoxes begin to crowd the mind
demanding explanation.
 To mention only a few: Where is human freedom if God has planned everything? What is the
value of prayer if God already knows and determines beforehand? How can evil in the world
be reconciled with an infinitely good providence?
 Human freedom is part of the divine plan. God wills the ultimate effects of all created actions
and has provided that they be achieved, some by means of what we call necessary causes
(like gravity) and others by means of truly free choices (like obedience).
 Creatures supply the proximate causes, but God wills the ultimate end.

4.5. The Problem of Evil in the world

 If God cares for creation why is there evil in the world? Eg. Terrorist activities, Aids,
orphans, catastrophes, etc. the problem is not easy to answer. But theologians say that God
permits evil because of: freedom of his creatures especially man; &, He mysteriously knows
how to derive good from it.
 St. Thomas says, that to cause good to emerge from evil itself is God’s providence.

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 God’s providence does not abolish all evils and sufferings. He offers the believing Christians
with spiritual strength and hope needed to face evil and suffering.
 Deliver us from evil (Lord’s prayer). We ask to be delivered from hopelessness and doubt.
The greatest moral evil is rejection and murder of God’s only Son but out of it God made
good thing that is resurrection and our redemption. Evil itself is never good even if
something good comes from it.

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY
NEUNER J. & DUPUIS J., (eds).,The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic
Church, Bangalore: Theological Publications in India 2011.
SCHMAUS, M., Dogma 2: God and Creation, London: Sheed and Ward 1978.
SCHWARZ, H., Creation, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 2002.

08. Original sin in the faith of the Church and its hermeneutics in contemporary
theology.
OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
1. Original sin in the faith of the church
1.1 First sin
1.2 Meaning of original sin
2. The notion of original sin
2.1 In the Scriptures
2.1.1 OT
Sir 25:24
2.1.2 NT-
Rom 5:8 –21; 1Cor. 15:21ff
2.2 Original sin in tradition
2.2.1. Irenaeus
2.2.2 Tertullian
2.2.3 Pelagius
2.2.4 Augustine
2.2.5 Anselm
2.2.6 Peter Abelard and John Chrysostom
2.2.7 Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas
2.2.8 Martin Luther
3. The Magisterium on original sin
3.1 Council of Cartharge – 418
3.2 Council of Orange – 529
3.3 Council of Trent – 1545 – 1563
3.4 Vatican II

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4. The nature of original sin
4.1 Scriptures, Augustine, Theologians and Trent
4.2 Modern and Medieval scholastic Theologians
4.3 Concupiscence
5. The possibility of original sin
5.1 There is in mankind solidarity of one for all and all for one
6. The consequence of original sin
6.1 Mortality
6.2 Possibility
6.3 Ignorance
6.4 Concupiscence
6.5 Injustices
7. Recent developments in the Theology of original sin.
7.1 Situationist Approach: Karl Rahner
7.2 Personalist view: A. Vanneste
8. Hermeneutics in contemporary Theology
8.1 Alszeghy and Flick
8.2 P. Smulders
8.3 Schoonenberg
8.4 K. Barth
8.5 P. Tillich
9. Free will and Human responsibility – CCC 1730
9.1 G.S 17
9.2 CCC 1730 and 1731
9.3 R.P McBrien
9.4 Does original sin contradict the possibility of free will and responsibility?
9.4.1 Jam 1:13.
10. Conlusion.
INTRODUCTION
It is not explicitly found in the OT and NT, but there was sufficient biblical
background for it to be proclaimed a doctrine of faith by the council of Trent. It is
presented there as a personal actual sin on the part of the first man, resulting in the loss of
the state of original justice or holiness, wounding the human nature passed on to his
descendants, darkening their understanding, and weakening their will, and leaving them
subject to pain and death.
Understanding of Original Sin and its consequences gradually emerged in the
western church between the Augustine and Pelagius controversy.
Pelagianism was condemned for the view that Adam’s sin affected only him, not the
entire human race.
Others held that if sin is natural, it is not voluntary; if is not voluntary, it is not
inborn. These two views are as mutually contrary as are necessity and free will.
Augustine on the other hand, affirms that original sin is both voluntary and free for
Adam, while it is natural for us. This is the problem at hand with regard to the problem of
Original Sin.
Therefore, we will approach this question from its historical development through
the scripture, to the present understanding.

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1. ORIGINAL SIN IN THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH
1.1 First Sin:
The account of this is presented in Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-24.The event begins with man’s
disobedience of God’s command. However, for the type of sin we must distinguish between the
internal and the external event. The internal order of human beings was induced by the serpent to
distrust God. It sows in man the desire to be like God. This disobedience, pride and disbelief are
causes of man’s sin. We know nothing about the form which the sin took in the external order. There
is no reason to believe that it was sexual sin. This sin brought the feeling of shame and separation.
They lost their innocence in the presence of one another, for it rested on their innocence before God.
Man’s relation with God is at stake. The earth in a mysterious manner shares in the diminution of
human existence introduced by sin.

1.2 Original Sin: Meaning

The word ‘sin’ in the expression is to be understood in analogous sense. In the ordinary use of
language one understands by sin as a freely willed transgression of a command of God for which the
transgressor himself is responsible, and this case does not apply to original sin. Original Sin is a
condition placed before every personal decision. So if we call original sin a sin, and indeed in an
analogous sense – is at once similar and dissimilar to sin in ordinary language.
2. THE NOTION OF ORIGINAL SIN
2.1 IN THE SCRIPTURES
2.1.1OT

In the Wisdom of the Yahwist was never interpreted in the sense we have done: that
human condition is grounded in the sin of the first man.
The inner connection between the general state of sinfulness and the first sin was never
stressed.
The general state of sinfulness was simply a fact of experience. That death is a
result of the sin in paradise is said for the first time (Sir 25:23).
Hence, in the OT we don’t have a doctrine original sin. Nevertheless, the OT offers us the
starting points which will be developed in the NT in Rom 5:8-21.

2.1.2 NT
Rom 5:8-21, shows that the center of Pauline thought stands not for sin, but
salvation thru Jesus Christ.
Paul integrates the realities of sin and death into his theological view, with which is
determined by “the disaster-domain of Adam and the salvation-domain of Christ (Cf.
Otto Kuss).
Paul traces the death of all mankind back to Adam in order to be able to derive
eternal life destined for man.

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 It emphasizes that man became subject to death’s power and became sinful due to
Adam’s disobedience.
Paul goes beyond the origin and nature of man’s radically doomed situation. He speaks of
original sin and offers a solid foundation for the doctrine of original sin of a later age.
Nevertheless, here one can speak of more or less clear premises for a doctrine of original
sin, but there is no decisive conclusion.
This interpretation presupposes Christ’s saving work as its foundation. Even one,
who sees no formal evidence for original sin in v.19, must admit that it points in the
direction of church’s understanding.
Epistle to the Romans presents no formally developed doctrine of original sin such as was
stated by the council of Trent, but it is a point of meditation on the situation of man
before Christ. Jesus himself did not teach that because of Adam’s sin all were in sinful
condition.

2.2 ORIGINAL SIN IN TRADITION

Irenaeus – in Adam the whole mankind rebelled against God.
Tertullian – speaks of a primordial delictum.
Pelagius – denied original sin but asserts Adamic bad example, of which Augustine
criticized.
Augustine – he declares that as a result of the first man, all men are a massadamnataon
which the wrath of God rests. He emphasizes on concupiscence, without completely
identifying it with original sin .As evidence for his thesis of original sin, he points to the
baptism of infants, which he noted had been practiced since the apostolic times.
Augustine placed substantial weight on the reflection that there must be an original sin
because Christ has come to serve all without exception. Why all men are in need of salvation,
from what are they saved: obviously from sin. Even little children are to be saved in so far as
they are separated from God thru sin.
How will it be if not original sin, since there can be no question of personal sin in infants?
Thus Augustine does not begin with original sin, then go to prove the sinfulness of all men.
Rather he begins with the universal necessity of salvation.
That Adam’s sin could have such a far-reaching effect he sees in both the position of Adam
as the representative of human race.
Anselm – in line with Augustine, the essence of original sin is to be seen in the lack of
the righteousness which man should have and the corruption of human nature with that
privation occasions,
P. Abelard & J. Chrysostom – they denied transmission of Adam’s guilt to all but
acknowledge inherited punishment.
Bonaventure & Thomas Aquinas – they distinguished between the Formal and Material
element of original sin.
First they saw the ‘loss of justitiaoriginalis’ and second is the ‘disordered
concupiscence’, but they are a unity.
Aquinas, the first sin involves each man in its guilt because the one who
committed the first sin is the proto-father of all.

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 Luther – returned the Augustinian view however, he completely identified
concupiscence with original sin.
3. THE MAGISTERIUM ON ORIGINAL SIN
COUNCIL OF CATHARGE 418
This is the first official declaration on original sin, and used the Augustinian
expression: vitiumoriginalewhich always meant ‘the sin contracted by Adam’s
descendants’ .The council’s declaration was against Pelagius who held that ,Sin is simply
a personal decision of the individual; a sin inherited on the basis of familial relationship
with Adam cannot be committed. Adam’s sin exercises a corrupting effect on man only
as a bad example; otherwise man is still in the same position of Adam before sin. Even if
he had not sinned, Adam would have died. Children at birth are, therefore, in the same
state as Adam before his sin. Owing to his freedom man is able and obliged to do good.
The council defended the doctrine of original sin and asserted that, There is in man an
original sin, a sin which comes from Adam. Thus the sin which is remitted in infants is
the original sin, because infants cannot commit personal sin. Pelagius was condemned by
this council.

COUNCIL OF ORANGE 529

This council asserted that those who deny that the sin of Adam affected the whole human race
and deceived by Pelagius – contradicts scripture.Further asserted that though the sin has affected the
faculties man, but freedom is not completely destroyed.Jesus came to restore true freedom but does
not mean that man had no some freedom before Christ’s saving action.
COUNCIL OF TRENT 1516
Declared the following as the doctrine of Original Sin:
Anyone who asserts that Adam’s sin affects only him and not his descendants, and that
whole Adam, body and soul was changed for worse – anathema.
That Adam’s sin was injurious only to Adam and not to his descendants and that only
Adam lost the holiness and justice and not all mankind – and that the defilement of his
sin only transmitted death of the body and not of the soul, sin itself - anathema.
That the sin of Adam, which is one by origin, and which communicated to all men by
propagation not by imitation which is in all men and proper to each is taken away by
human powers without Christ’s saving grace – anathema.
If anyone denies the infant baptism, even though born of baptized parents – that the
infants did not contract the original sin from Adam and denies remission of this sin in
them – anathema.
If anyone says that thru the grace of Christ conferred in baptism the guilt of original sin is
not remitted – anathema.
The council also denied that concupiscence is sin, but an inclination to sin – one who
contradicts this anathema.s
4. THE NATURE OF ORIGINAL SIN

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 The church has not given a binding teaching on this question. We know that there
is original sin but we don’t know what it is in reality. The councils’ expositions were
about Paul’s understanding of the “state of man vis-à-vis salvation without christ”.
Scriptures, Augustine, Theologians and Trent – each individual man is directed to Christ.
Without Christ he remains in a condition of misery. The state of original sin is a state of
being without Christ, however, one may describe.
Modern and Medieval Scholastic theologians – original sin consist in the lack of that
holiness and justice – sanctifying grace – which according to God’s will man should
possess.
Grace involves both relation to God (Uncreated Grace) and its objective
counterpart, sanctifying grace (Created grace). The graced man exists in a living
relationship to Christ and to God, and reaches the fullness in the beatific vision.
Grace, then, includes personal and objective elements, but personal element if
higher, and the definition of original sin must be placed on it. The objective
element is dependent on the personal element.
Original Sin means that man is enclosed in himself and cannot, owing to his
incapacity for love and community, break thru the walls of his self-imprisonment.
The condition man in original sin, then, can be described as an “incapacity for
dialogue”.
With respect to its personal element Original sin consists in the lack of desire and
capacity for dialogue with God, and consequently for loving and altruist dialogue
with fellow men.
Concupiscence – the tendency to sin must also he situated within the complex essence of
original sin.
Medieval theology called it as the “material element in the essence of original of
sin”.
The bad example of Adam also plays an important role in the definition of the
essence of original sin. It is an external impulse to sin – this does not contradict
the church teaching if it is not separated from the sin itself or if taken isolated as
in Pelagius.
The Evolutionist holds that the effect of Original sin is that the man in the process
of evolution does not move towards the future with a salvific directedness at
Christ.

5. THE POSSIBILITY OF ORIGINAL SIN

How can the lacks of a personal saving relation to Christ, and thru him to God can be called
guilt? Here the mystery of original sin deepens:
It can be said that God views man as a unity, one great family, with the result that there is
in mankind solidarity of one for all and all for one. This idea is fundamental to the whole
biblical order; one person can take the place of another. Through this representation,
Adam the sinful ancestral lord of men has blocked the vista to God.
In addition to solidarity of man, the historicity of man is also expressed in his relation to
Adam. It means that man is always a product of history.
He is also the lord of history in that he creates and shapes the history lying before him.

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 That sin of Adam blocked man’s way to God is expressed in the fact that man is
substantially shaped by his history, in a sense of transcending history.
K. Rahner – without assuming Adam the representative of all men, it would be equally
possible to explain the involvement of all men in the fall by showing that Adam’s act at
the beginning of human history took root in history as disastrous a priori. And therefore,
continues to be unceasingly effective in history.

6. THE CONSEQUENCES OF ORIGINAL SIN

Theology has distinguished a complex of evil consequences from the essence of original
sin.
However the distinction cannot be adequately for concupiscence is considered both as
‘material element’ and ‘consequence of original sin’.
Even the ‘absence of justice’ is considered both as ‘essence’ and as ‘consequence’ of
original sin.
Original sin also has its effects in the natural sphere; they are called ‘mortality, pasibility,
ignorance and concupiscence.
It affects man’s natural powers like biological and memory. By death Paul implies both
biological and eternal death as unity, forming a total death. This total death is the one
under threat by original sin and can be conquered thru Christ.
The corruption of human therefore consists in the fact that which helps him to:
Live in relation to God and to use freedom in a meaningful way.
Medieval theology also held that: ignorance and concupiscence as consequence of
original sin.
Ignorance should not be understood in the sense of education, it is equated to
foolishness in the bible, and Erasmus calls it folly.
Concupiscence which is the rapture within man himself, as estrangement and the
hostility of one man against another.
V.II (G.S,13), Man’s inclination towards what is wrong is the consequence of original
sin.
7. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE THEOLOGY OF ORIGINAL SIN
Modern theology is more inclined to link to theology of grace with the theology of
creation, focusing on the divine plan as a whole, and bypassing the problems raised by a narrow
concern with origins.

Situationist Approach: K. Rahner

Treat men and women as historical beings who relate in personal freedom to their
environment. This view of sin draws extensively on existentialism for its language.
To be human is to be “situated in the world” but this situatedness is sinful in that it is the product
of a sinful history.Situationist theories thus focus attention upon historical and environmental
evil (Johannine sin of the world).
Their strength lies in the fact that they take with due seriousness the social and historical
dimension of sin. But can be accused of denying an antecedent predisposition to sin inherent in
human nature itself.However, the proponents defend themselves from this accusation: by
claiming that sin and grace are not to be related to each other in temporal sequence; they coexist
existentially in social and individual experience.

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Personalist View: A. Vanneste
Personalist View as exemplified in Vanneste reduces original sin to the factual
universality of actual sins. Vanneste is not interested in origins, biological or metaphysical.
Enough for him that every man and woman needs redemption by Christ because every man and
woman is in points of fact an actual sinner. It is not easy to reconcile this radically contingent
view of sin with either human freedom or that depth dimension of human experience commonly
described as the pre-person disposition towards sin. Both Situationist and Personalist theories
avoid the crude essentialism of the traditional concept of a sinful nature inherited by generation
from a sinful ancestor and meriting eternal sanction.But they do not find it easy to demonstrate
the intrinsic universality of the need for redemption by Christ; they do not show convincingly
how to be human is by definition to be in need of salvation.

8. HERMENEUTICS IN CONTEMPORARY THEOLOGY

Alszeghy& Flick – man has developed from a genus similar to that of a child to
adulthood. Men, therefore, could have existed for along time without use of reason and
freedom.At a particular stage of their hominization men had the capacity to choose between good
and evil. By freely choosing good they would have furthered their own evolution and that of the
whole human race, but they disobeyed God.
In this way sin entered the world and became the master, but God interfered thru the
paschal mystery.

P. Smulders –
All mankind is called to the fullness of the body of Christ. Every action of the
individual or the community is meant to serve this goal, and the real nature of sin lies in
man’s failure to live up to this vocation. The consequence is that he is shut up within
himself. Original sin consists in that human condition in which every man has an
orientation towards self-realization outside God’s communion. The beginning of original
sin is their hostile step to God and evolution

Schoonenberg –
Social and CosmicNature of Sin. He rejects the idea of as only by-product of evolutionary
process which vanishes with advance of evolution. For him sin has world-wide significance; it is
the ‘sin of the world’. This is one result of solidarity of mankind. The sin of the world consists in
deeds of individuals and the sinful situation they evoke. Every sinful action places others in a
situation which is less free and more conducive to sin. Therefore, original sin is the human
existential situation. Hence Adam’s influence is to be equated with the world’s influence.
K. Barth – doctrine of original sin is a contradiction in itself. By original sin he
understands the sinful act of each individual man; of which the individual is most
responsible.
Since Adam each individual sins again and again

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 P. Tillich – biblical account of the fall is a symbol for the transition of every man from
essence into existence. Essence is a pre-historic condition of pure potentiality, and the fall
is the actualization of this potentiality.
In this transition man estranges himself from his essence. Accordingly, original sin is the
tragic guilt of existential-estrangement.

9. FREE WILL AND HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY (CCC, 1730)

“God willed that man should be left in the hand of his own counsel. So that he might of
his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by
cleaving to Him.”
GS, 17, man should be left on his own free counsel to shape his own life, seek his
Creator; no one has to force a person to come to Christ. Coming to Christ depends on
each one’s freedom.
That is what we call free will. If we seek Christ in freedom we cling to Him in freedom.
(CCC, 1731).
Freedom is a transcendental capacity of human existence, is a capacity which allows a
person to go beyond himself not simply to do this or avoid that.
We argue to our freedom not only on the basis of our experience, which in any case can
be distorted by eternal and internal forces, but on the basis of the implications of its
denial.
If we are not free, we are not responsible. And if we are not responsible, human existence
is reduced to mechanical existence (R.P. McBrien in Catholicism).
Without freedom and responsibility there is no love, no faith, no hope, no trust, no
compassion, no friendship, and no justice. Everything is calculated, predetermined,
subject only to accident or miscalculation.

Does Original Sin contradict the possibility of Free Will and Responsibility?
This history of the world is a record of sorrows, of sorrows arising from evils that need
not have been. The sins of man are not predetermined and inevitable. God gives man
freedom, and it is man who chooses to abuse that gift by sinning (Cf. Jam 1:13).
The meaning of responsibility, the gravity of sin, and something of the ways of God are
revealed to us in man’s fallen state.
The result of Adam’s sin makes clear how sinful failure to accept responsibility is a
matter of far greater importance than we might otherwise have imagined. It reveals how
God is a strong and just God, a God who is serious about freedom and responsibility he
gives to man.
Man sins only by his own free choice. God did not make man in such a way that man
would have to sin.
God has given man sufficient insight and freedom to make him responsible in many of
his acts. Man chooses to do or not to do, and by his choosing determines his own ultimate
fate.

Conclusion

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09. The Christian theology of grace: the historical-theological development (synthesis)
and the theological-systematic.
INTRODUCTION
1. THE DOCTRINE OF GRACE

1.1 The Notion of Grace

1.2 Causes of Grace
1.3 (The Nature &) Division of Grace
1.3.1 Grace of God (Gratia creatoris) & Grace of Xst (Gratia Xstiredemptoris):
1.3.2 External & Internal
1.3.3 Uncreated (gratia increata) & Created (gratia creata)
1.3.4 Gratia gratis data & gratia gratumfaciens
1.3.4.1 Actual Grace
1.3.4.2 Habitual Grace
1.4 Grace in relation to the mystery of redemption (OT and NT)
1.5 Grace in relation to the gift and Fruits of the Holy Spirit

2. THE HISTORICAL – THEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

2.1 Grace in the Sacred Scripture
2.1.1 OT
2.1.2 NT
2.1.2.1 Synoptics (The Kingdom of God as grace & Jesus as its mediator)
2.1.2.2 Johannine (Grace is life & communion with God)
2.1.2.3 Pauline & Other NT writings (Grace as new Justice & Holiness)
2.2 Tradition
2.2.1 Tertullian
2.2.2 Irenaeus
2.2.3 Clement of Alexandria
2.2.4 The Augustinian – Pelagius Controversy of the 5th C, Principal disputes concerning grace
2.2.5 Semi-Pelagianism (435)
2.3 Magisterium (Decisions of the Early Church Councils)
2.3.1 Council of Carthage (418)
2.3.2 Council of Orange (527/9)
3. THE THEOLOGICAL – SYSTEMATIC OUTLINE (THE SCHOLASTIC SYSTEMATIZATION)
3.1 St. Bonaventure – Dr.Serafficum
3.2 St. Albert the Great (+1280)
3.3 St. Thomas Aquinas (+ 1274)
3.4 The Protestant Controversy of the 16th C (Luther & Trent ca 1545/7 AD).
3.4.1 Martin Luther
3.4.2 The Decree of Justification-Council of Trent c
3.5 Heresies (Baius& Jansenism Heretical Views on Grace & Original Sin)
3.5.1 Michael Baiusca.1589 A.D. - bainism
3.5.2 Jansenius 1638 A.D. – Jansenism
3.6. Magisterium

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

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 Christ the unique mediator between God and man reconciled mankind with God, primarily
by His death and resurrection. The fruits of this object [purpose] of redemption are to be
applied to each individual and this application is called justification.
 It is grace that justifies and since it is the work of divine love, it is attributed to the Holy
Spirit the personal divine love. Because man is endowed with reason and freedom,
justification requires the cooperation from the part of man.
 The mystery of the doctrine of grace lies on the intimacy and mutual cooperation: divine
power and human freedom. All controversies and heresies had risen from the difficulties
posed by this mysterious cooperation.

4. THE DOCTRINE OF GRACE

 Grace is the participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian
life: by baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his body. As
adopted son he can henceforth call God Father, in union with the only Son. He receives the
life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the church (CCC, 1996).

