Book Chapter: A Theology of Communion for the Contemporary Catholic ParishIntroduction
The study of ecclesiology is the study of how the Christian church, the ever-expanding body of believers, has evolved over time to respond to new political and social realities. Ecclesiology also takes into account the way organizational structures, hierarchies, and roles within the church have changed and reflect the nuances of a cultural milieu or historical epoch. In addition to all that, the study of ecclesiology also comprises the church’s relationship with surrounding community organizations. How the church forms strategic alliances with secular political, social, and economic institutions is also part of the complex array of issues that impact ecclesiology. Although some aspects of the church must remain stable over time to reflect scripture, church polity and organization remains one of the most dynamic aspects of Christianity and the role it plays in the world.
As MacDougall (2015) puts it, “at its best, ecclesiology is the theological articulation of an imagination of what it is to be a church,” (p. 1). Ecclesiology should answer some of the most important questions facing Christians today. Ecclesiology answers key questions like, what does it mean to be Christian community? What joins Christians together, what keeps Christians together? Ecclesiology also recognizes that the church is not socially constructed; it is theologically grounded. To fulfill its salvific mission, the church adapts to meet the needs of the people it most needs to reach. Adaptation does not mean sacrificing core traditions, principles, or institutions like the sacraments. On the contrary, adaptation entails making the sacraments and other sacred institutions more accessible to the contemporary community.
Communion is of course among the most visible and important sacraments that binds together members of the Church, while also fulfilling Christ’s mission. As the Church has grown and shifted its focus from traditionally centers in Europe to its redemptive global mission, a “communion ecclesiology” has emerged (MacDougall, 2015, p. 2). Globalization and the ecumenical movement have been the main contextual variables that have encouraged the flowering of communion ecclesiology. The reason why communion ecclesiology has come “to the fore” in the contemporary world is that it “connects with the ecumenical desire to identify common ecclesiological ground among the manifold expressions of church in a manner that affirms and maintains their essential unity-in-plurality,” (MacDougall, 2015, p. 2). Following from the ecumenical principles guiding prevailing communion ecclesiology, communion theology has become astonishingly diverse and sometimes even contentious. The goal of this chapter is to present a way forward for future pastors.
Ecumenicalism and Globalization
The church fulfills its functions within the world, as a mundane, concrete body of actual physical structures and socio-economic and political institutions. However, the church also operates “beyond the world,” (Riches, 2016, p. 287). In other words, the church has a divine, spiritual presence that supersedes its visible and merely pragmatic place in the world. The Vatican frames the dual nature of the Church is as mystery versus historical subject, “for at all levels of her action the Church effectively brings both of these characteristics into play, and that in such a way that one cannot separate the one from the other,” (International Theological Commission, 1984, p. 1). The two levels, functions, or domains of the church reinforce each others: with the historical and worldly reinforcing the spiritual and mystical domains and vice-versa. Ultimately, the concrete spiritual presence of the Church is transmitted through communion. Communion therefore acts as the node through which all churches, even when they are dogmatically divided or geographically or culturally discreet, unite in the sacred heart of Christ.
Ecumenicalism is not a new concept in ecclesiology, and nor is globalization a new phenomenon. Particularly within Church history, globalization has facilitated the spread of Christ’s message throughout the world. Globalization has been hard on the church, to be sure, creating innumerable ecclesiastic crises, but has also challenged the church to respond to changing conditions and people. The church has risen to these challenges to bring about God’s will through the dissemination of the gospel. Ecumenicalism as a formal movement did not emerge until relatively recently, but the principle of unity in diversity has been critical to promoting the mutually shared objective of fulfilling Christ’s mission. A theology of communion...
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