DIOCESE OF TYLER
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Diaconal Formation Program
AS WE BEGIN OUR JOURNEY TOGETHER
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Dear Students,
I am Fr. Tim Kelly, pastor at St. Mary Magdalene Parish in
Flint.
As well as the standard Master of Divinity, I also hold a
licence in the history of theology and in patristic studies
S.T.L. from the Gregorian University in Rome. I have a M.A.
in Church history from the University of St. Thomas in
Houston TX.
My particular interest is in the ecclesiology of the author of
the Fourth Gospel. How did early Christian bishops read and
preach the fourth Gospel and what did it tell them about the
nature and purpose of the Church?
USING OUR LIMITED TIME TOGETHER
We have four sessions of 270 minutes each.
 You have already had 4hrs and 30 minutes of
Canon Law today.
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I will give you handouts to help you with
assignments and in understanding the themes
of the course.
We will stop three times for five minutes so that
we can all get a little refreshed.
OUR STUDENT TEACHER INTERACTION
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If you do not understand some word or phrase I
use, you may ask there and then.
If however, you need to ask a more general
question, write it down and give it to me at coffee
break.
Each week, I will allow 30 minutes for classroom
discussion. 4:00pm – 4:30pm
You may email me if you want to clarify any
matter in the course
lismakeera@embarqmail.com
A FEW GROUND RULES
 Assignments
are expected on time. If you
need my advice on assignments feel free to
call me or email me. I will be glad to help
you.

You may take notes. Please do not use
recorders or your Iphone to record what I
teach. A few days after each class, I will
send you a transcript of the class lecture.
WE MUST HASTEN SLOWLY
FESTINA LENTE
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You are all busy people, with jobs and families.
I studied theology with little distractions for 7
years.
So I appreciate how difficult this is for you.
But we must try to get enough understanding of
the nature and purpose of the Church that you,
as deacons, understand the different roles played
by Catholics within the Church, the reasons
behind nowledge.
AUGUST 25TH 2012

The four marks of the Church (30 mins)
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The Church as the locus for the ‘regula fidei’. (15 mins)
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1:30pm
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Biblical background and references.
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O. T. precedent.
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New Testament references to Church.
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Johannine ecclesiology.
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2:30pm Holy Orders.
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i. The historical development of the Episcopal order. Acts of the Apostles,
Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch,
ECCLESIOLOGY
Ecclesiology
is the study of
the nature and purpose of the
Christian Church
ECCLESIOLOGY DISCUSSES OUR
RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST
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Because ecclesiology is a study based on the Christian faith
that the church is the Bride of Christ who is still alive and
rules the church, it also discusses her relationship with her
spouse Jesus Christ and his activity with our present world
through the Church consisting of his own people under the
guidance and empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Jürgen Moltmann - , "every statement about the church
will be a statement about Christ. Every statement about
Christ also implies a statement about the church,"
PATRISTIC WRITERS????
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Generally we say that the patristic writers or Patristic
fathers are those who succeed the Apostles.
This is somewhat simplistic but will be fine as a definition
to begin with
The earliest writer who is not an apostle was said to be
Clement of Rome.
Ignatius of Antioch is a major early Patristic Father and
writer
Polycarp of Smyrna knew Ignatius and received a letter
from him. Polycarp knew the Beloved Disciple
PATRISTIC ECCLESIOLOGY
The early and patristic Church –up to the 8th
century approx. believed and wrote of the Church
as a community based on Word and Spirit.
 The Word had entered into human history at the
Creation.
 As the Western Church comes into contact with
Charlemagne and Leo and the Holy Roman
Empire, the centrality of the Spirit tends to give
way to law.
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THE CHURCH UNFINISHED; ECCLESIOLOGY THROUGH
THE CENTURIES.
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Bernard P. Prusak is professor of Ecclesiology in Villanova
university often refers to the patristic idea that the Church
can become young again.
That image was mentioned in Lumen Gentium 4:"the Spirit
by the power of the Gospel rejuvenates the Church.“ The
Council's view reflects the second-century apocalyptic work,
The Shepherd of Hermas, which portrayed the Church as a
haggard old woman who gradually becomes younger and
more beautiful.
Venerable Bede (England circa 800 ad) had a similar idea
about the continuous growth of the Church when he wrote
that "every day the Church gives birth to the
Church"(PL93: 166). Leonardo Boff in our own day speaks
often of "ecclesiogenesis."
LIST OF TERMS AND BIOBLIOGRAPHY
Ecclesiology enjoyed a renewal in the 20th
century, having been largely overshadowed by
systematic and moral theology for several
centuries.
 I want to give you a few names and terms which
may help you to grasp better what I am saying.
 Henri de Lubac. French Jesuit one of the most
important figures in the revival of patristic
theology and studies. He was involved in the
movement known as “resourcement””- literally
‘going back to the original sources. He was made
a cardinal in old age.
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CONGAR
Yves Congar O.P. was a French Dominican
priest/theologian. He was part of the movement
to seek out and translate the writings of the
Church Fathers.
 He was silenced in the 1950’s.
 Congar was particularly interested in the
development of the liturgy.
 John XXIII made him an expert advisor, a
‘peritus’ at Vatican II.
 He was created a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II.
a)
BOUYER
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Louis Bouyer was a French Oratorian priest and
scholar. In 1970 he published a classic text on
ecclesiology, “L’Eglise de Dieu”, or “The Church of
God: Body of Christ and Temple of the Spirit.”