4.1 The Notion of Grace

 The word grace, lat gratia, Gk charis, means joy, pleasure, charm & beauty, gratiousness &
friendly attitude of somebody giving good, gift or help given to somebody.
 In religious sense it is a supernatural gift of God to intellectual creatures (men & angels) for
their eternal salvation, whether the latter be furthered & attained thro’ salutary acts or state of
holiness.
 Grace can be understood in the following double aspect:
a) Subjectively – the feeling of joy & peace of will, of benevolence which a person who is
more elevated with respect to the other with an inferior condition, & particularly that
which God has in relation to human beings – gratia benevolentia (Cf. Gen 30:27, Lk
1:30).
b) Objectively – a gratuitous-free gift (gratia beneficium or donum gratis data), which
preceeds the feeling of benevolence. The gift as such is material element while the
gratuitous character is the formal element.
 Strict & proper sense – supernatural gift which, God by his free benevolent will, concedes to
a rational creature for its eternal salvation (donum supernatural gratis a Deo creaturae
rationalis concessum in ordine ad vitam aeteram).
 Among these gifts:
- Dona supernaturalia quoad substantiam – which for their mode of intrinsic being are
elevated above the being, the powers & all the demands of the created nature.
- Dona supernaturabilia quoad modum – which in the manner which they have of realizing
themselves surpass the natural capacity of the creature affected by them.
 To say that someone has grace of God is to say that there is something supernatural in him
coming from God. A supernatural gift which God has freely bestowed on rational creatures
for their eternal salvation.
 Therefore, Grace in general, is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to
respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature
and of eternal life.

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 4.2 Causes of Grace
 Principal efficient cause is the Holy Trinity, the instrumental cause is the humanity of Xst &
the sacraments, & the meritorial cause of the dispensed grace to the fallen humanity is God-
man JC coz it is his redemptive work.
 The primary final cause is the glorification of God & the 2ndary final cause is the eternal
salvation of the human being.

4.3 (The Nature &) Division of Grace

We have a number of distinctions of grace (Supernatural grace can be):
4.3.1 Grace of God (Gratia creatoris) & Grace of Xst (Gratia Xsti
redemptoris):
 Former is the grace given to angels & 1 st parents. The sole motive of this grace was love &
those who receive it were negatively unworthy – non digni. The grace of God to angels and
to our first parents. It is elevating and healing.
 The latter’s motive is love & mercy & those who receive it are positively unworthy – indigni.
 Both are elevating bt the latter is also healing. The distinctions btn graces are only accidental.
4.3.2 External & Internal
 External - Any benevolent deed in view of salvation affecting one only externally &
influencing him only morally i.e. Any God’s deed to humans in view of our salvation
affecting us externally e.g. listening homily, reading a book.
 Internal – This grace affects the soul & its powers intrinsically & operates physically on them
e.g. sanctifying grace – infused virtues & gifts.
4.3.3 Uncreated (gratia increata) & Created (gratia creata)
 Former is God H’self coz of his gracious nature of His relationship with man. He is called
gratia increata, who communicate H’self to man thro’ grace.
 Latter is a reality produced in man coz of His creative love of God, which is distinct from
God. It can be a permanent reality inhering in the soul, i.e. habitual grace or a transcient
reality enabling man to perform actions in the order of salvation, i.e. actual grace. A reality
produced in man because of the creative love of God towards man. It is distinct from God.
This can be something permanent entering in the soul, Habitual Grace, or transient reality
enabling man to perform good actions in the order of salvation, Actual Grace.
4.3.4 Gratia gratis data & gratia gratum faciens
 Grace which is freely giving & which makes one pleasing respectively.
 1st is given to few pple primarily for the good of others. Personal holiness isn’t a necessary
prerequisite here.
 2nd is given to all for personal sanctification making one pleasing to God. Are habitual &
actual.

4.3.4.1 Actual Grace

 In the natural order we receive our nature and the general consensus for action. In the
supernatural order we have a habitual grace and God’s inspiration to act so that we may reach
our supernatural destination.
 Actual acts in the capacities of the soul, namely, intellect & will. It’s a divine help enabling
one to live this new life or this habitus which illumines the intellect & strengthens the will.

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 Actual Grace – is this transitory help, God’s intervention in the beginning of conversion or in
the course of the work of sanctification. This notion of actual grace was introduced in the 15 th
century by John Caprioles but the concept is rooted in scriptures.
 Fathers and Theologians spoke about grace, they precisely meant actual grace, and habitual
grace for them was new life.
 Actual grace can be:
- Illuminating grace – elevates the intellect to produce supernatural acts.
- Strengthening grace – elevates the will so that one can know and follow the way to
salvation.
 Aquinas on the effects of Actual Grace:
- Heals the soul; moves the will, to will what is good
- Enables one to perform good deeds and helps him persevere in his good resolve
- Assist him to attain the eternal life.

4.3.4.2 Habitual Grace

 Habitual is the basic gift & is in the order of essence, creating a new life. It’s also called
sanctifying grace.
 Habitual Grace – is a stable and permanent disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it
to live with God and to act of his love.
 The term habitual grace is not found among the Fathers. They understood grace simply as
that which makes one pleasing to God, in being and actions which included both actual and
habitual grace.
 Thomas Aquinas distinguished them and defined habitual grace as “a certain participated
likeness of the divine nature”. In line with the Fathers belief that “grace deifies us”.
 Peter Lombard – identified grace with the person of the Holy Spirit, a teaching which is not
compatible withTrent’s teaching: “grace inhales in the soul and can be increased by good
works”.
 For Aquinas – grace is distinct from the Holy Spirit, which is the Uncreated Grace whereas
sanctifying grace is a Created Grace.
- Grace is not identical with the Holy Spirit; it is a created reality which truly and
inwardly affects the human being. But it is not a substantial reality of a human being.
- Thus, Sanctifying Grace – is a supernatural quality inhering in the soul which gives a
physical and formal reality, although analogous and accidental participation in the
very nature of God.
 Grace also includes the gift that the Spirit grants us in order to associate us with His work
enabling us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the church.

4.4 Grace in relation to the mystery of redemption

 Jesus Christ, God man redeemed mankind and reconciled humanity with God – objective
redemption. This objective redemption must be freely accepted by each individual, that is,
subjective redemption.
 The application of these fruits of redemption is called Justification and the fruit of
redemption itself is called Grace.
 In the OT comes to the reality of grace in the doctrine of God’s fidelity (Exod 34:6; Isa 54:7)
and is also manifested in God’s free and unlimited love for his people. Although they despise

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 him, God remains faithful to his promise and he intervenes in their history to redeem them
and directing their lives.
 In the NT – Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love and offer of salvation. And grace is
identical with Christ in person, words and deeds.
 And so, Justification has been merited for us by the passion of Christ who offered himself on
the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the
instrument of atonement for the sins of all mankind. Justification is conferred in baptism, the
sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just
the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal
life. Hence we can say:
- Christ merited grace for us through His redemptive death on the cross through which
we are justified.
- Our Justification Has Two Aspects:
 In the negative sense – Liberation or deliverance from sin – It is by His
meritorious sacrificial death Christ liberated us from sin,
 In the positive sense – Participation in divine life of grace – It is by His
resurrection that He opened for us the way to new life i.e. Divine life.
 It is essentially a new life, communicated to man through Christ, by which man is freed from
everything that separates him from God and is united through the spirit in Christ to the
Father. It is God’s free and forgiving self-communication which enables man to share the
Trinitarian relationship of love. This is realized in individuals in various aspects:
- For the synoptics – it is through the establishment of the kingdom through the person of
and deeds of Christ.
- For John – it is the participation in Christ, who is life and light of the believers.
- For Paul – it is liberation from sin and incorporation into Christ.
 Formally therefore, grace makes us: Adopted children of God (Rom 8:16); Heirs of the
Kingdom of God; Brothers in Christ; and making us pleasing to God. It unites man to God
and making him worthy to be called justified. Trent teaches that justification makes an unjust
man just and an enemy, a friend.
 Since Man is destined to supernatural life and grace is also given as a seed of this divine life,
for it to grow and perform salutary acts he needs operative habits. These necessarily stem
from grace and prolong it, but are not identical with grace

4.5 Grace in relation to the gift of the Holy Spirit

 The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, i.e. cleanse us from our sins and to
communicate to us the righteousness of God thru faith in Jesus Christ and thru Baptism
(CCC1987). Thru the power of the Holy Spirit we take part in Christ’s passion by dying to
sin, and in his Resurrection by being born into to new; we are members of his Body which is
the church.
 Sanctifying grace is infused in the soul by the Holy Spirit and He dwells in the soul of the
justified. Hence, Holy Spirit is the innate/inborn/intrinsic/inherent principle of our
justification.
 The first work of grace of the Holy Spirit is therefore, conversion: Moved by grace, man
rejects sin, turns towards God accepting forgiveness and righteousness from above. This
justification not only remits our sins but also sanctifies and renews the interior man (CCC,

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 1987). Hence; the Holy Spirit is the master of the interior life. By giving birth to the inner
man, justification entails the sanctification of his whole being.
 According to St. John the Apostle, “…grace gives us a new life raising us above our earthly
condition and making us the children of God in the true sense through a Spiritual rebirth.”
 For Paul, “Grace above all is a divine help given from heaven out of God’s power that heals
the wounds of our will and empowers it”.
 Although grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us
(CCC, 200); but grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his
work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of
Christ, the church. There are Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit perfecting the intellect and the
will and 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit which are diametrically opposed to the wants of the
flesh (Gal 5:22).
 But the climax of justification is the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit –
- God is present where he acts and more intimately present where he acts more intimately.
In a justified soul God is present in a supernatural way communicating himself to
human soul through grace making the soul his living temple.
- Aquinas – in the giving of sanctifying grace, Holy Spirit himself is given and sent into the
soul. Hence grace consist of the two-fold reality:
 Making us participants in divine nature
 Giving himself personally by indwelling within us
- Therefore, grace is not merely something of a quality, a created reality; but above all,
someone – a person.
- There is a certain opinion that sanctifying grace makes one the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
 Generally, we can say that the grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of
his own life, infused by the holy spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it.

Principal disputes concerning grace

 The physical conception of grace by John the Apostle was developed by the scholastics. The
moral conception of Paul was clarified by St. Augustine but later on distorted by Luther and
the Jansenists.

5. THE HISTORICAL – THEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

5.1 Grace in the Sacred Scripture
5.1.1 OT
 The theological technical term for grace does not have an immediate correspondence in OT.
 Some texts from OT which in one or another do correspond the NT charis-gratia:
- Aheb, hen & hesed – express the uncountable active love of God 4 the pple of Israel
(Cf. Deut 7:7-9). The sovereign & gracious character of the love is emphasized by
hanan, hen & hesed, words derived from aheb. In these words we find the idea of
unmerited favour & of the supreme graciousness & condenscension on the part of the
giver, who is superior to the receiver.
- Meaning of hen is found in these expression: to find favour or to obtain favour (cf.
Gen 6:8; 18:3).
- Another word connected with it is the verb hanan which means to show favour (cf. Ps
41:4; 51:3; 27:11; Amos 5:15; Ex 33:19; Hos 11:1-10).

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 In the OT no special word is used to signify the concept of grace as we understand now, but
the substance of the doctrine is there i.e. God’s free unmerited, unlimited & gratuitous love 4
man.
 This love is an active love manifested historically in His dealing with man:
- Creation = creating man, giving a share in His own happiness.
- Election of the Israelites & deliverance from the Egyptian slavery & the covenant He
made with them,& His faithfulness to this covenant inspite of unfaithfulness of
Israelites. His personal steadfast love 4 Israel.
 The Hb words Hen Hesed translated to Gk charis = grace.
 Hen as a noun, it means, freely bestowed personal favour of God. As a verb = to be generous,
to be lovingly devoted to. Hence the idea is a personal heartfelt devotion of God to mankind
in total freedom.
 Hesed = although this term appears twice, it helps us a greater understanding of Grace. It’s
God’s abundant gdness bestowed upon mankind which is manifested above all in the
covenant & his constant fidelity to it i.e. God’s loving kindness & fidelity inspite of Israel’s
unfaithfulness.
 Observance of the law was an expression of this love relationship. This covenant relationship
is made perfect & interior in the NT. When the law will be written in human hearts & man
responds spontaneously to God’s will.
 We have two words – hesed and hen – that translated as charis or grace:
- Substantive Hen – means the freely bestowed personal favor of God (Gen 6:8; Ex
33:19).
- The verb hanan – signifies to be gracious in the sense of lovingly devote oneself to
 Hesed better conveys the idea of grace in NT sense translated as charis (Ester 2:9, 17). But
the OT comes to the reality of grace in the doctrine of God’s fidelity (Exod 34:6; Isa 54:7).

5.1.2 Grace in NT
 JC is the climax of God’s self communication. He is the Grace & who believes in Him &
receives baptism, share in His life, & grace is this life in the NT.
 In the NT Christ is the embodiment of God’s self-communication to mankind. He is the focal
point of God’s grace, the symbol that actualizes God’s presence. He is grace.

5.1.2.1 Synoptics (The Kingdom of God as grace & Jesus as its mediator)
 the reality of grace is present in Jesus’ proclamation of Graceful God as Father and his
message regarding the “gift-character” of God’s reign or kingdom (Mt 7:11; 10:29; Mk 1:15;
9:37; Lk :13). The Kingdom of God occurs in love.
 Jesus announces the unlimited disposition to forgiveness & reconciliation placed before all
sinners.
 The xn doctrine of grace is built in the actions of pre-Easter Jesus.
 The coming of God’s grace is realized when is fulfilled the destiny of its mediator i.e. in
offering of the life of Xst on the cross, when the new covenant is founded thro’ the spilled
blood (Mk 14:24).
 The self-giving of J on the cross is the eschatological revelation that Yahweh is here in
favour of his pple (Ex 3:14). It is here that the cross of J would be the spring of grace bcoz in

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 it the manifestation & the ultimate self-emptying of the love of God meet themselves (Phil
2:6-11).

5.1.2.2 Johannine (Grace is life & communion with God)

 Xst is the saviour of the world (Jn 4:42; 1 Jn 4:14) in virtue of offering of his life, in as much
as the ‘Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29).
 As a good shepherd he offers his life for his sheep (Jn 5:11). There is no greater love than
that of giving ones life for the others, the disciples those whom he has gained as his friends &
friends of God (Jn 15:13).
 John describes grace as communion with God & participation in the lovely union of the Fr,
Son & the HS.
 We can synthesize the essence of grace in the following words of John: this is eternal life that
they know you, the only true God & the one whom you sent, JC (Jn 17:3).
- Grace is the new life communicated through Christ. Christ’s life is in short the
doctrine of grace (Jn 1:3, 8, 16). The salvation brought by Christ has the following
aspects:
 Deliverance from darkness and the gift of light and truth
 Deliverance from death and the gift of life
 Deliverance from slavery caused by sin and gift of Devine sonship.

5.1.2.3 Pauline & Other NT writings (Grace as new Justice & Holiness)
 In Romans & Galatians, Paul exposes widely the mystery of redemption under the view of
justification of the sinner (justification impii).
 Paul could develop the salvific action of God in JC with the help of the other categories:
shalom, reconciliation, new covenant, new creation, communion with Xst & with the HS,
conformation with Xst divine filiation of @ concrete individual or of the church as a whole,
as temple of the HS.
 Due to sin man has lost the original holiness.
 Only thro’ the gospel of Grace is man implored internally by the word of God & it’s in such
a way filled with the spirit that, thro’ the adhesion to the obedience of Xst in faith he can
accept the justice granted by God & to realize himself fully in hope & love (Gal 5:6).
 The justice by which God justifies us is in his gratuitous grace coming to us in JC. God made
him sinner for us (2 Cor 5:21). In his blood i.e. his obedience on the cross until death has
contributed the expiation, which has made it possible for God to incline towards us so that
we may accept God in the obedience of the covenant.
 Thro’ his vicarial obedience he has been converted into the original capacity of all the human
beings of receiving in their hearts the grace of salvation in the spirit. From here it follows that
to believe means to enter in the form of obedience of J (Rom 3:23-26).
 We aren’t justified coz of legalistic obedience of the law but by faith as a pure gift of grace.
 Xst is the only mediator of the divine justice for all human beings (cf. Gal 4:4-6; Rom 8:15;
29).
 By Xst all men, who are found under the law of sin are justified, redeemed, elected for the
new covenant & sanctified (1 Cor 1:30).
 He who has been justified in Xst becomes a new creature before God (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15;
Rom 6:4) & is called to participate in the essence & the figure of his son (Rom 8:29).

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 the word charis in NT is primarily a Pauline term. It expresses God’s lavish self-giving to
man in the person and death of Christ (Eph 1:5, 11; 2:4-7; Rom 5:15-20).
- Paul identifies Jesus as Grace of God and describes God’s mercy and favor in
terms such as salvation, redemption, new creation, reconciliation and
justification.
- Also emphasizes that grace is a merciful gracious effects of the total gratuitous
love of the Father.
 Paul understands the new existence of Xn as to be in Xst (1 Cor 1:30). We have been
justified in the name of our Lord JC & in the spirit of our God (1 Cor 6:11).
 By faith & baptism the justified have the gift of the divine filiation (Rom 8:17; 9:26).
 Thro’ the Gospel, believers have received the seal of the promised Spirit of God together
with the reception of faith (Col 1:12-20; Eph 1:3-23).
 The grace of God can only be captured under the eschatological universal aspects, for the
grace of God has been manifested for the salvation of all men (Tit 2:12-20; 2 Tim 2:5).
 To the communion of life with God & to the insertion in the filial relation of Xst to the Fr in
the Spirit, is defined also as participation in the divine nature (1 Pet 1:4).
 Participation is conceded in the fullness of grace & peace to those who achieved by faith the
knowledge of God of our Lord JC (2 Pet 1:1ff) & they confess him, in the Spirit as Son of the
Fr (2 Pet 1:17, 20; 1 Cor 12:3).
 In the Biblical terminology grace in the:
 Subjective sense, a disposition of condensation or benevolence shown by a high placed
person to one on a lower place especially of God toward mankind.
 Objective sense, it signifies an unmerited gift proceeding from this benevolent disposition.
 According to Paul – grace is a benefit freely given by God to his creatures. It signifies the
response of the receiver of the beneficium and in this sense it is always used in the plural
form, Deogratias.
 Theology takes grace in this objective sense and defines it as “God’s free unmerited lovely
gift of His own life and presence to man.”
 And through loving and open in faith of this gift, human beings are interiorly endowed with
grace by transformation and introduced on this intimacy of the Trinitarian life. We thus
become the children of God partakers of divine nature, heirs of eternal life.

5.2 Tradition
 In the 1st 4 centuries, the great challenges facing the church were the Gnostic dualism & its
diverse modalities. world of matter is the source of all evil. Redemption as the return of the
spiritual part to the divine world of light. Redemption means liberation from matter.
 In her controversy with Gnostics the Xns were obliged to stress the importance, the gdness of
creation as well as the permanent importance of free will for doing the good.
 Xty insisted on the ethical & ascetical dimension of the new humanity founded on grace.
 So for church frs the origin of evil should not be searched in material world as such, rather in
the human will, which moves itself away from God.

5.2.1 Tertulian
 The 1st one to establish the difference between nature& grace (tes. An. 17).

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 He employed it in order to guarantee the ontological gdness of the human being i.e. the
gdness of his nature.
 Man has received from God the gift of the free will as a basic constitutive. It is certain that
due to the sin of Adam, the evil has installed itself in man but that is not his nature.
 OS disturbed nature bt didn’t destroy it. It faces the new initiative of the grace of God.
 Man is made sharer in the salvific will of God thro’ baptism. the gift received from God is
called, to distinguish it from nature & grace.

5.2.2 Irenaeus
 In him we find its first manifestation.
 Man has bn created in the image of God & he has a natural similitude with God. He has bn
created in the likeness of God, something which means that he carries in himself a
supernatural likeness of the divinity.
 Man has not lost his natural likeness, only it has bn damaged. The supernatural likeness has
bn restored by the grace of JC.
 The renewal of the doctrine of grace of Paul completed by Augustine coincided with the Xn
mentality profoundly rooted in the East & West, which put great emphasis on freedom, ethics
& asceticism.

5.2.3 Clement of Alexandria

 Understood that the reification (making it as a thing) of the sin of Adam could be avoided by
defining its real content in the following way: Adam made himself a sinner coz he moved
away from the educative influence of God & his descendants have received sin coz they have
imitated his example.

5.3 The Augustinian – Pelagius Controversy of the 5th C

 The pelagian controversy of the 5 th C has a similar importance to the Trinitarian & Xstgical
debates of the primitive Church.

5.3.1 Pelagius (410 AD)

 understood grace basically as a natural capacity of the will to do good, i.e. like an external
grace (gratia externa). Grace for him was the total course of the history of salvation thro’
which God influences over us in the law, in the teachings of the prophets & finally in JC,
directs us, configures us & educates us.
 Xst has justified us only under the form of example (shown us his grace).
 Pelagians rejected the doctrine of the state of total perdition of human nature & the
elimination of our freedom as the consequences of sin.
 According to Pelagius, “…grace is the freedom of choice, against the freedom of necessity”.
- He denied the elevation of human nature of the supernatural order, the existence of
original sin and the inherent tendency of human nature to sin. “Adam’s sin was only a
bad example.
- Redemption is a call for a higher life which is facilitated by the Law of Moses in the
Old Testament and by the preaching and example of Christ in the New Testament.”
Pelagius said.

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 5.3.2 Augustine– Doctor of Grace
 As a consequence of OS humanity has become a massa damnata (serm. 26, 12; civ 21,12).
 In order to achieve & conserve the grace of justification it is necessary the efficacy of the
actual grace. Without that men cannot desire or wish & at least to carry any supernatural
good nor persevere to the end (donum perseverantiae).
 Under the influence of the debates, he developed his doctrine which he maintained a coherent
line that it is God who prepares in the elected the will to accept the irresistible grace.
 He insisted tirelessly against Pelagianism in the gratuity of grace. No matter how good
actions are, the person does not deserve grace, nor acquire any right to them. So it would not
be grace if it were not given gratuitously (1 Cor 4:7; Eph 2:8; Phil 1:29).
 He taught that in the state of Adam the human being is totally incapable to love. He lacks
freedom for doing good.
 He was fully conscious of the divinizing aspect of grace, but he was more concerned with the
Pelagian’s doctrine, and therefore, emphasized grace as a divine power/force liberating
human will from the bondage of sin.
 Against this Augustine taught that: “…by original sin human nature is inflicted from the very
conception, and therefore, human soul is wounded and human will became a prisoner to itself
and this condition is aggravated [worsened] by personal sins. And therefore, we can do
nothing in the order of salvation without grace”.
- Before sin human faculties were under the control of the will and the will naturally
tended to the service of God.
- By sin there took place on insubordination of the faculties to the will and the will is
turned away from God in the pursuit of evil.
 For Augustine, “…freedom is not merely the power to choose, but the power to choose good
and the sinner has not got this power of his own, law gives man only knowledge making him
aware of his capacity, only grace can give him the power to do good”.
- Redemption restored the order of virtue, although one may experience rebellion as a mark
of sin and thus Christian life is in a continuous [hot] warfare. The Holy Spirit pours
into our hearts, His assistance, His grace, an internal power. It liberates us from the
slavery of sin healing the will, giving it a new delight in good.
- By a gentle violence, we are led to want that which we refused first. It is a modification
of the will, a new form of liberty, amounting to a new creation.
- Hence, it does not destroy freedom but heals it, strengthens it to do good, in which
consists true freedom. Without this assistance man is subject to sin, flesh and death and
is incapable of doing anything worthwhile in the order of salvation.

5.3.3 Council of Carthage (418)

 accepted the teaching of Augustine excommunicated Pelagius and condemned his doctrine.

5.4 Semi-Pelagianism & Council of Orange

5.4.1 Semi-Pelagianism (435)
 It is a term used habitually since 16 th c to designate the reaction provoked in Africa & in the
south of France (Gaul) by the Augustinian doctrine of the absolute necessity of grace 4 all
meritotious work.

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 There is another teaching taught by John Cassian +435 A.D. known as Semi-Pelagianism.
For them: “Augustine undervalued the human factor in the order of salvation.”
 They recognized the supernatural elevation and existence of Original Sin but limited the
necessity and the gratuitous [unnecessary] nature of grace.
 According to them “…man is responsible for his preparatory acts of justification [Initium
Fidei]. Once grace is given freely man is responsible to persevere in it.”

5.4.2 Council of Orange (527/9)

 Semi-Pelagianism was condemned in the end of Council of Orange 527 A.D. and upheld the
doctrine of Augustine.
- Even the first impulse of justification comes from grace and aided by grace. One must
prepare himself for justification and grace is necessary to persevere in grace by avoiding
grave sins and final perseverance is a special grace.

6. THE THEOLOGICAL – SYSTEMATIC OUTLINE (THE SCHOLASTIC

SYSTEMATIZATION)
6.1 St. Bonaventure – Dr. Serafficum
 A mystic & true disciple of Augustine
 The grace which is given to us is the HS H’self & at the same time it’s a created reality;
which derives from the HS as light from sun, which becomes the form of the soul making it
like God.
 Since he didn’t extinguish between the essence & the faculties of the soul, grace also informs
the faculties of the soul.
 Grace is likeness of God. It assimilates us to God & finally unites us with Him. So the 1 st
effect of grace is justification of man, making Him pleasing to God. It also restores to man to
a certain extent, the perfect righteousness man lost thro’ sin.

6.2 St. Albert the Great (+1280)

 Starting from the notion of creature, He says that @ creature is destined to God according to
its nature where it finds its fulfilment.
 But man’s nature demands full enjoyment of God where He finds His fulfilment.
 To attain this, man stands in need of God’s assistance, God’s grace.
 His theology of grace is based on man’s vocation to established a personal loving
relationship with God which demands an essential change in man & His grace which
accomplishes this essential change (in man) & this perfection of human personality thro’
grace makes man capable of participating in God’s own life.

6.3 St. Thomas Aquinas (+ 1274)

 Following his master Albert, he structured his summa-Exitus Redicus = everything comes
from God & is meant to return to God. And it’s thro’ grace that man returns to God.
 Grace is at the same time God’s eternal love & its effects, coz God’s love is creative & grace
is the effect of this creative love in us.
 When he speaks about grace, he generally means this created effect – gratia create = & not
God H’self the author of this effect – gratia increata.
 For him, grace is healing but more than that it raises human nature ontologically.

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 Accepting the healing nature of grace, he dvpd xn doctrine of divinization thro’ participation
in divine life. Donum gratiae nihil aliud est, quaedam participatio divine naturae. Thus he
beautifully synthesized Eastern & Western tradition. He emphasized the objective nature of
grace, that’s why less mention is made about gratia increate.
 Grace is a reality in the soul, the interior effect of God’s love which heals man’s weakness,
allows him to live a good life, elevates him & makes him capable of meriting before God.
 He gives metaphysical reasons to show this gratuitous nature of grace, showing that grace
was gratuitous Adam even before his sin.

6.4 The Protestant Controversy of the 16th C (Luther & Trent ca 1545/7 AD).
 The Crisis of Reformation: came from the opposite direction. Being corrupted by Original
Sin, the Reformists said that: “…man is intrinsically incapable of performing any good action
in the order of salvation.”
 It was in the background of the teaching of Luther & Protestantism, we’ve a long & clear
teaching on Grace, defining the nature of grace, merit, freewill & man’s ability to observe the
commandments & follow the teaching of the Gospel in Trent.

6.4.1 Martin Luther

 Exaggerating certain aspects of the teaching of St. Paul and Augustine, Luther distorted their
teachings. “Adam’s sin was due to him by his nature. Hence; once it is lost [original justice]
by Original Sin human nature is totally corrupted and hence, he is unable to do anything in
the order of salvation.” Even his freedom is lost and he is compelled to sin and the
concupiscence which is in man, itself is a sin which is the proof of this total corruption.
 Therefore, there is no possibility of cooperating in the work of salvation. Abandoning oneself
to God’s mercy, believe in God’s love and God’s love manifests in Christ and one will
experience in one’s heart a certitude about his salvation.
 And thus salvation is a personal experience, where there is no need of an intermediary, such
as sacraments, and hierarchical structure. Sacraments are meant only to stimulate this fiducial
faith. When one surrenders to God in fiducial faith God forgives.
 But sin is not destroyed but is imputed [attributed], because of the merits of Christ. God
covers the sinner with the merits of Christ as with a garment. Man still remains a just and a
sinner at the same time. Simul Justus et Peccator.
 Justification is an attitude of God the Father an extrinsic change in relationship. God of wrath
becomes God of mercy. Justification is a favour from God, and not something that happens
in the human soul.

6.4.2 The Decree of Justification-Council of Trent c

 In its Sessions 1547 A.D. followed a middle course between the extremes of Pelagius’ self-
sufficiency and the Protestants defense regarding the capability of human persons, wounded
nature.
 Acknowledged the helplessness of man after Original Sin. The Councils of Carthage ca.418
A.D. or ca.435 A.D. Orange, respectively, taught the absolute need of grace for justification.
- New man is born without grace but this is not a total corruption. He enjoys freedom
which although weakened and estranged, free will is not destroyed.

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 Council taught 2 objectives:Necessity of sacraments & Faith alone is not sufficient for
salvation:
- In baptism Original Sin is really remitted, but concupiscence does remain, but it does not
harm those who resist it. There is struggle but the victory is assessed with the grace of
Christ.
- Justification is not merely remission of sin it involves an internal renovation, an
ontological change, a rebirth one becomes just. He becomes a new being/creature,
possessing on his soul, and the principle of divine life.
- Justification is not merely passive. Man has to cooperate with grace in the true sense.
Faith alone is not sufficient. Man has to respond freely to the intuitive that comes
gratuitously [without cause] from God.
- One has no absolute certitude about one’s salvation. But God will not be the first to
abandon man; it is up to man to be faithful to God. Justification can be lost by grave sin
but can be regained through the sacrament of reconciliation
 For Luther: grace was naturally given, when lost it is for good. The Catholic Church teaches
that grace is a gift when taken away person is wounded. That means he can be healed

6.5 Heresies (Baius & Jansenism Heretical Views on Grace & Original Sin)
6.5.1 Michael Baius ca.1589 A.D. - bainism
 Advanced the heretical interpretation of Original Sin.
 Original grace belongs to the integrity of man and hence, by Original Sin man is radically
changed, corrupted, free will cannot do anything but sin.
 Justification is a restoration of man to act well. And thus he denied the transforming aspect of
grace.
 Limiting grace as a help to observe the commandments and man is not free under this divine
help. Concupiscence is a sin. Michael Baius was condemned by Pope Pius V.

6.5.2 Jansenius 1638 A.D. - Jansenism

 influenced by Baius he too misinterpreted the notion of Original Sin.
 In his work: Jansenius which was published only after his death, he presented a pessimistic
view of human nature.
 He denied the even natural good without the help of grace. Without grace man sins by
natural spontaneity.
 Pope Innocent X condemned his teaching. Grace is God’s gratuitous [unnecessary] self gift
to us.

6.6 Magisterium (Decisions of the magisterium)

 The semi-pelagians were definitively condemned in Orange II (529) but the decisions were
forgotten in the archives & were not re-discovered until the 13th C.
 With them remained the post-written the synergism which attributed one part of justification
to God & another to man.
 The preparatory acts are products of the prevenient supernatural grace. But this grace not
only does not exclude rather that it causes the freedom of its acceptance (voluntaria
susceptio). This question planted a bit softly is about the relationship between freedom & the
free will, which would become one of the themes specifically dominant in the disputes about
grace, which occurred during the 16the & 17th C btn Dominicans & Jesuits.

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CONCLUSION
This gift [GRACE] must be freely accepted through one’s self-commitment to God in faith and
love. Hence, grace implies a personal response and demands cooperation. “It grows through the
reception of sacraments and through the docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It is
destined to find its fulfillment in the heavenly glory.

10. Christian Eschatology: essential doctrinal elements (death, judgment, purification,

paradise, perdition).

Outline
INTRODUCTION
1. Etymological definition of Eschatology
2. Eschatology and Human civilisation
2.1. Uncivilized societies
2.2. Civilise societies
2.2.1. Babylonians and Assyrians
2.2.2. Egyptians
2.2.3. Persian
2.2.4. Greek
2.3. African mythical perspectives of eschatology
2.3.1. Original state
2.3.2. Loss of paradise
2.3.3. Death (life after, characteristics and location)
2.3.4. Retributive judgement
2.3.5. Immortality
2.3.6. Resurrection (it does not exist)
2.4. Christian Eschatology
3. Systematic Division of Christian Eschatology
3.1. Anthropological Eschatology
3.1.1. Particular/Individual
3.1.2. Universal/collective
3.1.3. Intermediate eschatology
3.2. Cosmic Eschatology
3.2.1. End of time and of the Physical world
3.2.2. General Judgements with all its elements (Parousia and Resurrection)
4. Essential doctrinal elements of Christian Eschatology
4.1. Death
4.1.1. Meaning of death
4.1.2. Origin of death
4.1.3. Death in the Scripture
4.1.4. Death in theTradition
4.1.5. Death in the Magisterium
4.1.6. Errors abt doctrine of death
4.1.6.1. The “Metempsychosis”
4.1.6.2. The “Apokatastasis”

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 4.2. Judgement
4.2.1. Particular Judgement (Individually)
4.2.1.1. Time of judgment:
4.2.1.2. Particular Judgment of God at Death:
4.2.1.3. In the Magisterium
4.2.1.4. In the fathers of the Church
4.2.2. General Judgement (whole humanity)
4.2.2.1. Parousia (signs, Maranatha-Dies Irae, Kingdom- Eschatological tension)
4.2.2.2. Resurrection of the body
 In scripture
 In Christian Tradition
 Characteristics of the Risen Body
4.3. Purification (Purgatory)
4.3.1. Meaning, Nature, Object, Duration and Dogma of purification
4.3.2. The foundation of Purgatory
4.3.3. The Biblical Foundation
4.3.4. The Traditional Foundation
4.3.5. The Magisterial Foundation
4.3.5.1. Why souls go there (Church’s teachings)
4.3.5.2. Conditions of souls there
4.3.5.3. Ability to communicate with them
4.4. Paradise (Heaven) -- The Irrevocable Acceptance by God in Christ
4.4.1. Theology of Heaven (state of our full union with Christ & Trinity):
4.4.2. State of Heaven’s glory:
4.4.3. Essential Element in Heavenly Glory:
4.4.4. Nature of the beatific vision:
4.4.5. Object of the beatific Vision:
4.4.6. Consummated Heavenly Glory: Beatific Joy
4.5. Perdition (Hell)
4.5.1. Magisterium on Hell
4.5.2. Existence of Hell
4.5.3. Essential nature of hell
4.5.4. Eternity of Hell
4.5.5. Penalties of hell
4.5.6. Characteristics of the pains of Hell…..CONCLUISON

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................110
1. Notion and meaning of Eschatology.....................................................................................110
1.1 Types of Eschatology.....................................................................................................111
2. The essential Doctrinal Elements of Christian Eschatology..............................................111
2.1. Death................................................................................................................................111
2.1.1. Meaning of death......................................................................................................111
2.1.2. Origin of death..........................................................................................................111

107
 2.1.2.1. Death in the Scripture...........................................................................................111
2.1.2.2. Death in theTradition............................................................................................111
2.1.3. Errors concerning doctrine of death......................................................................112
2.1.3.1. The idea of “Metempsychosis”- reincarnation.....................................................112
2.1.3.2. The idea of “Apokatastasis”-Universal reconciliationand end of hell.................112
2.2. Judgment..........................................................................................................................112
2.2.1. General Judgment........................................................................................................112
2.2.2. Particular Judgment....................................................................................................113
2.2.2.1. Time of judgment:.................................................................................................113
2.2.2.2. Particular Judgment of God at Death:................................................................113
2.2.2.3. In the fathers of the Church.................................................................................113
2.2.2.4. In the Magisterium................................................................................................114

2.3. Purification/Purgatory....................................................................................................114
2.3.1. Meaning, Nature, Object, Duration and Dogma of purification..........................114
2.3.2 The foundation of Purgatory....................................................................................114
2.3.2.1 The Biblical Foundation........................................................................................114
2.3.2.2. The Traditional Foundation.................................................................................115
2.3.2.3. The Magisterial Foundation.................................................................................115
2.4. Heaven: The Irrevocable Acceptance of having been Accepted by God in Christ..116
2.4.1. Theology of Heaven (state of our full union withChrist& Trinity):................116
2.4.2. State of Heaven’s glory:......................................................................................117
2.4.3. Essential Element in Heavenly Glory:...............................................................117
2.4.4. Nature of the beatific vision:...............................................................................117
2.4.5. Object of the beatific Vision:..............................................................................117
2.4.6. Consummated Heavenly Glory:.........................................................................118
2.5. Hell....................................................................................................................................118
2.5.1. Magisterium on Hell.................................................................................................118
2.5.2. Existence of Hell:......................................................................................................119
2.5.3. Eternity of Hell:........................................................................................................119
2.5.4. Characteristics of the pains of Hell:........................................................................119
Conclusion and Evaluation.......................................................................................................119

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Introduction

Eschatology is a part of theology which is concerned with what are believed to be the final
events in history. Eschatology in history had various names namely, prognosticon, futuri saeculi
(future age). The titles which were current in 19 th century were De Deo consumatore and later in
the same century the terminology became eschatology. All these terminologies signify all most
the same theological meaning that is about the last things, the end of man and the world. There
are two distinct aspects of eschatology that must always be kept together, “individual” and
“collective”. In the course of the history of theology, these have tended to become detached.
Individual eschatology focuses on the destiny of the individual, while collective eschatology
focuses on the collective destiny of the world.

1. Notion and meaning of Eschatology

Eschatology comes from the Greek word eschaton, meaning the last and logia, meaning
study. Hence it means the science of the last things. Therefore, it is the study of the last things
such as death, judgment, heaven, hell and the second coming of Christ. 106 It is not the doctrine
concerning the last things as such, but the doctrine concerning the relationship of faith to the last
things.107

1.1Types of Eschatology

The theology of Eschatology bases itself on the end of Man and the world. There are two
facts which basically considered when talking about eschatology, and these facts are: Individual
eschatology or intermediate eschatology, and the eschatology of the whole world or General
eschatology, or collective eschatology.

2. The essential Doctrinal Elements of Christian Eschatology

2.1. Death

2.1.1. Meaning of death

It is the separation of soul and body. Death creates a condition of finality. Death marks the
final maturation of human life, dying can be called the ultimate self-actualization of man. 108
Moreover death is understood as the consequence and penalty of Adam’s sin.

2.1.2. Origin of death

106
Cf. Zachary HAYES, “Eschatology” in The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia, p. 285.
107
Cf. Candido POZO, Theology of the Beyond, Mark A, Pilon (Tr.), (5thed), St. Pauls, New York 2009, p.12.
108
Cf. Michael SCHMAUS; Dogma 6: Justification and the Last things, Sheed and Ward, London 1977, p. 222.

109
 Holy Mother Church teaches that in the present order of salvation, death is a punishment for
109
sin. Historically, death has been considered as a consequence of sin. St. Paul teaches in the
most definite manner, “as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so
death spread to all men, because all men sinned.”(Rm 5:12)110.

2.1.2.1. Death in the Scripture

Death is the end of the earthly pilgrimage, that is, of that state during which man can merit or
demerit can decide in favour of or against God, can give a yes or no to the friendship that God
offers him.111 Therefore, the reward in the next world is proportional to the merits or demerits of
life on earth (Retributional). According to the scripture, after death man no longer has the
possibility of new decision, this is well explained in the judgment of the nations (Mt 13:37-43;
25:34-46; Jn 12:25;2Cor 5:10), here the Judge of the World makes His judgment dependent on
the performance or neglect of good works on earth.112

2.1.2.2. Death in theTradition

The Fathers of the church are in agreement with the teaching of the church that with death
the possibility of merit or demerit or conversion ceases. The Fathers like St. Clement of Rome,
he says, while we are in this world let us do penance with all our heart for the sins which we
commit in the flesh so that we may be saved by the Lord, for after we have departed from this
world we will no longer be able to confess or do penance there (2letter of Clement of Rome).

In the same way, St. Cyprian says, “When one has departed from here, there is no longer a
place for penance nor does satisfaction have any effect, here is where life is saved or lost, here is
where one provides for eternal salvation with worship of God and fruit of faith.113

In addition, St. Maximus of Turin insists for everyone to work out for his salvation in this
life, he says, “this life has not been given to men for rest, but to work, that is work here and rest
afterwards”.114

2.1.3. Errors concerning doctrine of death

There are two errors concerning doctrine of death which contradict the proper teaching about
death that is Metempsychosis and Apokatastasis.

2.1.3.1. The idea of “Metempsychosis”- reincarnation

The theory was found by pre-Christian philosophers like Pythagoras and Plato. The theory
states that after death human souls will have a new earthly existence by being incarnated. The
109
Cf.Ludwig OTT, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, James C, Bastible (ed.), Patric Lynch (Tr.), Tan Books and
Publishers Inc, Rockford 1994, p. 473.
110
Cf. Candido POZO, op. cit., p. 408.
111
Cf. Ibid.,p. 410.
112
Cf. Ludwig OTT, op. cit., p. 474.
113
Ibid., p. 475
114
Cf. Ibid.

110
process of reincarnation would be repeated as many times as necessary until the purification is
complete. Therefore, death according to this theory does not terminate the possibility of personal
decision and this possibility would appear to further earthly existence.115

2.1.3.2. The idea of “Apokatastasis”-Universal reconciliationand end of hell

Apokatastasis was probably traceable to Origen. The theory states that souls were sent into
this world as a punishment, for the sin committed in their first purely spiritual existence, and for
the purpose of their being purified in this world from that sin, however, if upon arriving at death,
they are still not yet fully purified, then their purification is continued in Hell until they are freely
converted there.116 This view claims that some time in the future all things will be restored in
Christ and that even hell will come to an end. It’s the final and universal reconciliation or
reintegration of all creation. This view however undermines man’s freedom, the definitive
character of every human choice, and the urgency of man’s decision. It was condemned by the
edict of Justinian (543) and by the Synod of Constantinople (543), (Ds 211)

2.2. Judgment

2.2.1. General Judgment

2.2.2. Particular Judgment

Particular Judgment follows immediately after death: According to the Scriptures there are
many judges: God (2Thes 1:5; 1Cor 5:13); Christ (Mt 25:31-46); the 12 apostles (Mt 19:28); the
disciples (1Cor 6). Judgment is located in the present time: “I did not come to judge the world
but to save the world” (Jn 12:47); “he who rejects me & does not receive my saying has a judge:
the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day” (Jn 12:48 Christ inflicts pure
perdition on no one; it (perdition) comes to be wherever one distances himself from Christ
Judgment consists also in removal of the mask in death & manifestation of the truth, the personal
truth in God. In the mystery of incarnation God became the criterion of truth for us, in Christ &
thru Christ

2.2.2.1. Time of judgment:

There is not just after biological death but already in the act of faith. Whoever believe & stay
“with Christ” who is life he passed judgment. Whoever rejects to be “with Christ” is already
condemned by himself. Man becomes his own judgment. Individual judgment is in the moment
of the death, the general one at the end of time. For any human being, it wills a full internal
completion of the whole reality which determines him/ her in the most interior way.

2.2.2.2. Particular Judgment of God at Death:

Since divine judgment is the activity by which God achieves the divine purposes through the
free responses made by creatures to God’s gracious initiative, there are two moments of special
115
Cf. Candido POZO, op. cit., p. 415.
116
Cf. Ibid., p. 416.

111
focus for this activity.The moment of death, when the human person’s response to God becomes
total & definitive.The moment of Christ’s 2 nd coming, when the purposes of God are brought to
final realization.The judgment of an individual at the moment of death is called particular
judgment.The particular judgment at death is definitive & irrevocable. During life the individual
has been under the continuous judgment of God. The consummating judgment of God upon the
human person in death is no longer provisional but completely definitive.It resumes in itself &
ratifies the whole continuous judgment of God made throughout the person’s life.All the partial
achievements of the divine purpose in respect to this individual become united in a total
achievement, for the good of God’s whole plan & for the weal or the woe of this individual
depending on the basic option manifested in his life & made firm in death.Particular judgment is
passed on each individual at the moment of death separates finally the good & the evil.

2.2.2.3. In the fathers of the Church

The conviction of the Fathers of the church lies on their belief that the good receive their
reward and the evil receive their punishment immediately after death. But there is uncertainty of
the reward attained after death and before the resurrection. For example, St. Justin, St. Irenaeus
and Tertullian consider the state of waiting between death and resurrection, in which the just
indeed receive reward and the evil punishment, but do not yet achieve the final blessedness of
heaven or the final condemnation of hell.117

2.2.2.4. In the Magisterium

BothThe council of Lyons and Florence declared that the souls of the just free from all sins
and punishment are immediately assumed into heaven, and that the souls of those who die in
mortal sin or merely original sin descend immediately into hell (Ds 464, 693).

Pope Benedict XII, in the dogmatic constitution Benedictus Deus (1336), teaches that the
completely pure souls of the Just immediately after death, or after their purification enter heaven,
become partakers in the immediate vision of the Divine Essence, and are truly blessed, while the
souls of those in mortal sin immediately enter hell and are subject to the torments of hell (Ds
530).118

2.3. Purification/Purgatory

2.3.1. Meaning, Nature, Object, Duration and Dogma of purification

The word Purgatory is sometimes taken to mean a place, sometimes as an intermediate state
between hell and heaven.119 Purgatory which is taken as cleansing state is a place and state of
temporal penal purification. Purgatory is the state of those who die in God’s grace and
friendship; assured of their eternal salvation, but who still have need of purification to enter in
the happiness of heaven.

117
Cf. Ludwig OTT,op. cit.,p. 476.
118
Cf. Ludwig OTT, Ibid.,p. 475.
119
Cf. F.X. SCHOUPPLE, Purgatory: Explained by Lives and Legends of Saints, Tan Books and Publishers, Inc,
New York 1986, p.6.

112
 The church teaches that, “the souls of the just which, in the moment of death, are burdened
with venial sins or temporal punishment due to sins, enter Purgatory”.120

2.3.2 The foundation of Purgatory

Purgatory emerges from a number of larger truths underlying areas of meaning. Purgatory is
a graced moment in the maturing towards resurrection from within the church, herself
continuously by life and sacrament reconciling humanity to the Father, by the atoning merits of
the Son, in the outpoured gifts of the Holy Spirit. Purgatory, then, is part of the structure of the
economy of salvation.121

2.3.2.1 The Biblical Foundation

The scripture teaches the existence of the cleansing fire indirectly, by admitting the
possibility of purification in the other world. In the Old Testament text for the belief in Purgatory
is found in (2Macc 12:42-46). The Jews prayed for their fallen that their sins might be forgiven.
Therefore, they were convinced that they could help the dead by prayer and sacrifice to be freed
from their sins.122 From New Testament certain text established themselves as proofs for
Purgatory (Mt 5:25-26); In the words of Christ in Mt 12:32, leaves open the possibility that sins
are forgiven not only in this world, but in the world to come, above all, but also Lk 12:48; 1Cor
3:10-15; 15:29; 2Tim1:16f).123 As the church lived and prayed the founding revelation of
Scripture so belief in Purgatory grew.

2.3.2.2. The Traditional Foundation

The main proof for the existence of the cleansing fire lies in the testimony of the Latin
Fathers. St. Cyprian teaches that penitent who dies before the reception of the reconciliation
must perform the reminder of any atonement demanded in the other world (Ds. 983). St. John
Chrysostom commenting on Job 1:5 says, “let us help and commemorate the dead, if Jobs’ sons
were purified by their fathers’ sacrifice, why we would doubt that our offerings for the dead
bring them some consolation. Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and offer our
prayers for them. Origen in his work wrote about the fire that needs to purify the soul. St.
Augustine on his part frequently spoke of corrective purgative and cleansing fire.124

2.3.2.3. The Magisterial Foundation

The union councils of Lyons and of Florence uphold the purifying fire and the expiatory
character of the penal sufferings: “the souls of those who depart this life with true repentance and
120
Cf. Ludwig OTT,op. cit.,p. 476.
121
Cf. Robert OMBRES, The Theology of Purgatory;Edward Yarnold, (ed.), No. 24, Clergy Book Service, Butler,
Wisconsin 1978,p. 21.
122
Cf.Ibid.,p. 20.
123
Cf. Ibid.,p. 21.
124
Cf. Ibid., p. 484.

113
in love of God, before they have rendered satisfaction for their trespasses and negligences by the
worthy fruits of penance, are purified after death with the punishments of purification”. The
council of Trent laid down the reality of purgatory and that the souls detained there are assisted
by the suffrages of the faithful and especially by the acceptable sacrifice of the Alter. 125

The second Vatican council in describing ecclesial reality in all its fullness includes
purgatory as one of the three ecclesial states. The council says, “Some of his disciples are exiles
on earth, some having died are purified, and some are in glory” (LG 49). Also the council recalls
the practice of the church of praying for the faithful departed which goes back to the earliest time
(LG 50). “It is therefore, the whole some thought to pray for the dead that they be loosed from
sins”.126

Pope John Paul II in speaking about Purgatory, he says: “The term does not indicate a
place, but a condition of existence. The Pope emphasized that Purgatory is characterized by its
insistence on the necessity of complete purification in order to be able to enter into perfect and
definitive communion with God. For those who die in the state of grace, but who are in need of
post-mortal purification that is Purgatory, the love of Christ removes from them the remnants of
imperfection.127

Limbo: in theological use the name is applied to 1. A temporary place or state of the souls of
the just who although purified from sin were excluded from beatific vision until Christ
triumphant ascensions into heaven or 2, to the permanent place or state of those unbaptized
children and other who dying without grievous personal sin, are excluded from the beatific
vision on account of original sin alone. However this doctrine was cancelled by pope benedict
the XVI

2.4. Heaven: The Irrevocable Acceptance of having been Accepted by God in

Christ

What is heaven? It is the acceptance of the self-communication of God or the fulfilling by

grace of the natural desire towards the vision of God under the modality of the impossibility to
lose it.The final goal of man is God himself. Thus heaven is the Kingdom of God, which has
come to us in its fullness. In heaven man meets God as the content of his happiness, of his
eternal joy without end. In him he encounters himself in the communion of all the saved. Heaven
means participation in the life of the Triune God.

The CCC states that, those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly
purifiedlive forever with Christ. They are like God for ever-Eternal, for they see him as he is
face to face-beatific vision. This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity is called heaven.
Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme,
definitive happiness.This is perfect life in communion with the Most Holy Trinity, the Virgin

125
Cf. Ibid.,p. 483.
126
Cf. Candido POZO, op. cit.,p. 463.
127
Cf. Candido POZO, Ibid.,p.532.

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Mary, the angels & all the blessed.To live in heaven is ‘to be with Christ the elect live with
Christ but they retain, or rather find, their true identity, and their own name.By his death &
resurrection, Jesus Christ has ‘opened’ heaven to us. The life of the blessed consists in the full &
perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. Heaven is the blessed
community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ.This mystery of blessed communion
with God & all who are in Christ is beyond all understanding & description.

Scripture speaks of it in images: life, light, peace, wedding feast, wine of the Kingdom, the
Father’s house, the heavenly Jerusalem, paradise: “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart
of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1Cor 2:9).In the glory of
heaven the blessed continue joyfully to fulfil God’s will in relation in other men & to all
creation. Already they reign with Christ “they shall reign forever & ever” (Rev 22:5).

2.4.1. Theology of Heaven (state of our full union withChrist& Trinity):

H is the state of happiness of those who have died in Christ. It is the fulfilment of the life of
grace begun already on this earth, that life of union with the Blessed Trinity thru Christ It’s the
fulfilment of God’s salvific plan for the whole world; hence heaven exists in the fullest sense
only after Parousia of Christ at the end of the world. Together with this will come the
resurrection of the dead in their glorified bodies.God’s salvific plan is accomplished in two
stages:

i. In the glorification of Christ when, having risen from the dead & ascended to heaven, He
sits at the right hand of His Fr.
ii. When a like glorification has been given to the total community of the redeemed. The 2 nd
stage, the process of transforming the human race into glorious state, began at the 1 st Pentecost &
is continued thru the history of the Church until it is finally achieved at the last day, when Christ
comes in glory.

2.4.2. State of Heaven’s glory:

Theologians teach that the essential element in the state of heavenly glory is the union with
the Blessed Trinity in mind & heart (called the intuitive or beatific vision, the beatific love)
resulting in the beatific joy; they further teach that other factors round off this bliss, notably the
glorification of the body & the enjoyment of the renewed universe & the company of the blessed.
Although essential glory is possessed by all who die in the state of grace as soon as their
glorification is completed, the fullness of glory is theirs only after Christ’s Parousia, when they
receive back their bodies in the reconstituted universe.

2.4.3. Essential Element in Heavenly Glory:

Heavenly glory is the destiny for which God intends man. Happiness is what the human
person desires. Human happiness can be seen to lie in the possession of heavenly bliss.Human
happiness: since the attainment of its final end is the attainment of human happiness, heaven

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must bring a human person to a state of perfect bliss. Humanity’s final end must give
satisfaction to the person as a whole; it cannot therefore consist primarily in the satisfaction of
our corporeal nature but must rather be concerned with our spiritual nature.

Human person may be regarded as having a natural desire for union with God.Permanence:
if this happiness be complete, it follows that it is a happiness that cannot be lost either for a time
or permanently; otherwise the mind & heart would not be at rest, faring its loss: such a condition
is incompatible with complete happiness.Since this complete happiness is found only in union
with God, its permanency involves our permanent avoidance of sin, which would affect that
union with God.

2.4.4. Nature of the beatific vision:

Its basic nature is clear for the above. Clearly, since the beatific union of with God occurs
before the last day, when the blessed receive back their bodies, the essential part of heavenly
bliss doesn’t involve bodily activity; hence neither senses nor imagination are required for it.

2.4.5. Object of the beatific Vision:

The blessed Trinity is clearly the primary object of the beatific vision. An infinite truth God
alone is able to satisfy fully the human & angelic intellect which is made for the possession of
truth; also, as alone is the primary object of our mind & will in heaven. In heaven we know &
love God as He is in Himself.The 2 ndary object of the beatific joy (vision & love) is our
continuing knowledge & love of created beings with whom or which we have relationship by
reason of our earthly life – community of the saints.

2.4.6. Consummated Heavenly Glory:

In addition to the essential element of heavenly bliss, theologians speak of certain elements
that can differ from one person to another & without which heavenly bliss would remain
intact.Thus heavenly bliss varies from one person to another: since heaven is the reward for our
good activity while on earth, our degree of heavenly bliss will correspond to our degree of union
with God at death.Theologians commonly teach that there is an accidental source of heavenly
glory that is given only to some of the blessed, namely to martyrs, virgins, & teachers of faith. It
is called an aureole or special reward that marks the recognition of their special dedication to
Christ or His work during their earthly lives.Other elements additional to essential glory are the
company of the other blessed ones, the resurrection of the body, & the renewal of the world.The
differing degrees of heavenly glory, the aureoles, & the company of the elect are found in
heaven before the last day; the resurrection of the body & the renewal of the world occur only
after the last day. From then on the state of the blessed is termed as consummated heavenly
glory.

2.5. Hell

Jesus Christ teaches many times about hell & eternity of its punishment (Mt 25:41; Lk
13:28). God predestines no one to go to hell, for this, a wilful turning away from God (a mortal

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sin) is necessary, & persistence in it until the end.Where is Hell: the bible seems to indicate that
hell is within the earth, for it describes hell as an abyss to which the wicked descend (cf. Num
16:31; Ps 5:14; Ez 26:20; Phil 2:10). Hence theologians generally accept the opinion that hell is
really within the earth.The Church has decided nothing on this subject; hence we may say hell is
a definite place; but where it is, we do not know. St. Chrysostom: “We must not ask where hell
is, but how we are to escape it.” It is a state of rejection but we can’t indicate the place.

2.5.1. Magisterium on Hell

It is taught that enters he who remains obstinately in mortal sin up to death. The bases of the
eternal condemnation is found in the free will of the persons, which by virtue of their facta
capitalia, attracts over itself the divine reprobation, because it would persevere up to death,
without repentance and the penitence in the actual state of mortal sin.The teaching of the church
affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die
in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer punishments of hell, “eternal fire.”
The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the
life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs. In the same way as heaven is
not an ultra-tomb utopia, neither hell is a place of torments, where the vengeance of a rejected
love is downloaded with all cruelty. On this it will be added some elements of fear in the total
absence of any hope of being able to abandon one day this sea of sufferings.

2.5.2. Existence of Hell:

There is hell, i.e. all those who die in personal mortal sin, as enemies of God, & unworthy of
eternal life, will be severely punished by God after death.The existence of hell is proved 1 st of all
from the Bible. Wherever Christ& the Apostles speak of hell they presuppose the knowledge of
its existence (Mt 5:29; 8:12; 10:28; 13:42; 25:41, 46: 2Thes 1:8; Rev 21:8).The Church professes
her faith in the Athanasian Creed: “they that have done well shall go into life everlasting, & they
that have done evil into everlasting fire” (Denz., “Enchiridion”, 1908, n. 40).The Church has
repeatedly defined this truth e.g. in the profession of faith made in Lyons II (Denz. n. 464) & in
the decree of union in Florence (Denz. N. 693): “the souls of those who depart in mortal sin, go
down immediately into hell, to be visited, however, with unequal punishments.”

2.5.3. Eternity of Hell:

The Bible is quite explicit in teaching the eternity of the pains of hell. The torments of the
damned shall last forever & ever (Rev 14:11; 19:3; 20:10). Of Judas Christ says, “it were better
for him, if that man had not been born” (Mt 26:24). But this wouldn’t have been true if Judas
was ever to be released from hell & admitted to eternal happiness.The fire of hell is repeatedly
called eternal & unquenchable. “There worm shall not die, & their fire shall not be quenched” (Is
66:24; Mk 9:43, 45, 47). The eternity of pains of hell responds to this demand for justice. &,
besides, the fear of hell does really deter many from sin; & thus, in as far as it is threatened by
God, eternal punishment also serves for the reform of morals.

For solving other objections it should be noted:

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  God is not only infinitely good, He is infinitely wise, just & holy.
 No one is cast into hell unless he has fully & entirely deserved it.
 The sinner perseveres forever in his evil disposition.
 We must not consider the eternal punishment of hell as a series of separate of distinct
terms of punishment, as if God were forever again & again pronouncing a new sentence &
inflicting new penalties, & as if He could never satisfy His desire of vengeance.

2.5.4. Characteristics of the pains of Hell:

The pains will differ in degree according to demerit. A more intense hatred of God, a more
vivid consciousness of utter abandonment by Divine goodness.The pains of hell are essentially
immutable; there is no intermissions or passing alleviations.Hell is a state of the greatest & most
complete misfortune, as is evident from all that has been said.

Conclusion and Evaluation

With regard to all the teaching of the Church on eschatology, every individual Christian is
reminded of his/her responsibility to stay awake always. The Second Coming of Christ, the final
judgment by fire, resurrection, eternal life in an imperishable spiritual body, the wiping away of
all tears so that at the time of final eschatological fulfillment after the victory over all evil, God
would be all in all (1 Cor.15:28) leading human beings and all creation to the completion of its
original God given purpose.

As a matter of fact, the doctrinal elements of Christian eschatology are challenged in number
of ways in our today’s world. This is seen through the insensitive to the last things. This process
of becoming desensitized has been produced by the influence of secularization and secularism;
likewise the hells on earth that the contemporary man has known have contributed to it.
Moreover, the advances in science and technology man have lost sense of sin. Although
eschatology has been changed into something irrelevant to contemporary man, this does not
result in total skepticism. Nonetheless, faith in God, as Supreme Judge, has not become
completely irrelevant to man, he awaits someone who, in the end will be able to speak the truth
about the good and punish the bad. In this perspective God appears as Judge, but God is in the
first place love.

Spe Salvi

44. To protest against God in the name of justice is not helpful. A world without God is a
world without hope (cf. Eph 2:12). Only God can create justice. And faith gives us the certainty
that he does so. The image of the Last Judgement is not primarily an image of terror, but an
image of hope; for us it may even be the decisive image of hope. Is it not also a frightening
image? I would say: it is an image that evokes responsibility, an image, therefore, of that fear
of which Saint Hilary spoke when he said that all our fear has its place in love[35]. God is
justice and creates justice. This is our consolation and our hope. And in his justice there is
also grace. This we know by turning our gaze to the crucified and risen Christ. Both these things

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—justice and grace—must be seen in their correct inner relationship. Grace does not
cancel out justice. It does not make wrong into right. It is not a sponge which wipes
everything away, so that whatever someone has done on earth ends up being of equal value.
Dostoevsky, for example, was right to protest against this kind of Heaven and this kind of grace
in his novel The Brothers Karamazov. Evildoers, in the end, do not sit at table at the eternal
banquet beside their victims without distinction, as though nothing had happened. Here I would
like to quote a passage from Plato which expresses a premonition of just judgement that in many
respects remains true and salutary for Christians too. Albeit using mythological images, he
expresses the truth with an unambiguous clarity, saying that in the end souls will stand naked
before the judge. It no longer matters what they once were in history, but only what they are in
truth:

Some recent theologians are of the opinion that the fire which both burns and saves is Christ
himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgment

The incarnation of God in Christ has so closely linked the two together—judgment and grace
—that justice is firmly established:

11. Christ the “author” of the sacraments throuth the participation of the community of
believers, the Church, in the Paschal mystery. Their nature and their salvific effects.

INTRODUCTION
 By sin, man lost his supernatural destiny of sharing the divine life and turned away from
God, although man can know the existence of God from the created things, he remained
absolutely powerless to re-establish the personal relationship with God.
 Jesus not only destroyed the curse of sin and death but also re-established this bond and as a
result man can partake in this friendship with God; through Him and only through Him.
 After His ascension this possibility is offered to as the church, which is His mystical Body,
the prolongation of Christ and His saving activity. So the human act of the church can be the
vehicles of grace of Christ to us His members.
 Sacramentology is one of the 12 treatises of Systematic Theology. It’s strictly connected with
the everyday practice of the life of the Church. Eucharist as the centre of all liturgical &
theological actions.
 The sacramentality of the Church can be understood only in terms of Christ, in terms of the
christocentric, pneumatic nature of the Church.

1. NOTION OF SACRAMENTS
 Sacrament is visible sign instituted by Jesus Christ to give grace or sacrament is an
efficacious sign instituted by Christ for the remission of grace.

1.1 Nominal Definition

 The term sacrament had a broad meaning. It is derived from the Latin word sacrare i.e. a
thing which produces holiness, a means of sanctification. It also from the Greek mysterion,
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 which means to shut mouth or signifying hidden, secret of God. Generally especially in the
sphere of religion it signifies secrets of God. In a particular manner it is the mystery of the
redemption of Jesus Christ.
 The sacraments of the New Covenant are effective signs of grace instituted by Christ. The
Council of Trent did not offer a complete definition rather it cites a definition and say that it
is a symbol of sacred thing and a visible form of an invisible grace while St Thomas had
already defined it as a sign of something sacred in so far as this sacred thing makes people
holy.

1.2 Essential Definition

 Sacrament is a visible sign of the invisible grace. It is a sacred sign instituted by Christ to
give grace. Are entrusted to the Church (cf. CCC, 1131).
 Sacraments are the powers that come forth from the Body of Xst, which is ever-living & life-
giving. They are actions of the HS at work in His Body, the Church. They are master-works
of God in the new & everlasting covenant (CCC, 1116).
 The church’s mission is to make present the redemptive work of Christ to men of all ages,
especially through the preaching of the word and the celebration of the sacraments.
 By the preaching of the word: faith is born, which is necessary for the reception of the
sacraments. For here men are called to believe in the hidden presence and activity of Christ
in the sacraments and enter into personal relationship with Him and find their salvation and
happiness.
 CCC, 1054, teaches, “Seated at the right hand of the Father, and pouring out the Holy Spirit
on His Body which is the church, Christ now acts through the sacraments, He instituted to
communicate grace.”
 The sacraments of the Church are the fruit of the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

1.3 Historical Development (Tertullian)

 We do not see the word sacraments in the New Testament; in its place we see the word
“mystery,” which contains the meaning we understand today by the word sacrament.
 For St. Paul, mystery is the eternal divine plan of redemption manifested fully in Christ and
Christ is mystery in person because in Him this divine plan is fully revealed and realized and
through baptism and Eucharist one participates in these mysteries.
 Although no proper definition until St. Augustine, no systematic synthesis until St. Thomas
Aquinas and no definite number given until the council of Florence, the sacramental life
began from very origin of the church. Theology is only a reflection of the already lived
experience of the church.

1.3.1 Tertullian
 Tertulian was the first to use the word ‘sacrament’ in a theological sense, although he did not
limit its meaning to the sacraments as we understand them today. The word Sacramentum is
connected with sacrare or consecrare, & the term means a legally valid & permanent removal
of a person or thing from the sphere of human law to that of divine law. He understood
baptism, in particular, in terms of a military oath, i.e. as a marking or signing with the seal of
Christ. A Christian is incorporated in the army of Christ. The baptized remained marked with
the seal of Christ and of the Holy Spirit and is obliged to live in the Spirit.

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 All in all the term sacramentum was applied slowly to all the sacraments but not to all at the
same time rather gradually up to the moment when it designated all the seven sacraments.
Although these seven sacred signs, which after various divergences came to be known from
the middle of the twelfth century as sacraments in the he strict sense are concretizations and
concentrations of the church’s total sacramentality and are only to be understood within this
perspective, they are nevertheless not arbitrary manifestations of the church’s sacramentality
but ones which correspond to the living situation of the individual and of the church
community.

1.3.2 St. Augustine

 The concept underwent an important development with St. Augustine, who made use, in his
treatment, of Neoplatonic ideas. For him, it’s a sacred sign, but he differentiates between the
sign & the content (res) of the sign. Another step in the development of the idea of sacrament
was taken by Isidore of Seville (d. 636). He distinguishes even more sharply than Augustine
between the sign & the reality it points to.

1.3.3 Hugo of St. Victor & Peter Lombard

 We find a powerful conception of sacrament in Hugo of St. Victor (d. 1141). For him, a
sacrament is an object present to the senses which, because of its similarity with the saving
reality established by Christ & the sanctification that it has received, both represents &
contains a spiritual grace.
 Peter Lombard goes beyond this when he regards the sacrament not only as the sign, but also
as the cause of grace. He speaks generally of signs, however, that this word applies to actions
also, not only to things.

1.3.4 St. Thomas Aquinas

 Made a decisive influence in the doctrine of sacraments. As St. Augustine, he described
sacrament as a sign & clarified the symbolic & the dynamic (causality of sacraments). They
are cause & sign at the same time. They cause what they signify.
 To explain the sign, he used the Aristotelian terms ‘matter’ & ‘form’, regarding the word as
the form of the thing as the matter. 12 th C made an important advance when it began to
distinguish between the opus operatum & the opus operans. Moreover, in the same century
the word sacrament was limited to those 7 sacred rites that we call sacraments.

1.4 The Number of sacraments

 Together with the development of the concept of sacrament, developed also the number of
sacraments. We know that the Council of Trent defined that there are seven sacraments, no
more and no less.128 We should know that this statement could be made only at a particular
point in the development of what is the notion of sacrament.
 Tertullian: 2 sacraments; baptism & Eucharist. Isidore of Seville: 4; baptism, confirmation,
body of Christ & blood of Christ. Peter Damian: 12 Sacraments. With Hugo of St. Victor a
path was opened which led eventually to the no 7. Peter Lombard was one of the decisive
importance for the eventual official adoption of the no 7.
 Trent defined that there are 7 sacraments, no more & no less (DS 1601).
128
DS 1601

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 There are 7 sacraments (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Penance, Anointing, Orders&
Matrimony.

2. SACRAMENTAL ECONOMY
 Sacramental economy is the communication of the fruits of Christ’s paschal mystery to the
sacramental liturgy of the church where Christ acts in & with the Church.
 If we have to understand well the question of the sacraments we must first have a clear idea
of the relationship of God with Christ and to the church. God reveals himself to Jesus as the
eternal Father: Jesus becomes his representative in history. Jesus is the historical
representative of the eternal divine being but at the same time he is the first born of many
brothers.
 CCC 115: The Words & Actions of Jesus are salvific, especially the paschal mystery, the
combination of everything. These are the foundation of the sacraments, i.e. Christ dispenses
these mysteries, in the Sacraments through the ministers of his Church. Hence, He is the
sacrament of God because it is through Christ God reconciled us to Himself; Church is
sacrament of Christ, for the Church brings salvation to men, as an instrument of Christ; &,
the seven sacraments are signs instituted by Christ, as a means to help towards salvation,
thus, they are sacraments of Christ & the Church.

2.1 Jesus Christ, the Sacrament of God

 He is the first gift of salvation. In him the gift of grace, reached its full historical revelation
(He is God Himself, the source of all grace). For in him, the invisible God made Himself
visible in order to give Himself man fully.
 His humanity is the sacrament, the meeting place of God with man, and man with God, the
visible expression of the immense lobe of the father to men. To see Him, is to see the father.
In Christ God loved man with a human heart. He is the sign of invisible/ mystery of God.

2.2 The Church is the Sacrament of Christ

 Christ was the visible sign of our salvation. Now he is invisible but he has given us a visible
prolongation of His incarnation, that is, the Church which he founded, & unifies by the Holy
Spirit. Thus as Christ was the sacrament of God, Church is the sacrament of Christ. Just as
Christ rendered present the father, & performed the salvation of mankind so the Church
makes present Christ to the world. As the actions of the earthly Christ were actions of God
performed in a human way, the actions of the Church are the actions of Christ carried out in a
permanent & visible way.
 The Church is a sacrament of Christ precisely in so far as iti is the mystical body of Christ, a
concept which include visible & invisible aspects.

2.3 The Seven Sacraments are the Sacraments of Christ & of the Church
2.3.1 Sacraments of Christ
 Are instituted by Christ. They are the powers that comes from the body of Christ which is
ever-living & life-giving. While on earth, encountering Him was encountering God. Now He
is invisible. It is the sacraments which now bring us into contact with Christ, & through these
visible signs, the fruits of His redemptive works are applied to us.

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 2.3.2 Sacraments of the Church (CCC 1118)
 They are by & for her. By her: as the sacrament of Christ, now Christ acts through her. The
Church makes through the performance of the sacraments the redemptive work available. For
her: the mission of the Church is to announce & communicate the grace of salvation. It is
precisely through the sacraments the Church performs this salvific work.
 There is no sacraments without the Church & no Church without sacraments. It is through the
sacraments the Church is generated, grows, expand & fulfil her mission.

3. SACRAMENTAL CAUSALITY
 A cause is a positive principle from which something truly proceeds. It actively produces an
effect.
 The following theories explain sacramental causality.

3.1 Physical Causality

 This is that which whose action produces an immediate effect, for example a carpenter makes
a table.
 Physical causality can either be instrumental or dispositive.

3.1.1 Instrumental Physical causality (Thomists)

 Sacraments are efficient instrumental physical cause. God the principle cause makes use of
the sacramental sign to produce grace. God produces grace mediately through the sacraments
in an immediate & indirect way. Sacraments contain grace, not formally but virtually, as in a
cause. To be a physical cause of grace, these signs are to be elevated by God.

3.1.2 Physical dispositive Causality (Alexander)

 Only God can produce grace; sacraments sanctify by disposing. The soul has only an
immediate dispositive causality. So they don’t impart grace directly but impart something
that disposes to grace i.e. sacraments dispose us.

3.2 Moral Causality

 Moral causality: Sacraments possesses an intrinsic dignity because they are instituted by
Christ, administrated in his name and are channels through which the merits of his passion
flow. So grace doesn’t pass through the sacraments; they are only occasion for God to
produce grace.

3.3 Intentional Causality (Cardinal Billot)

 They acknowledge the intrinsic dignity of the sacrament but they appeal to the intention of
Christ in instituting the sacraments i.e. to communicate grace (i.e. a midway between moral
& physical causality).
 Sacraments are signs of grace; so they are intentional causes. They manifest Christ’s
intention to give grace; because grace is produced solidly by God. Sacraments are infallible
titles for grace.

CONCLUSION

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 God can communicate His grace in a purely spiritual manner but considering human nature
and creation, Christ instituted the sacraments and bound them with communication of grace;
therefore, they are necessary for salvation though not all are necessary to be received by each
individual. The necessity of receiving the sacraments is affirmed by Trent and the CCC 1129:
“Sacraments are necessary for salvation” – means or precept.
 The 7 sacraments touch all the stages & all the important moments of Christian life: they give
birth & increase, healing & mission to the Christian’s life of faith.
 Compendium: the sacraments touch all the important moments of Christian life. All the
sacraments are ordered to the holy Eucharist ‘as their end’ (Thomas Aquinas).

4. NATURE AND SALVIFIC EFFECTS OF SACRAMENTS

4.1 The Nature of Sacraments
4.1.1 Constitutive Parts (The Essential Elements)
 The scripture presents sacramental rite as a rite composed of things and words. For example
baptism is accomplished by the washing with water together with the Trinitarian formula. By
the 12th and 13th centuries it was stated abstractly that all sacraments are composed in their
sensible sign things (res) and words (verba). They use the hylemorphic theory of Aristotle of
matter and form. So they speak of the indeterminate (res) as matter and determinate (actual)
verbum.
 The scholastics distinguish the following: Sacramentum tantum (outward sign) i.e. only sign
for example in the Eucharist bread and wine; res tantum-signified but does not signify-: that
is the thing signified, that is the grace signified and produced in the sacrament. Res et
Sacramentum that which goes beyond the immediate grace effected by the sacrament and
refers to such enduring realities such as: 1. Sacramental character imprinting sacraments 2.
Real presence in the Eucharistic species 3. Inner penitence in the sacrament of penance 4.
The indissoluble bond in the sacrament of marriage 5. The last effect of a sacrament.
 So res et sacramentum is a middle nature between the sacramentum tantum and res tantum.

4.1.2 The Minister

 The primary minister of the sacraments is God-man Jesus Christ. Pope Pius XII in the
Encyclical Mystici Corporis (1943) taught that “when the sacraments of the church are
administered with the external rite, Christ is the one who produces the inner effect in the
souls; by the juridical mission by which the divine redeemer sent the apostles to the world, as
he was also sent by the Father (Jn 17:18) 20:21). It is him who through the church baptizes,
teaches, governs, binds and unbinds, offers and sacrifices.
 The secondary minister of the sacraments is man in the state of pilgrimage (in statu viae). If
we exclude baptism and marriage, for the valid administering of the sacraments, it is
necessary to possess the priestly or Episcopal power received through ordination. Trent
against the Reformers’ doctrine of universal priesthood of all the faithful teaches that Since
the human minister works as a representative of Christ “in persona Christi” (1Cor 2:10)
needs a special power conferred by Christ or by the Church of Christ.
 The minister of the sacrament has to be different from the recipient, if we made an exception
in the case of Eucharist. Innocent III declared that baptism of oneself was invalid but he

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 appreciated it as a powerful expression of one’s faith on the sacrament and the desire of
receive it.129

4.1.3 The Recipient

 The sacraments can only be received validly by a person who is found in the state of
pilgrimage (in statu viae). Since the sacrament communicates spiritual grace in a sensible
manner, only a sensitive-rational being, which is the man who lives on the earth, can be the
proper subject for its reception.

4.1.3.1 Conditions for the valid reception

 Excluding the sacrament of Penance it is neither required for the validity of the sacraments,
on the recipient orthodoxy nor moral disposition. The sacrament of penance is excluded
because the moral acts of the penitent are as quasi matter an essential element of the
sacramental sign. The purity of baptism is totally independent of the cleanliness of the
minister and the recipient.130
 For the valid reception of the sacrament it is required from the recipient, if he has reached the
age of reason, the intention of receiving it. According to Trent, justification of those who
have reached the age of reason takes place through the acceptance of the grace. 131 So a
sacrament received without the intention or against one’s will is invalid. Pope Innocent III
declared that a forced baptism is invalid.132

1.3.3.2 Conditions for dignified reception of the sacrament

 In order to receive the sacrament fruitfully moral disposition is required for all who reached
the age of reason. For the sacrament of the dead, that which impedes the grace is the
incredulity and the lack of penance; the required disposition consists in the faith and attrition.
For the sacrament of the living that which impedes the grace is the state of mortal sin and
required disposition consists in the state of grace. For a dignified reception of the Eucharist it
is required to receive previously the sacrament of penance for those who had fallen into
mortal sin.133

1.3.3.3 Reviving of the sacraments

 The sacrament received validly but undignified conferred the sacramentum – [baptism,
confirmation and the holy orders confer also a character (res et sacramentum)]- but it does
not confer grace. The sacraments of baptism, confirmation and holy order revive after the
removal of the moral indisposition if they were received without dignity. That is to say that
the effect of sacramental grace takes place with posterity at the moment of reception the
sacrament.
 The reason for this reviving of the sacrament is built in one part in the mercy of God and for
the other in the absolute impossibility of repeating those sacraments. The reviving of baptism

129
D.413
130
Contra litt. Petiliani II 35, 82
131
D. 799
132
D. 411
133
D. 880, 893

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 was taught by St Augustine134: That which before had been given begins to be efficient for
the salvation when the impenitence has been changed into true penitence.

4.1.4 Necessity
 Necessary is that which cannot not be (necesse est quod non potest non esse). This can be
due to an intrinsic principle, for example the existence of God or in virtue of an extrinsic
principle. The extrinsic one can be a final cause or efficient cause. The necessity, which
imposes the final cause (necessita finis) consists in that it cannot achieve a determined end
without a determined means for example one cannot conserve the human body without
feeding it proportionally. The necessity which is imposed by efficient cause enables to realize
a determined action (necesitas coactionis). In a wide sense, it can be give also the name
necessity to high grade of convenience (necesitas convenietiae or congruentiae).135

4.1.4.1 On the part of God

 God can also communicate grace without the sacraments. God by his omnipotence and
freedom can communicate grace in a purely spiritual manner. Thus he had not an ineludible
necessity to institute the sacraments.

4.1.4.2 On the part of human being

 The sacraments of the New Testament are necessary for man in order to achieve salvation.
Since Christ instituted the sacraments and linked to them the communication of grace, we
have the necessity of means in order to achieve salvation although not all the sacraments are
necessary for each person. The effective reception can be substituted in case of danger by the
desire to receive the sacrament.
 We can say that the sacraments are means instituted by God for the consecution of eternal
salvation. There some of them, according to the ordinary economy of redemption, are so
necessary that without them it is not possible to achieve salvation. These three sacraments for
the individual are Baptism and if one has committed grave sin Penance and for the
collectivity, the sacrament of the Order. The other sacraments are necessary in as much as
without them it is not easy to achieve salvation; so confirmation is the consummation of
baptism, the Anointment of the Sick the consummation of Penitence, and Matrimony the
base for the conservation of the ecclesiastical society and the Eucharist the goal of all the
sacraments.136

4.2 Christ as the Author of Sacraments (institution)

 According to the faith of the Church, the 7 sacraments were instituted by JC directly/
indirectly on the basis of the operation of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent upon his
disciples.
 Jesus is the ultimate sign of God’s salvation in the world. He is the saving presence of God in
the world, in his existence & in everything he said & did. He gave the Church his own
mission. The Church can be interpreted in 2 ways: as the community of salvation & as its
instrument. The Church is enabled to be the instrument of JC in his work of transmitting

134
De baptism 1, 12,18
135
ST I 82, 1
136
ST III 65, 3 and 4

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 salvation – that is, to make present the salvation he has already achieved in the past through
his death & resurrection. Compendium: The sacraments of the Church are the fruit of the
redemptive sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
 Compendium (295): Christ, the physician of our soul & body, instituted sacraments of
healing because the new life that he gives us in the sacraments of Christian initiation can be
weakened & even lost because of sin. Therefore, Christ willed that his church should
continue his work of healing & salvation by means of these two sacraments.
Trent did not explain fully the immediate institution but one can conclude it by its wording.
 According to Trent the church has the power to make changes in the administration of the
sacraments but should preserve un-impaired their substance. If the church were to receive the
power from the founder she should also change: cujus est facere, est etiam mutare. The
immediate institution means that:
- Christ personally fixed all their elements
- He substantially designated the matter and form
- The purpose and properties of each one of the Sacraments were set by Christ. We
have the proof of this on baptism, Eucharist, penance, and holy orders.
 It is not fully agreed whether Christ Ordained the matter and form specifically or in general
i.e. in specie or in genere. In specie: Jesus personally fixed all their essential elements;
Substantially he designated their matter and form; The purpose and properties of each of
them. In genere i.e. He instituted them deciding their purpose and gave their efficacy without
specifying any particular matter to be used.
 There is a common agreement among theologians that Christ specifically determined the
matter and form of some sacraments i.e. baptism, Eucharist but for the confirmation and
Order not. Some claim that matter and form comprises all those elements and only elements
which Christ instituted either in specie or at least in general and over these the church has no
power. Still others say that Christ determined the matter and form of all sacraments in specie
and the church has never made any essential change in it.

4.3 Efficacy
 The sacraments are effective signs of grace. Effective means successful. It embedded the
power to confer grace in the rite of the sacrament. In these signs the recipient is made aware
not only that God is communicating himself to him in the sacrament but also that the
sacrament is the mode and the means of the divine self-communication to him. The
sacrament remains part of the causality of salvation. God’s self-communication, i.e. grace
takes place both in the sign and in the fact that it reveals itself in the sign. The sacraments
achieve their effect through the act of signifying. They have not only an interpretative
function but a creative one.
 NB: In order to have a full understanding of the whole sacramental complex, it is
necessary to consider the different elements in the saving effectiveness of the
sacraments. Scholastic theology distinguishes three levels of action in each of the
sacraments, which are as follows:
First we have the outward sign itself, the sacramentum tantum. If as matter we have seen
matter is the expression of God’s concern for man, then this is particularly true for the
sacramental sign, for in it God is calling man directly to be with him for eternity. The term
res et sacramentum refers to the immediate saving effect that the outward sign infallibly

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 produces and regards this first, hidden effect as a sign of faith for the ultimate and actual
saving effect, the res tantum i.e. the divine self-communication.
 The direct effect of the sacrament, the rest et sacramentum always signifies a particular
relation to the church. For example baptism imparts membership in the church; through
ordination a man receives a special position in the church. Through sharing the Eucharist he
is again, in a special way, drawn into the brotherly community of the church. With this
ecclesiological effect of the individual sacraments there is always combined an encounter
with Christ, issuing in an increase of likeness to him, which may be termed the Christological
element.
 In theological language res is divided into grace “in itself” and “sacramental grace”. The
latter (sacramental grace) refers to the particular color and direction a particular sacrament
gives to the communion with God which it imparts.

4.3.1 Ex Opere Operato & Ex Opere Operantis

 The Scholastic theology coined the term ex opere operato to designate the objective efficacy
of the sacraments. This is on the basis of the act performed, by the virtue of the rite itself &
not by the virtue of the recipient or him who confers the sacrament (minister).
 Trent taught against these as follows: the subject activity of the recipient is merely
dispositive in character while the causality of sacraments is a true efficacia ex opere operato
that is, their efficacy derives from the objective value of the rite itself and not from the merits
of the minister or the recipient.
 When Trent teaches that grace is conferred ex opere operato means the following: it is the
correct use of the signs, instituted by Christ which confers grace of justification, and that the
grace conferred is not derived from the merits of either minister or recipient (ex opere
operantis) even though both the free action of the minister and moral preparation of the
recipient are required for validity and the worthy of reception of the sacrament.

4.4 The Salvific Effects

4.4.1 Sanctifying Grace
 All sacraments confer sanctifying grace to the recipient – the first effect of the sacrament (an
article of faith).
 Biblical view: sacraments directly or indirectly connected with regeneration/ purification/
forgiveness; communication of H Spirit. These are inseparable from sanctifying grace.
4.4.2 The Sacramental Grace
 Besides sanctifying grace, each sacrament confers a specific grace called sacramental grace
of its own different from other sacraments.
4.4.3 The Sacramental Character
 This refers to an indelible spiritual mark. The sacraments of baptism, confirmation & holy
orders imprint a character in the soul, & hence they cannot be repeated.
4.5 Sacramentals
 Sacramentals are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify
effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession for the
church. By these sacramentals men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments
and various occasions in life are rendered holy.137
137
S.C 60; CIC 1983/1166

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 Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the church, certain
states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things
helpful to man.
 Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a
blessing and to bless. Hence lay person may preside at certain blessings, the more a blessing
concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the
ordained ministry (bishops, priests or deacons).138
 The sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments
do, but by the church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate
with it. All the sacraments and sacramentals draw their power from the paschal mystery of
the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ.
 Various forms of sacramentals
 Blessing: among sacramentals this comes first. This can be a blessing of a person, meals,
objects and places. Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. Christians are blessed
in Christ by God the father with every spiritual blessing. That is why the church imparts
blessings by invoking the name Jesus, usually making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.
 Certain blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to God, or
reserved objects and places for liturgical use. Among those blessing which are intended for
persons (please do not confuse here with sacramental ordination) are the blessing of the abbot
or abbess of a monastery, the consecration of virgins, the rite of religious profession and the
blessing of a certain ministries of the church (readers, acolytes, catechists etc). the dedication
or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of holy oils, vessels, and vestments, bells can
be mentioned as examples of blessings that concern objects.
 Exorcism: When the church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that
a person or object be protected against the power of the evil one and withdraw from is
dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the church has
received the power and office of exorcising. In a simple form exorcism is performed at the
celebration of Baptism.
 Exorcism can be major one also called solemn exorcism or minor exorcism. The solemn
exorcism called a major exorcism can be performed by only by a priest and with the
permission of the bishop. The priest must proceed with prudence and strictly observing the
rules established by the church. Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or the
liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to
his church. Illnesses especially psychological illness is a very different matter; treating this is
the concern of medical science. Therefore, before exorcism is performed, it is important to
ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
FLANNERY, A., ed., Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents, revised
edition, Dublin: Dominican Publications 1987.
NEUNER J. & DUPUIS J., (eds).,The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic
Church, Bangalore: Theological Publications in India 2011.
SCHMAUS, M., Dogma 5: The Church as Sacrament, London: Sheed & Ward Inc. 1975.

138
CCC:1669

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12. The sacraments of Christian initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Unity
of the sacramental triad.The Eucharist as the “summit and source” of the faith and of the
life of the Church.

OUTLINE:
Introduction
1. The Notion of Sacraments
1.1. The Meaning & Nature of Sacraments
1.2. Brief historical development
1.3. Number of sacraments
1.4. Division of Sacraments
2. The Sacraments of Christian Initiation
2.1. Baptism
2.1.1. The Etymological Meaning & nature of Baptism
2.1.2. Origin of Christian Baptism
2.1.3. Form & Matter
2.1.4. Necessity
2.1.5. Effects
2.2. Confirmation
2.2.1. The Meaning & Nature
2.2.2. Form & Matter
2.2.3. Effects & Necessity
2.2.4. The minister
2.3. Eucharist
2.3.1. The Notion (Meaning & Nature)
2.3.2. As a Sacrament
2.3.3. As a Sacrifice
2.3.4. The minister
2.3.5. Matter & form
2.3.6. Effects
2.3.7. Necessity
2.4. The Unity of these Sacraments
3. Eucharist as the “summit and source” of the faith and of the life of the Church
3.1. The Institution
3.2. The Scholastic Theology of the Eucharist
3.2.1. Transubstantiation
3.3. Magisterium
3.3.1. Christ real presence
Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

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 Sacramentology is one of the 12 treatises of Systematic Theology. It’s strictly connected with
the everyday practice of the life of the Church. Eucharist as the centre of all liturgical &
theological actions.
 The sacramentality of the Church can be understood only in terms of Christ, in terms of the
christocentric, pneumatic nature of the Church.

1. THE MEANING & NATURE OF SACRAMENTS

1.1 The Concept of Sacramento
 Sacramentum is the word commonly used in the early North African Bible translations for
the Greek word mysterion. Jerome translated mysterion into sacramentum.
 Sacrament is a visible sign of the invisible grace. It is a sacred sign instituted by Christ to
give grace. Are entrusted to the Church (cf. CCC, 1131).
 Sacraments are the powers that come forth from the Body of Xst, which is ever-living & life-
giving. They are actions of the HS at work in His Body, the Church. They are master-works
of God in the new & everlasting covenant (CCC, 1116).
 The church’s mission is to make present the redemptive work Christ to men of all ages,
especially through the preaching of the word and the celebration of the sacraments.
 By the preaching of the word: faith is born, which is necessary for the reception of the
sacraments. For here men are called to believe in the hidden presence and activity of Christ
in the sacraments and enter into personal relationship with Him and find their salvation and
happiness.
 CCC, 1054, teaches, “Seated at the right hand of the Father, and pouring out the Holy Spirit
on His Body which is the church, Christ now acts through the sacraments, He instituted to
communicate grace.”
 The sacraments of the Church are the fruit of the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

1.2 A Brief Historical Development of the Concept of Sacrament

 We do not see the word sacraments in the New Testament; in its place we see the word
“mystery,” which contains the meaning we understand today by the word sacrament.
 For St. Paul, mystery is the eternal divine plan of redemption manifested fully in Christ and
Christ is mystery in person because in Him this divine plan is fully revealed and realized and
through baptism and Eucharist one participates in these mysteries.
 The word Sacramentum which was first used by Tertulian, is connected with sacrare or
consecrare, & the term means a legally valid & permanent removal of a person or thing from
the sphere of human law to that of divine law.
 Tertulian was the first to use the word ‘sacrament’ in a theological sense, although he did not
limit its meaning to the sacraments as we understand them today. He understood baptism, in
particular, in terms of a military oath.
 The concept underwent an important development with St. Augustine, who made use, in his
treatment, of Neoplatonic ideas. For him, it’s a sacred sign, but he differentiates between the
sign & the content (res) of the sign.
 Another step in the development of the idea of sacrament was taken by Isidore of Seville (d.
636). He distinguishes even more sharply than Augustine between the sign & the reality it
points to.

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 We find a powerful conception of sacrament in Hugo of St. Victor (d. 1141). For him, a
sacrament is an object present to the senses which, because of its similarity with the saving
reality established by Christ & the sanctification that it has received, both represents &
contains a spiritual grace.
 Peter Lombard goes beyond this when he regards the sacrament not only as the sign, but also
as the cause of grace. He speaks generally of signs, however, that this word applies to actions
also, not only to things. To explain the sing, Thomas Aquinas used the Aristotelian terms
‘matter’ & ‘form’, regarding the word as the form of the thing as the matter.
 12th C made an important advance when it began to distinguish between the opus operatum &
the opus operans. Moreover, in the same century the word sacrament was limited to those 7
sacred rites that we call sacraments.
 Although no proper definition until St. Augustine, no systematic synthesis until St. Thomas
Aquinas and no definite number given until the council of Florence, the sacramental life
began from very origin of the church. Theology is only a reflection of the already lived
experience of the church.
 By sin, man lost his supernatural destiny of sharing the divine life and turned away from
God, although man can know the existence of God from the created things, he remained
absolutely powerless to re-establish the personal relationship with God.
 Jesus not only destroyed the curse of sin and death but also re-established this bond and as a
result man can partake in this friendship with God; through Him and only through Him.
 After His ascension this possibility is offered to as the church, which is His mystical Body,
the prolongation of Christ and His saving activity. So the human act of the church can be the
vehicles of grace of Christ to us His members.

1.3 The Number of Sacraments and their Division

 Historically: Tertulian: 2 sacraments; baptism & Eucharist. Isidore of Seville: 4; baptism,
confirmation, body of Christ & blood of Christ. Peter Damian: 12 Sacraments. With Hugo of
St. Victor a path was opened which led eventually to the no 7. Peter Lombard was one of the
decisive importance for the eventual official adoption of the no 7.
 Trent defined that there are 7 sacraments, no more & no less (DS 1601).
 There are 7 sacraments (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Penance, Anointing, Orders&
Matrimony.
They can be classified into 2 groups:
a) Of the living: Eucharist, Confirmation, Orders& Matrimony.
b) Of the dead: Baptism, Penance & Anointing.
They can be put into 4 groups:
a) Foundation of Xn life – Baptism & Confirmation
b) Celebration of the human-divine koinonia – Eucharist
c) The reaction of Xst against sin & sickness – Penance & Anointing
d) Organization & form of the Church – Orders & marriage.
There is another grouping which is common & groups them into 3 groups:
a) Sacraments of initiation – Baptism, Eucharist & Confirmation
b) Sacraments of healing – Penance/ Reconciliation & Anointing of the sick
c) Sacraments of services in the Church – Holy Orders & Marriage.
 Deal with sacraments of initiation.

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 2. THE SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION
 Sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist are called sacraments of initiation.
Because they give rise to Christian life and brings to perfection and incorporates human
beings into the church and her life, leading them to fullness of being Christians.
 Xn initiation is accomplished by means of the sacraments which establish the foundations of
Xn life.

2.1 Baptism
 Sacrament of faith & communion in the Church.
 It’s the sacrament by which the Church maintains & expands its existence thro’ the
acceptance of new members. It is more than a mere membership ceremony, although it is that
too. But since it is the act of entrance into the PoG, it’s a decisive act towards salvation.
 Its reception is the response of faith to the hearing of the Word.

2.1.1 Meaning & Nature of Baptism

 The concept of Baptism, taken from the sensibly & perceptible action of the immersion in the
water (or aspersion/ pouring with water) means specifically the liturgical act of the Church
thro’ which a person is acceptable in virtue of his faith, in the community of the Xn faithful,
which is the sign & means of the communication of the divine life with the human beings.
 To baptize (Gk baptizein) means to plunge/ immerse; the plunge into the water symbolizes
the catechumen’s burial into Xst’s death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as
a new creature. It is called baptism from Greek to mean ‘plunging into water’ to symbolize
burial into Christ’s death from where one rises as a new creature.
 Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Xn life, the gateway to life in spirit (vitae spiritualis
ianua), & the door which gives acess to the other sacraments (CCC 1213).

2.1.2 Matter and Form

 Remote Matter: true & natural water. Trent rejected Luther’s doctrine that in case of
necessity judged it to be licit any liquid suitable for the ablution. Sacred Scripture &
Tradition recognizes only water as the matter of the sacrament of Baptism.
 Proximate Matter: the ablution of the body realized by a physical contact of the water. The
ablution/ pouring of water can be done in 3 ways: immersion, infusion or aspersion. The
fathers interpreted the triple submerging as a symbol of the 3 divine persons (Tertulian) &
the time in which the body of Xst remained in the tomb (Cyril of J’lem).
 Form: the words used to administer/ to accompany & determine the ablution. In order that
the form be valid it’s necessary to invoke the 3 divine persons according to the doctrine of
the majority of theologians it is necessary to express the present action of baptizing. The
Trinitarian form of baptism has its foundation in the Bible in Mt 28:19 & Jn 3:5.
 Is conferred by the washing with water and with the invocation of the Three Persons of the
Blessed Trinity.

2.1.3 Necessity
 Peter’s 1st speech, faith & baptism were automatically regarded by the early Church in J’lem
as the means of salvation.

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 Time of frs the teaching on necessity of baptism was identical with the teaching on the
necessity of the membership of the Church.
 Baptism is necessary for salvation, both by necessity of means (unless you are born again
with water and spirit) and precept (go and teach all nations and baptize them in the name of
the father…). The necessity of receiving baptism as we read in Jn 3:5; Mk 16:16 is a
necessity of means & according to Mt 28:19 is a necessity of precept dealing with the adults.
But it is not absolutely necessary for it can be replaced by baptism of desire or blood.
 Necessity of baptism poses a special problem concerning the little children incapable of
answering for themselves, who die without baptism.
The Church regards their eternal destiny with great concern. Scripture itself gives no solution
to the problem.

2.1.4 Effects: It justifies man and imprints a character.

 Baptism conferrs the grace of justification.
 Justification consists, according to its negative activity (negatively) the remission sins &
positively the sanctification & renewal of the interior man.
 If Baptism is received with the right dispositions (faith, repentance) fulfils the following:
- Remission of OS & in the adults all the sins whether personal or mortal; & of all the
punishments of sin be they eternal or temporal.
- Internal sanctification, infusing the sanctifying grace, which always goes together with
the infused habits of the virtues & the gifts of the HS.
 When the just one receives the sanctifying grace, he acquires also the right to receive the
necessary actual graces for fulfilling duties imposed by baptism.
 In baptism all sins (mortal & venial) are forgiven once & the related guilt. One is elevated to
a superior level the lost friendship with God: the baptized is accepted in the filial relation of
Xst to the Fr in the HS (Gal 4:4-6; Rom 8:15, 29). In this way he is made similar to Xst (Phil
3:10) & enters in the communion of destiny with Jesus & shares his cross & his resurrection
(Rom 6).

 It confers in us a Permanent Character (Baptismal Xcter), a spiritual mark of belonging

to Christ.
- A baptism received validly imprints in the soul of the receiver an indelible spiritual mark,
a baptismal xcter & thus this sacrament cannot be repeated.
- Since the sacramental xcter represents a similarity with the High Priest JC & a
participation in the priesthood of Xst (signum configurativum), the baptized remains
incorporated in the mystical body of xst, to the Church, thro’ this baptismal xcter.
- The baptismal xcter establishes a distinction btn the baptized & the unbaptized, a
distinction invisible to the corporeal eye but which will be perceived thro’ the eye of the
spirit in the life to com (signum distinctivum).
- The baptized receives in virtue of the baptismal xcter the faculty & right to participate
passively in the priesthood of Xst (common Priesthood i.e. of receiving all the other
sacraments & all the gifts of grace & truth which Xst conferred to his Church (signum
obligativum).
 Then baptism has Christological and ecclesiastical dimensions, it is twofold and
the anointing with chrism symbolizes participation in the threefold role of Christ
the Priest, Prophet and King.
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 The effect of Baptism namely, the sanctifying & justifying incorporation of the PoG of the
new covenant is irreversible (indissolubility of the sacramental xcter).
 The baptized is granted the gratuitous gift: of faith, hope & charity (the supernatural infused
virtues).
 In the symbolic word of water includes in itself the great ideas of forgiveness of the sins,
refreshing, & revivification of the new creation of man & the re-establishment of the pple of
the covenant.
 Through baptism we are freed from sin, reborn as children of God, members of Christ and we
are incorporated into His Body the church and made shares in her mission. Therefore, it is
regeneration through water (CCC 1213).
 Through baptism, one attains close union with Christ; one is transformed into Christ’s image.
Baptism then initiates new life in Christ therefore entails new way of living and walking by
the Holy Spirit; it is then the beginning of a process to live like Christ, share in His mission
of redemption of the world by prayer and action.

2.1.5 The Minister & Recipient

 The invisible chief minister is JC, the head of the Church.
 Ordained minister (regular minister is PP). In case of danger of death anyone can baptize
provided that he/ she does it with the intention of doing what the Church does.
 Recipient is any unbaptized human being.

2.2 Confirmation
2.2.1 The Meaning & Nature
 Compendium: It is called confirmation coz it confirms & strengthens the baptismal grace.
 The sacrament is called ‘confirmation’ in relation to baptism; confirmation means to make
sure what happened at baptism is completed and so, completes baptismal anointing.
 Therefore, the necessity of completing baptismal grace i.e., to be more bound to the church
and enriched by the Holy Spirit.
 It is considered as a sacrament of maturity for here one becomes a full-fledged Christian,
which does not mean that baptism makes one only half Christian, but indicates the growth as
a child develops to a full-fledged man.

2.2.2 Matter and Form

 From the external rite, the sacrament is also called ‘the laying on of hands’ or ‘the anointing
with chrism’.
 In the scripture confirmation is administered by the sacramental actions of laying-on of hands
& calling upon the HS to descend from heaven. There is no mention of the practice of
anointing.
 Today generally, theologians support the view that the outward sign of the act of
confirmation consists as much in the anointing together with the accompanying act of laying-
on of hands as in the accompanying act of prayer.
 Compendium: Anointing with sacred chrism (oil mixed with balsam & consecrated by the
bishop), which is done by the laying on of the hands of the minister who pronounces the
sacramental words proper to the rite, “Be sealed with the gift of the HS”.

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 It’s true that in the Eastern Orthodox Church the practice of the laying-on of hands as part of
the administrative rite is losing its importance (DS 793).

2.2.3 The Minister

 The ecclesiological significance of confirmation indicates that the ordinary minister of it is
the Bishop (Trent, DS 1630).
 Canonically, the ordinary minister is a bishop and those equivalent to a diocesan Bishop
(apostolic administrators, apostolic vicars, apostolic prefectures). A priest who by virtue of
his office or by mandate of the diocesan Bishop baptises an adult or admits a baptised adult
into full communion with the catholic Church (cf. Cann. 882, 883).

2.2.4 Necessity
 It is not absolutely necessary to receive confirmation for salvation, but it contributes to the
perfection of salvation.
 CCC 1285: The reception of the sacrament of confirmation is necessary for the completion of
baptismal grace. For by confirmation the baptized are more perfectly bound to the Church &
enriched with a special strength of HS.

2.2.5 Effects
 Baptism and confirmation belong closely together: baptism unites us with Christ as our Head
and Shepherd but confirmation links us more perfectly to the church, bestows as its effect,
the Holy Spirit so as to empower and oblige us for the fulfillment of the Christian ;life
especially the apostolate.
 Still baptism gives the Holy Spirit as the new vital energy and so, confirmation is assuming
one’s baptismal promise and so, an increase in sanctifying grace and strengthened in
faith: communion of the Holy Spirit and the infused virtues (fortitude, hope, charity, counsel,
piety, fear of God etc).
 According to the Council of Lateran: “The Holy Spirit is given for strength in order that a
Christian may courageously confess the name of Christ.
 Confirmation too imprints a character and perfects the common priesthood received at
baptism; on is made like Christ more perfectly into a fighter.

2.3 The Sacrament of Eucharist

2.3.1 The Notion (Meaning & Nature) of Eucharist
 Eucharist is a sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ contained beneath the appearance
of bread and wine for the purpose of providing man with spiritual food. It is the sacrament in
which under the species of bread & wine, Xst is found present with his body & blood, in
order to offer himself bloodlessly to the Fr & give himself as spiritual food to the faithful.
 The Sacrament of Eucharist is known by many names, such as the Lord’s Supper, Breaking
of the Bread, etc. Because one name alone cannot fathom the great mystery of Eucharist.
- The term from Greek transliteration of the Hebrew for ‘blessing’ i.e., for the Jews,
blessing was the basic form of all prayers: at family meals, it was a pious activity to
bless the Creator even at the times of Christ, for a shared meal was a sign of peace,
trust and unity.
- At meals, bread was blessed then wine blessed after the meal by the father of the
household.
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CCC 1328: it is called the ‘Eucharist’ because it is an action of thanksgiving to God i.e.,
proclamation of God’s works: creation, redemption and sanctification just as Jews at meals.
 The Eucharistic prayer gives thanks to the Father for all the blessings and we pray to Him for
the coming of the kingdom.
 It is called the sacrament of sacraments; because it is not only containing grace, but contains
the Author of grace Himself, and all other sacraments are ordered to it and their end.
 Among the seven Sacraments, it alone is a sacrament and sacrifice at the same time. As CCC
1324, teaches, that it is a true sacrifice which acknowledges God’s supreme dominion over us
in a most perfect way.
 The sacrifice of Abraham & Melchizedek, the manna in the desert, the different sacrifices of
the OT but above all the Easter lamb were the figure of the Eucharist.
 St. Thomas proves the pre-eminence of the Eucharist above other sacraments as follows:
a) By the content of the Eucharist: in this sacrament there is no like in the others, a virtue
granted by Xst in order to give us grace, rather it is Xst himself who is found present; Xst
the source of all the grace.
b) By the subordination of all the other sacraments to the Eucharist like their ultimate end.
c) By the rite of all the other sacraments in which they are completed many times with the
reception of the Eucharist.

2.3.2 Eucharist as Sacrament

 Eucharist is a true sacrament instituted by Xst. The sacramentality of the Eucharist is
deduced from the fact that in it are all the essential xcters of the definition of the sacrament of
the new covenant.

2.3.3 Eucharist as a Sacrifice

 Malachi 1:10 contains a prophecy of an institution of a new sacrifice; God has rejected
Israel’s polluted sacrifices.
 This new sacrifice will even extend to the gentiles throughout the world, therefore, the
unanimity that the Eucharist is the fulfilment of this prophecy: it is universally offered,
unbloody as a type of Melchizedek’s sacrifice of bread and wine (Gen 14:18).
 Christ’s words of institution above, indicates a sacrifice and in this sacrifice, Christ
appropriated all our sins and brought us grace therefore, OT sin sacrifices as ante-types of
Christ’s, find fulfilment as they prefigure the Cross.
 These were imperfect and inefficacious as they effected only legal cleansing of the flesh but
not remission of sins hence, they were repeated now and again. Then Augustine argued that
with the Eucharist, all the other sacrifices are suppressed.
 Although the sacrament and the sacrifice are performed by the same consecration, they are
conceptually different.
- It is a sacrament of in so far as in it Christ is partaken as the nourishment of our
souls. It is a sacrifice in so far as in it Christ is offered as a sacrificial gift to God.
- The sacrament is immediately directed to the sanctification of man, while sacrifice
for the glorification of God.
- As a sacrament Eucharist is a permanent reality as a sacrifice it is a transient action,
man is the recipient of the sacrament while the recipient of the sacrifice is God.
 Council of Trent defined the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist and taught that:

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 - Eucharist is a sacrifice in the true and proper sense of the word. But it is not the
repetition of the historical sacrifice on the cross.
- Its sacrificial character consists in making the sacrifice of the cross present and thus
effectively apply its fruits to us. The sacrifice of the cross is represented and applied.
In other words it is made present, its memory celebrated and its saving power
applied.
 Sacrifice of the Cross & Mass:
- The sacrifice of the cross in an absolute sacrifice, while mass is relative. But they
are essentially identical.
- The same sacrificial gift, the same primary sacrifice priest. Only in mode and nature
they differ. One is bloody and the other is unbloody.
- The effects are most perfect worship and thanks giving offered to God due to the
dignity of the priest and victim and most perfect propitiation is offered for the
remission of sins and finally the most perfect impetration is made for the spiritual
and natural good.

2.3.4 The Minister & Recipient

 Ordained priest possesses the power to consecrate validly.
 Minister of distribution – ordinary distributor is Priest & extraordinary is deacon.
 Conditions for valid reception – received validly by any baptized person who is in the state of
pilgrimage even if it were a baby.
 Conditions for licit reception – to receive it with dignity it requires to be in the state of grace
& to have the right & pious intention.

2.3.5 Matter and Form

 Combining the promise and the institution we can see all the elements of a sacrament.
The accidents of bread & wine & words of consecration respectively.
 The External signs/ Matter: Bread of wheat – the use of fermented or unfermented bread
does not affect the validity of the sacrament. The 2nd element is natural wine from vines.
To the wine little amount of water is added according to a very remote past custom in the
primitive xnty but the validity of the sacrament does not depend on the fulfilment of this
requirement. It signifies symbolically water which oozed from the wounded rib of Jesus, the
hypostatic union of the human nature of Xst with the divine nature & the mystical union of
faithful pple with JC.
Nature of the Constitutive Elements:
 Matter: bread from wheat flour; wine from grapes.
- The very species consecrated by Christ at the Last Supper and used by Jews at Pasch.
- This is so as the Eucharist is a repetition of the Last Supper as Christ commanded. This
command cannot be fulfilled if the species differ from those used by Him, it is invalid.

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 The Form: the words with which xst instituted this sacrament, pronounced in the
consecration. The Catholic Church maintains that the priest realizes the transubstantiation
pronouncing the words of institution.

2.3.6 Necessity of Eucharist

 To the children: those who have not reached the age of reason is not necessary for their
salvation the reception of the Eucharist.
 Adults: those who have reached the age of reason have the necessity of precept to receive the
Eucharist in order to achieve salvation.

2.3.7 The Effects of the Sacraments of the Eucharist

Union with Xst – principal fruit of Eucharist is the intimate union with xst. Cyril of
Jerusalem affirmed that the one who receives the body & blood of Xst is made a carrier of
Xst/ Xst bearer (kristoforos/ Christopher) & is made one body & one blood with him. From
the union of the faithful with Xst as the head of the mystical body the union of the faithful
among themselves as members who are the member of the same body. St. Paul bases the
union of all the faithful in the fact that all participate the same Eucharistic bread (1Cor
10:17).
 First and principal effect is the union of the soul with Christ by love through the theological
virtue of charity. Hence this is a sacrament of love par excellence.
 The word communion is used to signify this spiritual union. From this union with Christ
there follows the unity of the faithful among themselves.
 Augustine calls: Eucharist “sign of unity bond of charity” and according to St. Thomas
Aquinas, “It is the sacrament of church’s unity.”
Conservation & increase of the supernatural life – as food of the soul, it conserves & aliments
the supernatural life of the receiver.
 Eucharist sustains the supernatural life to the soul, giving supernatural life force to the
receiver to weaken indirectly the disordered concupiscence by augmenting charity &
strengthening the power of the will to resist the temptations to sin.
 Increases life of grace which is already possessed by the receiver, making it to thrive &
consolidating the supernatural habit of grace & infused virtues & gifts of the HS which go
together with it.
 Heals the sickness of the soul removing the venial culpability & temporal punishments due to
sin. The remission of the venial guilt & the temporal punishments caused by sin takes place
mediated thro’ the acts of perfect charity, which raises in the soul the reception of this
sacrament.
 Proportions a spiritual joy, which is reflected in the cheerful self-giving of Xst & the joyful
fulfilment of duties & sacrifice which are imposed to them by the Xn faith.
 Pledge of the heavenly blessedness & future resurrection of the body. Trent calls Eucharist
pledge of our future glory & perpetual happiness. JC – He who eats his body & drinks his
blood has eternal life & he will raise him in the last day (Jn 6:54).
 According to Decretum pro Armenis:
- This heavenly food does to the soul whatever physical nourishment does to body
namely, preserves, increases, restores and refreshes.

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 - It is the pledge of our glorious resurrection, and heavenly bliss. He who eats my
Body and drinks my Blood will have everlasting life, and I will raise him on the last
day.
 Hence it is instituted as nourishment for spiritual life that is sanctifying grace. He who eats
my flesh and drink my blood shall live forever; that is a right for heaven. Sanctifying grace
gives us the right to heaven. Instituted by Christ; “do this in memory of me”.
 The whole doctrine of Eucharist is focused on TWO issues: the real presence and the
sacrificial nature of the Eucharist.

2.4 The Unity of these sacraments

 CCC 1285: Baptism, Confirmation & Eucharist together constitute the sacraments of Xn
initiation, whose unity must be safeguarded.
 By baptism one is born into supernatural life and becomes a new creature. Signed with Spirit
in confirmation he becomes the image of the Lord more perfectly and filled with the Holy
Spirit to bear witness to Christ, and to work eagerly for the building up of the Body of Christ,
 CCC 1322:The Holy Eucharist completes Xn initiation. Those who have been raised to the
dignity of the royal priesthood by baptism, & configured more deeply to Xst by confirmation,
participate with the whole community in the Lord’s own sacrifice by means of the
Eucharist.By baptism one begins to exist in supernatural life and through confirmation he
reaches to maturity; He keeps up his life and grows in strength through the Eucharist.
 CCC 1212: The sacraments of Xn initiation – Baptism, Confirmation & Eucharist – lay the
foundations of every Xn life. The sharing in the divine nature given to men thro’ the grace of
Xst bears a certain likeness to the origin, dvpt & nourishing of natural life. By means of these
sacraments of Xn initiation, they are thus received in increasing measure the treasures of the
divine life & advance toward the perfection of charity.
 Baptism & confirmation taken together constitute the full initiation rite or acceptance into the
Church.
 To separate them by connecting one with the person of Xst & the other to the person of the
HS is to make a false distinction between them.
 They are not to be related to @ other by drawing an analogy between them & the 2 mysteries
of Easter & Pentecost & maintaining that baptism confers a share in the life of the risen Xst
& confirmation a share in that of the HS.
 Our connection with Xst always takes the form of a union with the HS.
 And finally, he comes to the table of the Eucharist to eat the Flesh and drink the Blood of the
Son of man, so that he may have eternal life and show the unity of God’s people and to offer
himself with Christ in order to share in His universal sacrifice.
 Pope Paul VI, wrote, “The faithful are born anew by baptism, strengthened by the sacrament
of confirmation and finally sustained by that food of eternal life in Eucharist”.

3. THE EUCHARIST AS THE “SUMMIT & SOURCE” OF THE FAITH & LIFE OF
THE CHURCH
 CCC 1324: The Eucharist is the source & summit of the Xn life (PO, 5).The other
sacraments, & indeed all ecclesiastical ministries & works of the apostolate, are bound up
with the Eucharist & are oriented toward it.For the Blessed Eucharist is contained the whole
spiritual good of the Church, namely, Xst himself, our Pasch.

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 CCC 1325: It’s the efficacious sign & sublime cause of that communion in the divine life &
that unity of the PoP by which the Church is kept in being.It’s the culmination of both God’s
action sanctifying the world in Xst & of the worship men offer to Xst & thro’ him to the Fr in
the HS.
 CCC 1326: By Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy
& anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all (cf. 1 Cor 15:18).
 CCC 1327: It’s the sum & summary of our faith: “our way of thinking is attained to the
Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking”.
 Based on the fact that Christ (who is the summit and source of the faith & life of the Church)
is present in it, it becomes also the summit & source of life & faith of the Church.

3.1 The Institution

 There are four accounts of institution which all agree in substance (Mt 26; Lk 22; Mk 14 and
1 Cor 11). The words of institution written in the NT indicates a real sacrifice with a blood
victim and so, the real presence of Christ: “This is My Blood…..My Body….Do this in
memory of Me.” (Mt 26:28; Lk 22:19).
 The apostles understood this in its literal sense and not in symbolic or analogical senses.
 This marks the beginning of the establishment of an eschatological kingdom: “I will not
drink again until ….” Therefore foretells final triumph; the kingdom becomes a reality,
heralding the prophetic messianic banquet in the kingdom.
 The words of the institution imply that the species have ceased to be bread/wine and have
become Body/Blood but without a change in their accidental qualities, this is the mystery,
transubstantiation has taken place.

3.2 Transubstantiation
 Xst is present in the sacrament of the altar by transubstantiating the substance of the bread
into his body & the substance of the wine into the substance of his blood.
 The word from transsubstantiatio, transsubstantiare was created by the 12 th C & was used
officially for the 1st time in a decree of Innocent III (1202) & in the Caput Firmiter of Lateran
IV.
 The notion contains the following:
a) It has a quo terminal & ad quem terminal, i.e. a point of departure which ceases to be & a
point of arrival/ final point which begins to be.
b) An intrinsic dependence between the disappearance of the a quo terminal & the
appearance of the ad quem terminal.
c) A commune tertium i.e. a third common element which remains & which after the
conversion would serve to unite the two parts. In the case of Eucharistic conversion, the
3rd element is the Eucharistic species.
 Transubstantiation is miraculous & singular conversion (conversio mirabilis et singularis),
different from all the other natural conversions. Natural conversions can be accidental or
substantial.
 The conversion in the active sense i.e. the God’s action of conversion is not composed of 2
independent actions i.e. one which destroys the substance of the bread & wine & another
which makes present the body & blood of Xst. It’s only one divine operation effects the
disappearance of a quo terminal & appearance of the ad quem terminal.

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 The sacramental species remain after transubstantiation. They conserve their physical reality
after the transubstantiation. They permanently remain without the subject of inhesion.
 The term ‘transubstantiation’ adopted from scholasticism by Trent to imply that by
consecration, the species are transubstantiated into the Body and blood of Christ, their whole
substance is changed
- And so, instead of the substance of the bread and wine, we have a real presence of
Christ in His Body and Blood.
- Therefore, theology of transubstantiation safeguards the theology of real presence.
- However the mystery is in the sense that the species maintain their sign value, the
accidental qualities and so, the invisible Christ is really present as a sacrament effect
what it signifies.
- It is a mystery because to our experience, a substantial change is accompanied by a
change in the accidental qualities as well.
- Hence He is to be worshiped in the Eucharist, for His presence is permanent. The
council also taught the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist.
 Transubstantiation is a singular wondrous conversion of the total substance of the bread into
the body, and the total substance of the wine into the blood of Christ. External appearance
only remains unchanged.

3.3 The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (manner of Xst’s presence)
 Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in His Body and Blood, humanity and divinity under
the form of bread and wine.
 Trent defined Xst’s presence: ex vi verborum i.e. in the virtue of the words of consecration
is present the body of Xst under the species of bread & the blood of Xst under the species of
wine. Per concomitantiam, per concomitancia i.e. by the real union which keep the blood &
body of Xst is found also present under the specie of bread together with the body (coz the
body of Xst is a living body [Rom 6:9]), the blood of Xst & his soul (natural concomitance),
& by the hypostatic union is found present his divinity (supernatural divinity). Under the
species of bread & wine, together with the blood of Xst is found also his body & soul & his
divinity.
Second Vatican Council reiterated the teaching of the Trent with a pastoral outlook:
 It speaks of different types of presence in the Eucharist (SC, 7):
- First, Christ is present in the community, which has assembled, in his name for
worship.
- Secondly He is present in the person of the minister who presides the Eucharistic in
His name.
- Thirdly He is present in the Biblical word, which is proclaimed.
- Finally He is present in a uniquely & sacramental way in the sacred species.
Pope Paul VI in his encyclical Mysterium Fidei (1965):
 Repeated the traditional teaching and accepted the term transubstantiation as suitable to
express this wonderful mystery of the real presence rejecting the terms transfiguration and
transignification.

3.3.1 Total Presence:

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 In the Eucharist is present truly the body & blood of Xst, together with his soul & divinity &
thus the whole Xst is truly found.
 The total presence in @ species: under @ one of the two species Xst is present entirely.
 Total presence in all & in @ of the parts of both species: in all & @ one of the parts of both
species, after the separation has been realized, the whole Xst is found in them.

3.3.2 Duration of the real presence:

 After the consecration has been realized the body & blood of Xst are present permanently in
the Eucharist. Against doctrine of Luther about the last supper, which maintained that the real
presence is limited to the time in which the celebration is done i.e. from the time of
consecration to the communion, Trent declared that the body & blood of Xst are present
permanently after the consecration.
 Trent gave full definition of real presence i.e., in the Eucharist, Christ is present as True God
and True man in the form of the visible species and continue after the celebration, for Trent,
Christ is: ruly: against ‘sign’ of Zwingli; really: not ‘figurative’ & Substantially: and not
‘virtual’ as to Calvin.

3.3.3 The End of Real Presence:

 The real presence according to unanimous doctrine of the theologians, remains permanent
meanwhile the species which constitute the sacramental sign instituted by Xst remain
uncorrupted.
The cessation of real presence cannot be considered as annihilation, or as conversion of body
& the blood of Xst into another substance, or as a local movement by which the Lord returns
from heaven.
 StAmbrose argued: “Can’t the words of Christ who was able to create out of nothing change
that which already exists into something which it wasn’t before?”
 During the first millennium, this faith was never questioned: doubt about this real presence
originated only in the Western church:
- Berengarius of the 11th century (+1088) was the first to question it. Then the
spiritualists of the 12th century and 13th and Wycliffe in the 14th century. The
Protestants denied the transubstantiation. For them it is consubstantiation.
 Against this Council ofTrent gives a comprehensive and precise teaching on the Eucharist.
It teaches that:
 After the consecration of bread and wine our Lord Jesus Christ true God and true man is
truly, really and substantially present.

CONCLUSION
 The necessity of receiving the sacraments is affirmed by Trent and the CCC 1129:
“Sacraments are necessary for salvation.”
 The 7 sacraments touch all the stages & all the important moments of Christian life: they give
birth & increase, healing & mission to the Christian’s life of faith.
 God can communicate His grace in a purely spiritual manner but considering human nature
and creation, Christ instituted the sacraments and bound them with communication of grace;
therefore, they are necessary for salvation though not all are necessary to be received by each
individual.

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 Compendium: Christian initiation is accomplished by means of the sacraments which
establish the foundations of Christian life.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
BENEDICT XVI, The Catechism of the Catholic Church: Compendium, Nairobi: Pauline
Publications Africa 2006.
The Code of Canon Law rev. trans., London: The Canon Law Society of Great Britain and
Ireland 1997; repr. Bangalore: Theological Publications in India 2007.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nairobi: Paulines 2007.
FLANNERY, A., ed., Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents, revised
edition, Dublin: Dominican Publications 1987.
NEUNER J. & DUPUIS J., (eds).,The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic
Church, Bangalore: Theological Publications in India 2011.
SCHMAUS, M., Dogma 5: The Church as Sacrament, London: Sheed & Ward Inc. 1975

13. The doctrine about the Virgin Mother of God and of the Church according to the
teaching of Vatican II (LG VIII) and the more recent documents of the Magisterium.

Introduction
The doctrine about the Virgin Mother of God (theotokos)
History of the Doctrine
The doctrine
Evidence from the Scripture
Evidence from the Tradition- Councils, Fathers, etc Nestorius, Tertulian,
Magisterium- what the pope defined
Mary Mother of God- Vatican II ( LG VIII)
Function of the VG in the Plan of Salvation 55-59
THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AND THE CHURCH 60-65
THE CULT OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN ON THE CHURCH 66-67
Mary Sign of True Hope and Comfort for the Pilgrim people of God 68-69
more recent documents of the Magisterium
3.3 Apostolic “Signum Magnum” of Paul IV (1967)
3.3 Apostolic “Signum Magnum” of Paul IV (1967)

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................148
1. The Doctrine about the Virgin Mother of God and of the Church..............................148
1.1 Maternity of God: Theotokos (Mother of God)....................................................149
1.1.1History of the Doctrine....................................................................................149
1.1.2The Doctrine Itself...........................................................................................149
144
 1.1.3 Evidence from the Scripture...........................................................................150
1.1.4 Evidence from the Tradition...........................................................................150
1.2 Mary Mother of the Church...................................................................................151
1.3 Other Dogmas in Connection to the Dogma of Mary Mother of God...................153
1.2.1 Perpetual Virginity..........................................................................................153
1.2.2 Immaculate Conception..................................................................................153
1.2.3 Assumption into Heaven.................................................................................154
2. The Roles of the Virgin Mother of the Church............................................................154
2.1 High Office.............................................................................................................154
2.2 Mother of the Saviour............................................................................................154
2.3 Full of Grace..........................................................................................................155
2.4 Free faith and obedience.......................................................................................155
2.5 The union of the Mother and Son..........................................................................155
3 The More Recent Documents of the Magisterium on Mary Mother of God................156
3.1 Encyclical letter “Redemptoris Mater” of the Bl. John Paul II (1987)................156
3.2 The Encyclical letter “Veritatis Splendor” of the Bl. John Paul II (1993)...........158
3.3 Apostolic “Signum Magnum” of Paul IV (1967)..................................................158
3.4 Apostolic Exhortation “Marialis Cultus” of Pope Paul VI (1974).......................158
3.5 Apostolic letter “Mulieris Dingnitatem” of the Bl.John Paul II, (1988)...............159
3.6 Apostolic letter “Rosarium Virginis Mariae” of the Bl. John Paul II (2002).......159
3.7 The Catechism of the Catholic Church..................................................................159
4. Application of the life of Virgin Mother of God into Our life....................................160
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................160
BIBLIOGRAPHY..............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

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INTRODUCTION
The Church from the beginning never regarded Mary merely as a person who inevitably
appears, like many others, in a biography of Jesus. Mary has her proper and unique function in
salvation history as such and the Church accordingly in its liturgy and piety pays special
reverence to the Blessed Virgin, whom it acknowledges as Mother of God and of the redeemer.
This is because at the message of the angel the Virgin Mary received the word of God in her
heart and in her body and gave Life to the world (LG, 53). The Church sees in Mary its own
image in pure perfection, the image of the nature of the Christian in its purity and fullness and
therefore also the perfect image of woman. In its understanding of faith the Church has a starting
point of its own and a dynamism of its own for this process. And what is its own is in fact
present as an archetype in its image of Mary. Like the Christian faith as a whole, the image of
Mary has obviously a history in the Church. Consequently, the image of woman, as available to
the Church in Mary, also has its history which is not told and elucidated simply by presenting the
history of the Marian dogmas from the Council of Ephesus (431) to Pius XII and up to chapter 8
of the constitution Lumen Gentium or to the Apostolic Exhortation of Paul VI on Marian
devotion (1974). This is right particularly since it was only at the Second Vatican Council and in
the teaching of Paul VI that the process began explicitly of seeing in the image of Mary the
image of woman as such, even though, of course, Christendom had at all times (perhaps
occasionally not very discreetly) stamped its knowledge of woman on to the image of Mary. The
image of woman in the image of Mary has a history which still continues today and is as
unfinished, incomplete, and unforeseeable as anything that belongs to history. For the faith also
of the Church of the future, Mary will remain the believer who, with and in her existence, in her
faith, and in her person, received the eternal Word of the Father as God’s irrevocable promise to
the world, Jesus, the blessed fruit of her womb.
The Catholic Church believes and insists that Mary, the Blessed Virgin is the Mother of
God and Mother of the Church. Through the Mystery of Incarnation, the Word of God took flesh
in the woumb of Mary and lived among us (cf Jn 1:14). In his earthly Mission, Jesus showed us
in a unique way, his intimacy with his mother as the biological mother and the first apostle. From
his Gallilean ministry, to the Calvary, Jesus never abandoned his mother. By this he wanted to
emphasize the role of his mother in our redemption. During Pentecost, when Church was
officially founded and the apostles began officially to preach Good News to all Nations, Mary
was there. The Holy Spirit also descended on Mary, this time designating her Mother of the
Church. The organization of this question begin with the first part will based on giving the
doctrine about the Virgin Mother of God in relation to teaching of Vatican II (LG VIII) Council
and more recent documents of the Magisterium and in the second part will explain about the
doctrine of the Virgin Mother of the Church according to the teaching of Vatican II ( LG VIII)
and the more recent documents of the Magisterium

1. The Doctrine about the Virgin Mother of God and of the Church
Mary is the mother of Jesus, the wife of Joseph, and the greatest of all the saints. She is a
model of faithful living for all Christians. Mary is often called the Blessed Virgin because she so
freely and completely responded to God’s Will that she conceived Jesus by the power of the
Holy Spirit (Lk 1:26-38,Mt 1:18-25). She continued to do God’s Will throughout her life on

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earth.139 In the official teaching of the Catholic Church we have four (and only four) dogmas, or
truths, of Mary which as well the church account her in relation to Christ and his church namely;
the Maternity of God: Theotokos (Mother of God), perpetual Virginity, Immaculate Conception
and Assumption into Heaven.
1.1 Maternity of God: Theotokos (Mother of God)
1.1.1 History of the Doctrine
The truth about Virgin Mary as the Mother of God carries the important implication in
the life history of the Christians and the Church. The teaching is supported by the Sacred
Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the teaching authority of the Church. The Council of Ephesus
was the first decisive authoritative intervention on the subject. The difficult was brought by
Nestorius who rejected that the Virgin Mary was not the Mother of God, she was only the mother
of Christ the man. He insisted that Mary was merely the mother of Christ, the man of Nazareth
but not in any way the Mother of God. The same error had been taught in the school of Antioch
by Diodore and by Theodore of Mospsuestia. When questioned whether on of the persons of the
Trinity died on the cross, they hold that Christ had two natures and yet was one son; so they
would not admit second Person of the Trinity died on the cross or that he was born of a woman.
They said there was only one person born of the Trinity died on the cross or that he was born of a
woman. They said there was only one person born of the father. They were afraid to say that
Jesus derived divine nature from the eternal birth from his father and his human nature in time by
be born by his mother Mary. The Church realized that the whole of Christianity was at stake,
therefore the Council of Ephesus (431) was lounched and Nestorius was condemned as explained
here below.
1.1.2 The Doctrine Itself
The Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus in AD 431 solemnly declared and defined
Mary as the true Mother of God (or Theotokos - the Greek word meaning God-bearer) and a
model of Christian living in her total surrender to the Father. They say: “If anyone does not
confess that Emmanuel (Christ) in truth is God and that on this account the Holy Virgin is the
Mother of God (Theotokos) in as much as she gave birth to the Word of God made flesh... let
him be anathema.” That means Mary, the Mother of God can be said to be the highest title that
can be given to Mary. This title is implicitly found in the New Testament. In the New Testament,
Mary is explicitly called the ‘Mother of Jesus’. Jesus is confessed as God in the New Testament.
One must, however, realize that only in very few places is Jesus explicitly called God. Most of
the titles given to Jesus in the New Testament such as Messiah, Son of God, Son of David, and
so forth may imply that Jesus is divine, sent by God, anointed by God,…but not that he is equal
to God. In (CCC, 509) it summarizes the teaching as follows: “Mary is truly ‘Mother of God’
since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself.” The title
“Mother of God” points to the sublime truth of the Incarnation, that Jesus Christ is true God and
true man. The Church’s teaching concerning Mary’s divine maternity is deeply rooted in
Scripture and Tradition, and was dogmatically defined at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The
Church celebrates this mystery of our Catholic faith on January 1st.

139
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1.1.3 Evidence from the Scripture
The first reference to Mary in the New Testament is a reference to her maternity.
Although it is not explicitly stated in the scripture that Mary is the Mother of God but there are
some texts which implies this truth. Around AD 57, Paul writes to the Galatians: “But when the
time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem
those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4-5). In this
passage, Paul identifies Jesus as the Son sent forth from the Father, indicating His divine origin.
The fact that He is “born of a woman”, shows His unity with us. Jesus’ birth as a human being is
a critical element in our own adoption as children of God. The maternity is mentioned by Paul in
relation to our salvation. Other references include with the gospel of Luke the Son of Mary is
called the “Son of the most high” and the “Son of the God” (Lk 1:32). The eternal reign which is
proper to God is promised to the Son of Mary. Mary’s Son is God and his mother is the Mother
of God. In the same chapter Elizabeth calls Mary “the Mother of my Lord” (Lk 1:43)
1.1.4 Evidence from the Tradition
The earliest extra-Biblical mentions of Mary employ her maternity as a guarantee of
Jesus’ physical birth. Such an assertion might seem hardly necessary and yet the denial of the
reality of Jesus’ body was one of the earliest heretical opinions to emerge. This way of thinking
is known as “Docetism” from the Greek word, dokein, “to seem.” During the second and third
centuries, Docetic opinions found expression in various Gnostic groups that maintained that the
material world was created by an evil force, opposed to what was spiritual. Those Gnostics who
had some relation to Christian belief did not accept the reality of Jesus’ flesh. In response to this
denial of a real body, the early Church began to reflect more upon the role of Jesus’ human
parent, Mary.
Ignatius of Antioch (d. 110-115) reacts against the Docetists when he insists on Jesus’
true human birth through Mary, In regard to our Lord, you are thoroughly convinced that He was
of the race of David according to the flesh, and the Son of God His will and power; that He was
truly born of the Virgin…Ignatius links the reality of Jesus’ human actions of eating and
drinking along with His birth: Be deaf, when anyone speaks to you, apart from Jesus Christ, who
was of the race of David, the Son of Mary, who was truly born and ate and drank…Ignatius
affirms the divine and human natures of Jesus: There is one Doctor, active in both body and soul,
begotten and yet unbegotten, God in man, true life in death, Son of Mary and Son of God, first
able to suffer and then unable to suffer, Jesus Christ our Lord.
This tendency to connect Mary’s maternity and virginity is also present in Justin (d.c.
165): The Father of the universe had a Son, who also, being the first-begotten Word of God, is
even God....having become Man by a virgin, according to the counsel of the Father, for the
salvation of those who believe in Him.
According to Irenaeus’ (d. c. 202) theory of recapitulation, Christ had to assume the same
nature as Adam in order to heal the nature that had been weakened in Adam. Jesus took real flesh
from Mary in order to undo the harm Adam had done to our nature: Those, therefore, who allege
that He took nothing from the Virgin do greatly err [since] in order that they might cast away the
inheritance of the flesh, they also reject the analogy. Similarly, Clement of Alexandria (d. c. 215)
affirms the reality of Jesus’ human nature with reference to Mary: The Son of God - of Him Who
made the universe - assumed flesh, and was conceived in the virgin's womb (as His material
body was produced)...

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 Another point is the Apostles’ Creed. The belief in Jesus’ real birth from a Virgin is
present in the early creedal formulas that were the articulated standards or “canons” of beliefs.
The “Apostles’ Creed,” so named because of a tradition that its origin was rooted in apostolic
times, is apparently the developed text of the profession of faith in the Roman Baptismal Rite. It
seems to have taken form towards the close of the Second Century and to have been standardized
by the Fourth Century.
St. Hippolytus (d. 235), in his Apostolic Traditions, written between 215 and 217, recalls
that one of the questions in the Roman Baptismal rite was: Do you believe in Christ Jesus, the
Son of God who was born by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary? Rufinus (d. 404), in his
commentary on this Creed, remarks that the Creed that was used in Rome and Jerusalem barely
differed from the one to which he is accustomed. In 325, three hundred eighteen bishops met at
the imperial palace at Nicaea, at the call of Constantine to clarify the relationship of Christ to the
Father. Their concern was Arius’ claim that Jesus was a semi-divine creature. The bishops
promulgated a creedal statement emphasizing Jesus’ divine origin. The original version com-
posed at Nicaea did not explicitly mention Mary in its formula regarding Jesus’ Incarnation and
birth but simply said, “incarnatus est et homo factus est,” which implies “He became incarnate
and was made man.”
A second council at Constantinople in 381 further refined the understanding of the
relationships of the members of the Trinity, especially with reference to the Holy Spirit. The
Acts of this Council are no longer extant although there are references to the Council in other
sources.
The council of Ephesus (431) drew a natural logical conclusion. If Mary is the ‘Mother of
Jesus’, and ‘Jesus is God’, then ‘Mary is the Mother of God. This is the doctrine of so called:
Communicatio Idiomatum, the “Communication of Idiomatums.” Exchange of the statements
(Pronouncements). The Church applied what is true of one nature of Jesus to the other nature, as
in saying that God wept at the tomb of Lazarus or A carpenter raised a man from the dead. Such
language requires a definite understanding of what is being said and what is not being said.
While weeping applies to Jesus’ human nature and raising the dead applies to His divine nature,
He is one person.
The Council did not explicitly affirm the title, Theotókos, by itself. In its first session, the
bishops approved Cyril’s second letter to Nestorius as containing the orthodox formula. In this
letter the title is found, as Cyril explains: The Fathers did not hesitate to call the blessed Virgin
the Theotókos and this was certainly not because of the nature of the Word or the divinity had its
origin in her but because it was from her that the sacred body was born, endowed with a rational
soul to which the Word is united to the point of forming one only person.
Jesus was one. God and man alike.God - from ages. Man - from the moment of
incarnation. But both of the natures he had from the very beginning of his earthly life went
together. Without being mixed (stirred), but also without any separation! Holy Fathers of the
Church decided - in the consequence - it is allowed to say about Jesus as one: God-human.
Whatever we say about him as human, we can say about him as God. For example; God was
born; God suffered and died. The resurrection of God-Jesus. So also: God has mother -
Theotokos.
1.2 Mary Mother of the Church
We have two mothers – the church and Mary. One is objective and external – the church
– functions as mother by preaching the word of God and administering the sacraments. The other
is internal and subjective – Mary’s motherhood is expressed in the areas where grace is
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distributed personally in each individual. But these two mothers are inseparable. By offering
physically the matter for incarnation Mary became the physical mother of Jesus; by preparing
men and women to grace through her intercession, making them welcome Christ, she becomes
the spiritual mother of the redeemed. Mary the mother of Christ our Redeemer is the mother of
the church His mystical Body rarely used in the past. In its place our mother, mother of the
faithful were used to invoking a personal relationship. Later with the greater understanding of the
mystery of the Church and Mary’s relationship with it she is called the mother of the church. But
this title was renowned to few of the Fathers of the church. St. Peter Chrysologus + 431 A.D.
spoke of Mary’s mystical motherhood. St. Gregory the Great spoke about Mary as the mother of
the Church. Recently Pope Pius X and Pius XII regarded Mary as “…the mother of the mystical
body”.
Vatican Council II reiterated [repeated] the doctrine of Mary in the comprehensive view
of divine revelation and salvation by introducing Marian doctrine as the part and constitution on
the church (LG Ch. 8). In the closing of discourse of the third session Pope Paul, VI solemnly
declared Mary as the mother of the church and the Pope exhorted the faithful that the entire
people of God should call her as the most loving mother: This title [mother of church] gave
Marian doctrine and devotion an ecclesial dimension a basis of Christian’s special relation to
Christ and the Church. Although, the title mother of the church as such does not appear in the
council document, in almost all the sections of chapter VIII of the Lumen Gentium, a chapter
dedicated to the idea of Mary as the mother of the church appears. The church honours her in the
filial affection and considers her as the mother of all. It also mentions about her maternal duty
towards men. It explicitly says that she is the mother to us in the means of grace and that the
relationship began at the consent she gave at the annunciation sustained at the feet of the cross
and will last until the fulfillment of the elect. Her close association with Christ in the redemption
of mankind justifies this reflection.
Moreover, we have also two Virgins – Church and Mary. The church is the bride of
Christ, and according to LG, 8, church herself is a virgin. Christ has made eternal covenant with
her, a covenant sealed with his blood. And the church responds to Christ with fidelity, and this
she does when does not make alliance with other lord. But the absolute fidelity is not possible
because in her children, the church was often unfaithful spouse. Hence, the church has to learn
from the Virgin Mary to be faithful. Fist of all, her total self-gift in her fiat. In the like manner,
the church must give total consent to the world of God and keep his faith as well.
She is the outstanding member of the Church: She is the member of the church but ‘pre-
eminently holy and unique because of her exceptional gifts. She is the type and outstanding
model of in faith and charity. She is the ‘Type of the Church’. A term first used by Ambrose
‘Type’ is a term which goes beyond the literal sense. Christ is the tangible form for a spiritual
reality. In venerating Mary as the type of the church, we can see in her a visible figure, the reality
of the church; but her case, this reality is completely fulfilled. What was later to be fulfilled in
the church is found perfectly in Mary, namely he Immaculate holiness, Virginal motherhood and
total dedication to the mother of God. After saying that Mary is the type is the type of the church,
the council declares that, “she is the outstanding model and example to be followed in faith and
charity. Looking at her the believer leaves to live in deeper communion with Christ, to adhere to
him in loving faith and place his trust and hope in him. Mary is the eschatological Icon of the
church: Mary is now in glory, she is a certain hope and comfort of the people of God. In her we
see a perfection which is also the object of her own desire. What the church will be at the end of
the history of salvation, we see now in Mary.

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 Mary’s role in the church derives from her union with Christ: Flows from this union
which Christ initiated at the time of the annunciation made manifest above all and at the time of
the passion and death of Christ, when Mary stood at the foot of the cross offered her Son as a
sacrificial gift to the eternal Father for the sins of mankind. According to the second Vatican
council, “…just as she [Mary] involved herself in incarnation, she shared in a singular way in the
work of the Saviour at the foot of the cross. We are redeemed by God alone, but in and through
the human form which He manifested Himself to us that we are redeemed through Jesus Christ;
God became man through subordinate to Christ. Mary was complementary to Christ in bringing
about salvation with this she became the mother of the redeemer of the mankind.
1.3 Other Dogmas in Connection to the Dogma of Mary Mother of God
1.2.1 Perpetual Virginity
Motherhood and virginity are inseparable in Mary. The virginal conception of Jesus
through Mary is the beginning of our salvation. It is God’s exclusive gift through the Holy Spirit,
beyond human possibilities, received in human freedom. The perpetual virginity of Mary Mother
of God is expressed in three parts: in her virginal conception of Christ; in giving birth to Christ,
and her continuing virginity after His birth. The conception of Jesus without human seed
virginal conception of Jesus from the Holy Spirit, that is virginity before Jesus’ birth (virginitas
ante partum)as found in (CCC,396; 510) She gave birth without corruption, that is virginity
during birth (virginitas in partu) as in (CCC,510) and her virginity remained equally inviolate
after the birth of Jesus (virtinitas post partum) (CCC, 510). The usage of this triple formula to
express the fullness of this mystery of faith became standard with St. Augustine (354-430AD),
St. Peter Chrysologus (c. 400-450AD), and Pope St. Leo the Great (440-461AD) as in (CCC,
496-507; 964.)
The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary’s real and
perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ’s
birth “did not diminish his mother’s virginal integrity but sanctified it.” And so the liturgy of the
Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the “Ever-virgin” (CCC,499).
1.2.2 Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the Catholic Church that Mary the Mother of Jesus
was conceived without original sin.140 The Marian doctrine on Immaculate Conception was
solemn declared by Pope Pius IX in his Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus on December 8,
1854. The doctrine holds that; the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, has
been, by a special grace and privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus
Christ, the Saviour of the human race, preserved and exempted from every stain of original sin,
is revealed by God, and consequently is to be believed firmly and inviolably by all the faithful.
This teaching was stated ex cathedral by the Pope. The bible does not specifically refer to the
Immaculate Conception but this is part of the Church’s Sacred Tradition. The church Maintain
that Jesus and Mary were the only two persons ever conceived without Original Sin. In this
Catholics holds that Mary was full of grace at the time of her conception. The Immaculate
Conception was a special blessing given to Mary by God since she was to be the mother of Jesus.
We find from scripture especial in the following regarding Immaculate Conception. The
passage from (Genesis 3:15) from the Old Testament is significant in that; it refers to the seed of
the woman (in its singular usage) refers to a woman; and the only possible woman referred here
140
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is Mary, who gave birth to a child without the aid of a human father, as prophesied by prophet
Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14). We read in the “Lumen Gentium”, “Considered in this light, she is already
prophetically foreshadowed in the promise of victory over the serpent, which was give to our
first parents, after their fall into sin” (LG, 55).In the New Testament especially in the gospel of
(Luke 1:28-36); the Angelic salutation, Hail full of grace in connection with the words of
Elizabeth, Blessed art though among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” (Luke 1:42)
Gabriel’s greetings represents the divine favour enjoyed by the Blessed Virgin, as the highest
form of grace, consistent with her state, namely, a favour due to her being the Mother of God.
1.2.3 Assumption into Heaven
The Assumption of Mary is the second Marian dogma defined by a Pope in recent times.
It was defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950 in his Apostolic Constitution entitled
Munificentissimus Deus (The Most Bountiful God). The defininion was done by the Pope when
he declared that, “The most Immaculate Mother of God, Mary ever Virgin, on completing the
course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” Apostolic Constitution
defines “ex cathedra” (from the chair of Peter) the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin; this is the teaching that is infallible. This feast is celebrating each year on August 15 th in
which Catholics remember and honour the Blessed Virgin Mary’s entry into heaven.
2. The Roles of the Virgin Mother of the Church
Catholic devotion salutes Mary as “mother of the church”, Mary deserves this title
because she is the Mother of Jesus and because of her special association with His Saving work,
which is continued in the Church. The title aptly expresses the spiritual maternity she exercises
in the life of her faithful. It suggests her role as model of the Church in the way she shows forth
the Christian virtues.” God’s gift of salvation was fulfilled in accordance to his will and
continues to be revealed in the Church, which Jesus establishes as his own body. In accordance
to love and wisdom “when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman… that
we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal 4: 4-5). Jesus came down from heaven, and was
incarnate by the power of the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary. Her position in the mystery of
salvation can be viewed as follows:
2.1 High Office
During annunciation, Mary received the Word of God in her heart and in her body. She
brought life to the world. She became truly the mothe of God and Redeemer. As we have seen
herself was redeemed in a special manner by the reason of the merits of her Son, and united to
Her Son by indissoluble bond. In this manner she was privileged with the supreme office of
being the mother of the Son of God. This title enables her to enjoy all other privileges. Because
of this gift of grace she far surpasses all other creatures, Both in Heaven and on earth (LG,53).
But she belongs to the descendants of Adam, one with all human beings. She is the Mother of the
members of Christ the most beloved mother.
2.2 Mother of the Saviour
The role of Mary the mother of the saviour in the economy of salvation is clearly
demonstrated in the sacred scriptures as well as in the tradition. In the scripture, one should keep
in mind that the account of the salvation history was slowly prepared from the Old Testament
time and accomplished by coming of Jesus. The coming of Christ in the world was slowly
prepared for. The OT documents are understood in the light of the full revelation brought by

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Christ. This is why the OT gradually sharpens the figure of the woman, the Mother of the
Redeemer. She was prophetically shown to have power over the serpent as the new (Gn 3:15).
Prophets have already prophesized that the Virgin will conceive and bear a Son, whose name
will be called Emmanuel (Is 7:14; Mic 5:2-3). The long waited promised was at list was fulfilled
when the Son of God took the human nature from her mother ever virgin.
2.3 Full of Grace
In this we say it was the will of the Father that Mary accepts to be the mother of the Son
of God. Through incarnation Mary became the new Eva. Just as a woman contributed to death,
so also a woman contributed to the new life. Mary the mother of God gave to the world that very
life which renews all things. It was God himself who empowered her with all need gifts to
undertake such role. That is why the Church regards the Mother of God to be holy and free from
all stain of sin from beginning. “Adorned from the first of her conception with the Splendours of
an entirely unique holiness, the virgin of Nazareth is, on God’s command, greeted by an angel
messenger as Full of Grace”. (LG, 56 cf. Lk 1:28) That is why in responding to the invitation of
becoming the mother of the Son of God, Mary responded to the Angel, “Behold the handmaid of
the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.” (Lk 1:38). By consenting to the divine
invitation Mary became the mother of the redeemer. Full heartedly devoted here life to God’s
will as a handmaid of the Lord. By the Grace of the Almighty God, along with his Son and in
subordination with him, the Blessed Virgin Mary served the mystery of redemption.
2.4 Free faith and obedience
According to Church’s understanding (holy Fathers), God did not use the Blessed Virgin
Mary in a passive manner but rather Mary cooperated in the work of human salvation through
free faith and obedience. Her obedience became the cause of human salvation for herself and to
the whole human beings. She changes the disobedience of human salvation for herself and to the
whole human beings. She changes the disobedience of our first parents Adam and Eva. (Gen 3).
Through her faith she became the mother of the living since death become through Eva, life
through Mary.
2.5 The union of the Mother and Son
The union of the mother and the Son in the work of salvation was manifested from the
time of Jesus’ conception in the womb of his mother Mary up to the time of Son’s death on the
Cross. This was first demonstrated in the time of visitation. Elizabeth approved Mary as blessed
because of he belief in he promise of salvation. The baby John the Baptist in his mother’s womb
leapt for joy (Lk 1:41-51). This association of the mother and the Son was more demonstrated
during birth of our Lord. Through Jesus’ power of sanctification his birth did not diminish his
mother’s virginal integrity but sanctified it. This was affirmed by the Council of Lateran (649).
This association was more demonstrated as the Simeon foretells the suffering both Son and the
mother will experience. He prophesised that Jesus the Son of Mary will be a sign of
contradiction and that a sword would pierce the mother’s soul and out of it this revelation to
many (Lk 2:34-35).
3 The More Recent Documents of the Magisterium on Mary Mother of God
The following here below are some of the more recent document and most of them with
between the 19th to 20th century is taken as the range to refer to the Virgin Mother of God and of
the Church with respect to the question.

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3.1 Encyclical letter “Redemptoris Mater” of the Bl. John Paul II (1987)
On March 27, 1987, Pope John Paul II issued his encyclical letter, Redemptoris Mater or
Mother of the Redeemer. The Pope begins with Paul’s words to the Galatians, situating his
Marian reflections in the context of salvation history: When the time had fully come, God sent
forth His Son, born of a woman...to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might
receive adoption as sons (Gal 4:4,5). The Pope takes us the intention of the Vatican II Council to
look at Mary in the light of Christ and the Church: the role of Mary in the mystery of Christ and
on her active role and exemplary presence in the life of the Church (1). The pope speaks of her
active role.
The Pope speaks of Mary as the Church’s beginning: In the liturgy the Church salutes
Mary of Naz-areth as the church’s own beginning, for in the event of the Immaculate Conception
the Church sees projected and anticipated in her most noble member, the saving grace of Easter
(1).
He speaks of the joining of Jesus and Mary in the Incarnation (1). Mary is seen as a figure
or type of the Church. The Pope sees the Christian life as a journey but notes that Mary has also
gone this way of faith. (2)
Pope continues the line Second Vatican Council’s to see Mary on the mystery of Christ (5).
Mary acts as a a model of the Church in the matter of faith, charity, and perfect union with
Christ. (6) The Pope asserts that Mary’s faith is essential to understanding her attitude. In faith,
Mary dis-covered the new dimension of her motherhood in the mission of her Son. (20) She was
then His first follower.
At Cana, Mary sees her motherhood within the dimension of the kingdom of God Mary’s
solicitude for human beings, her coming to them in the wide variety of their wants and needs...a
human need, a small one of little importance...But it has a symbolic value: this coming to the aid
of human needs means, at the same time, bringing those needs within the radius in Christ’s
messianic mission and salvific power. (21)
In addition Mary reminds us of her Son’s will, Do whatever He tells you. Mary’s
motherhood for us is related to her motherhood of Jesus: This motherhood in the order of grace
flows from her divine motherhood (22).
Mary’s motherhood is rooted in faith and love: This new motherhood of Mary, generated by
faith, is the fruit of the new love which came to definitive maturity in her at the foot of the Cross,
through her sharing in the redemptive love of her son (23).
As Christ continues to live in the Church, so Mary’s motherhood is for the Church: The words
uttered by Jesus from the Cross signify that the motherhood of her who bore Christ finds a new
continuation in the Church and through the Church, symbolized and represented by John (24).
The Church’s pilgrimage is interior through faith, by ‘the power of the Risen Lord. In that
journey, Mary is present: It is precisely in this ecclesial journey or pilgrimage through space and
time, and even more through the history of souls, that Mary is present” (25). Mary’s journey of
faith precedes that of the Church: The Holy Spirit had already come down upon her.. In the
Upper Room Mary’s journey meets the Church’ journey of faith (25).
Mary belongs both to Christ and to the Church (27). Believers revere Mary because of her Son.
In some way, they share Mary’s faith (27). Those who honour Mary, imitate her faith (28).
Mary’s faith is present in the faith and piety of individuals, families and communities.
The Pope speaks of Mary’s accompaniment: The Virgin Mother is constantly present in
this journey of faith of the People of God (35). The Church, in daily joining Mary’s Magnificat,
despite its trials and difficulties, sees Mary as its model: The Church, which from the beginning

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has modeled her earthly journey on that of the Mother of God, constantly repeats after her the
words of the Magnificat.
The Church recognizes Mary’s identification with the poor and seeks to keep the message
of the Magnificat, the importance of the ‘poor’ and of ‘the option of favour of the poor’ (38).
Mary is the Church’s model: As Virgin and Mother, Mary remains for the Church a permanent
model (42). The Church is a mother and also a virgin (43).
Mary is not only a model but cooperates with the Church: The Church’s motherhood is
accomplished not only according to the model and figure of the mother of God but also with her
‘cooperation.’ The Church draws abundantly from this cooperation, that is to say from the
maternal mediation which is characteristic of Mary (44). As a mother, Mary intercedes for the
Church (44).
The piety of the Christian people has always rightly sensed a profound link between
devotion to the Blessed Virgin and worship of the Eucharist: this is a fact that can be seen in the
liturgy of both the West and East, in the traditions of the Religious Families, in the modern
movements of spirituality, including those for youth, and in the pastoral practice of the Marian
Shrines, Mary guides the faithful to the Eucharist (44).
We can see the Council’s teachings on Mary’s role reaffirmed by Pope John Paul II in his
encyclical letter, Redemptoris Mater. Mary’s relation to us is that of a new kind of motherhood
(RM, 21) according to the Spirit, which entails Mary’s solicitude for human beings, her coming
to them in the wide variety of their wants and needs. Her concern is very real, as is represented
by her concern for the lack of wine at Cana, which depicts Mary’s coming to the aid of human
needs and bringing those needs within the radius of Christ’s messianic mission and salvific
power. (RM, 21)
The Pope speaks of mediation by which Mary acts as a Mediatrix not as an outsider, but
in her position as mother. The Pope affirms that she places herself in the middle between her Son
and human needs and sufferings. He affirms Her mediation is thus in the nature of intercession:
Mary “intercedes” for mankind. Also in form of a question, the Pope exhorts the faithful to look
at Mary as our “common mother”(RM,30). It follows then that, if we are the Body of Christ, the
Church, and that she is our common Mother; therefore she is the Mother of the Church.
Generally in this document the Pope calls the Blessed Virgin Mary, the ‘Mother of the
Redeemer’. Mary consented to God’s choice in order to become through the power of the Holy
Spirit, the Mother of the Son of God when she said “behold I am the handmaid of the Lord (Lk
1:38; RM, 39). Another thing is that Mary’s election to the supreme office and dignity of Mother
of the Son of God refers, on the ontological level, to the very reality of the union of the two
natures in the Person of the Word ‘hypostatic union’ (RM,39). Therefore, she is rightly called
Mother of God. Although papal document is not at providing a new Marian doctrine on her
motherhood, but in referring to Mary as the Mother of the redeemer, it affirms he divine
motherhood.
3.2 The Encyclical letter “Veritatis Splendor” of the Bl. John Paul II (1993)
The Pope teach that: “Mary is the Mother of mercy because it is to her that Jesus entrust
his church and all humanity. Thus Mary becomes Mother of each and everyone of us, the mother
who obtains for us divine mercy”.
3.3 Apostolic “Signum Magnum” of Paul IV (1967)
Speaking on Mary’s continued motherhood of the redeemer, the exhortation teaches:
“Mary is the Mother of the Church, not only because she is the Mother of Jesus Christ and his

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closest associates in the new plan of salvation…, but also because she shines forth to the whole
community of the elect as the model of virtues.”
3.4 Apostolic Exhortation “Marialis Cultus” of Pope Paul VI (1974)
February 2, 1974, Pope Paul VI, offered his The Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus:
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Pope begins by expressing his pleasure that the first
document of the Vatican Council that he signed was the one on the Liturgy. As he writes on
Mary, he wants to make it very clear that Marian devotion does not take away from liturgical
prayer: This devotion fits… into the only worship that is rightly called ‘Christian,’ because it
takes its origin and effectiveness from Christ, finds its complete expression in Christ and leads
through Christ in the Spirit to the Father. In the sphere of worship this devotion necessarily
reflects God's redemptive plan, in which a special form of veneration is appropriate to the
singular place which Mary occupies in that plan. Indeed, authentic development of Christian
worship is necessarily followed by a fitting increase of veneration for the Mother of God.
(Introduction)
The Pope recognizes that some pious practices of the past do not seem suitable for the
present time because of their links with previous times. The Pope points out that one of the
characteristics of modern piety is an interiorization of religious sentiment, which can play a part
in the development of devotion to Mary so that our own times will make a contribution to this
devotion. One of the tasks that the Pope undertook in this letter was to discuss Mary’s place in
the revised Roman Liturgy.. He notes that the Liturgical Year celebrates the whole mystery of
Christ, from the Incarnation to His return in glory. The Pope proposes that this makes it possible
to include, in a more organic and closely knit fashion, the commemoration of Christ’s Mother in
the annual cycle of the mysteries of her Son. The feasts and solemnities on Mary during the year
are good opportunity to commemorate Mary's role in the work of Redemption of her Son.
The Author encourages renewing the lectionaries including more readings concerning
Mary. Also he proposes to add more hymn and canticles to the Liturgy of the Hours, like for
example, finishing Night Prayer with such a hymn (11-13). The Pope affirms that the revised
liturgy has tried to see Mary in relation to Christ. It has, properly considered the Virgin within
the total mystery of Christ and has recognized, in harmony with tradition, her singular place in
Christian worship as the holy Mother of God and the worthy associate of the Redeemer (15)
This was a call for the right ordering and development of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In this letter the Pope use both titles: Mother of God and Mother of the Church, to refer to
Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary is advocated to be the model and good Mother of the Church.
Generally in this apostolic exhortation ‘Marialis Cultus,’ the pope gave guidelines for the
devotion of Mary and Marian doctrine in the light of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council.
He insisted that Mariology and Marian doctrines should be Biblical, Liturgical, Ecumenical and
anthropological sensitive.
3.5 Apostolic letter “Mulieris Dingnitatem” of the Bl.John Paul II, (1988)
“When the time had fully come, God sent forth his son, born of woman”, wrote St Paul in the
Letter to the Galatians (4:4);“Only by the power of the Holy Spirit”, added Pope John Paul II in
the apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem, (one of his very greatest teaching documents, the
twenty-fifth anniversary of which Pope Francis currently marked on) … was Mary able to accept
what is “impossible with men, but not with God” … Thus the “fullness of time” manifests the
extraordinary dignity of the “woman”.

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 Mary, he wrote, “is the representative and the archetype of the whole human race: she
represents the humanity which belongs to all human beings, both men and women…the event at
Nazareth highlights a form of union with the living God which can only belong to the “woman”,
Mary: the union between mother and son. The Virgin of Nazareth truly becomes the Mother of
God.” (MD , 3 -4)
According to (Luke 1:31, 34) in the usual order of things motherhood is the result of
mutual ‘knowledge’ between a man and woman in the marriage union. Mary, firm in her resolve
to preserve her virginity, puts this to the divine messenger, and obtains from him the explanation.
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you” your motherhood will not be the consequence of
matrimonial “knowledge,” but will be the work of the Holy Spirit; the power of the Most High
will overshadow the mystery of the Son’s conception and birth; as the Son of the Most High, he
is given to you exclusively by God, in a manner known to God. The mystery of the Mother of
God and dignity of women takes great part in this letter. “Virginity and Motherhood are two
particular dimensions of the fulfilment of woman’s personality which acquire their full meaning
and value in Mary who as a Virgin became the Mother of the Son of God.
3.6 Apostolic letter “Rosarium Virginis Mariae” of the Bl. John Paul II (2002)
The Pope says, In the process of being conformed to Christ in the Rosary, we entrust
ourselves in a special way to the maternal care of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She who both is the
Mother of Christ and the member of the Church, indeed she is pre-eminent and altogether
singular member and at the same time the mother of the Church. Hence, Mary continually bring
the people of God to the Church, so through her intercessions, Mary is the perfect icon of the
Motherhood of the Church.
3.7 The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Father of mercies willed that the incarnation should be preceded by the acceptance of
her who was predestined to be the mother of His Son, so that just as a woman contributed to
death, so also a woman should contribute to life. That is true in outstanding fashion of the mother
of Jesus, who gave to the world Him who is Life itself and who renews all things, and who was
enriched by God with the gifts which befit such a role. It is no wonder therefore that the usage
prevailed among the Fathers whereby they called the mother of God entirely holy and free from
all stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature. Adorned
from the first instant of her conception with the radiance of an entirely unique holiness, the
Virgin of Nazareth is greeted, on God’s command, by an angel messenger as “full of grace”, and
to the heavenly messenger she replies: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me
according to thy word”. Thus Mary, a daughter of Adam, consenting to the divine Word, became
the mother of Jesus, the one and only Mediator. Embracing God’s salvific will with a full heart
and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally as a handmaid of the Lord to the person and
work of her Son, under Him and with Him, by the grace of almighty God, serving the mystery of
redemption. Rightly therefore the holy Fathers see her as used by God not merely in a passive
way, but as freely cooperating in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience. For,
as St. Irenaeus says, she “being obedient, became the cause of salvation for herself and for the
whole human race.” Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert in their preaching, “The
knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience; what the virgin Eve bound through
her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith.” Comparing Mary with Eve, they call her
“the Mother of the living,” and still more often they say: “death through Eve, life through Mary”
(CCC, 56).

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4. Application of the life of Virgin Mother of God into Our life
Mary is the sign of true hope and comfort for the pilgrim people of God. As the Mother
of God who was involved in the mysteries of Christ is rightly honoured by a special cult in the
Church.Now days there are so many devotion that have been established to venerate her such as
Legio Maria, Praying Rosary groups, Religious congregations and many special worship to her.
On my personal reflection I saw and learn from Mary Mother of God as the servant to God,
loving, committed, wise, obedient, faithful, and a strong expression of holiness. The entire body
of the faithful pour out urgent supplications to the Mother of God and of Men that she can
intercede before her Son in the fellowship of all the saints until all of us may gathered together in
peace and harmony into one People of God, for the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided
Trinity.

CONCLUSION
The above analysis shows that Mary is the true Mother of God and of the Church. The
explanation was supported by various evidence and proofs from the Sacred Scripture or
Tradition and various church documents, church fathers and church leaders. We have seen that;
Mary is the Mother of Christ who, while assuming human nature in her virginal womb, united to
himself as Head his Mystical Body which is the Church. She is given a special place in Christian
life because of her unique relationship to Jesus. She has been called the archetype and the
prototype of the body of Christ, the Church (since the Church understands that it is the “bride of
Christ” and is symbolized in Mary’s marvellous faith). Mary is revered as the mother of Jesus,
and as the greatest in the communion of saints who constantly intercedes on behalf of others. She
was a human being, not a superhuman goddess, and her faith and holiness make her worthy of
imitation by all Christians. However, Mary’s intercession is different from that of Christ. While
Christ’s powers of intercession come from His redeeming merit; Mary’s intercession is an
expression of a desire abandoning it totally to God’s will, as she did it at Cana. Mary is our
mother in the order of grace, not only in the sense that she brought forth the author of grace, but
also all graces given by Jesus have an imprint of the motherly intercession of Mary. As the
second Vatican council says: “In her motherly love she cares for her Son’s brothers still
journeying on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties until they reach their blissful home.”
.

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