HISTORICAL MOVEMENT OF THE 20TH CENTURY
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20th century has been distinguished by a determination to explore
historical sources and to distinguish the authentic early Christian
teaching from what comes about later, especially in the Middle
Ages.
Historical research was not approved of by the Church at first and
de Lubac and others were forbidden to publish or speak in public.
Angelo Giuseppi Roncali was one of the teachers who was
warned to stop teaching Church history based on real sources in
the reign of Pius X. Cardinal der Lai personally told him to stop
using Duchesne’s history of the Church. He would later become
Pope John XXIII in 1958.
The history that was taught for centuries in seminaries was really
hagiography, a highly political charged version of events, in which
the facts were less important than the indoctrination of the
students with what the magisterium wanted the seminarian to
hear.
THE HISTORIAN AS POPE
Angelo Giuseppi Roncali was a teacher of
History at the seminary in Bergamo in northern
Italy in the first decade of the 20th century.
 During the reign of Pius X (1903 – 1914) he was
warned to stop teaching Church history based on
real sources. Cardinal der Lai, prefect of the Holy
Office personally told him to stop using
Duchesne’s History of the Church.
 He would later become Pope John XXIII in 1958.
 His view of the world and of the Church stems
from his academic training as a historian.
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THE MOTHER OF THE SCIENCES - HISTORY
The history that was taught for centuries in
seminaries was really hagiography, a highly
political charged version of events, in which the
facts were less important than the indoctrination
of the students with what the magisterium
wanted the seminarian to hear.
 This same attitude dominated the study and
teaching of ecclesiology.
 There was little mention of the process by which
the Church came slowly to some point of
understanding.
 The arrival of historical awareness has changed
the way we look at the Church and at the world.
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LUMEN GENTIUM
 Lumen
Gentium is the Dogmatic
Constitution on the Church. It is one
of the four Constitutions
promulgated at the Second Vatican
Council.
 It is concerned with the nature and
purpose of the Church.
 It is a document on ecclesiology.
MARKS OF CHURCH:
In the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed,
we profess, “I believe in one, holy, catholic
and apostolic Church”.
In the Apostles Creed, we profess “I
believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy
Catholic Church….”
ONE
Christ founded only one Church, based on the
Apostles. Through many trials and troubles, that
‘people of God’ has survived.
 It was in Antioch that they were first called
Christians.
 Do all Christians worship the same way?
 Do all Christians believe exactly the same things?
 What is the relationship between the universal Church
and the local Church?
 Does unity depend on uniformity?
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UNITY OF THE CHURCH
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Two words that need clarification
Unity
2. Uniformity
1.
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It is difficult to talk about Unity without talking
about Catholicity in the same breath.
PEACE AND UNITY
PAX ET UNITAS
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In the Mass during the Communion, the priest prays a prayer to
Jesus; “Lord Jesus Christ you said to your Apostles ….. And
graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your
will, who lives and reigns, forever and ever. Amen.
The plea represents a constant concern within the ancient Church
that survives to this day.
The peace and unity of the Church are about her internal
condition, rather than concern about any outside attack.
Unity does not imply control or domination by one part of the
Church.
The unity of the Church can exist as long as the Tradition and the
Scriptures are followed.
PATRISTIC INSISTENCE ON UNITY
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The Fathers had an abhorrence of schism; their great goal was unity
in Christ. In this they followed Paul’s lead as outlined in his letters to
the Corinthians. Cyril of Jerusalem, writing in the middle of the
fourth century, warns his new converts that they must beware of
those who claim to be of the Church, but whose ecclesia is not of the
Catholic Church.
“And if you are ever sojourning in cities, inquire not simply where
the Lord's House is (for the other sects of the profane also attempt to
call their own dens houses of the Lord), nor merely where the
Church is, but where is the Catholic Church. For this is the peculiar
name of this Holy Church, the mother of us all, which is the spouse
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Onlybegotten Son of God.” Cyril of
Jerusalem. Catechesis XXVIII, Chapter 27,2.
ST. CYPRIAN OF CARTHAGE AND THE UNITY
OF THE CHURCH
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Influence of St. Cyprian. Circa 250 ad
St. Cyprian’s writings helped create a
particularly African theology and ecclesiology
which may have shaped some of Augustine’s
ecclesiology.
 His famous dictum that “One cannot have God
for Father, who does not have the Church for his
Mother.”
 “Habere iam non potest Deum patrem qui
ecclesiam non habet matrem.”
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NORTH AFRICAN RIGORISM
Cyprian seems, at first reading to be a very
rigorous theologian and bishop. However,
extreme rigor was a mark of the North African
Church. He was less rigorous that others of his
time and place.
 One of the abiding influences of Cyprian on the
Church in North Africa was his insistence that
all sins could eventually be forgiven, except the
sin of schism.
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To destroy the Unity of the Church – schism was an unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.
CYPRIAN’S LEGACY
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Cyprian’s legacy to the original Donatists was exactly this
attitude towards those who were believed to be responsible
for ecclesial schism. Heretics, by rebellion against the
Church and their violation of ecclesiastical unity, stand
deprived of all authority over the Church’s sacraments.
Yet it was Cyprian who accepted that baptism outside the
Church, though it should be avoided, was, nevertheless,
effective in distinguishing a person as a Christian.
Augustine writes in Baptism against the Donatists Book
VII, 13 that even Cyprian did not fail to recognize the
necklace of the bridegroom even on the neck of an
adulteress.
CYPRIAN ON SCHISM
One of the abiding influences of Cyprian on the
Church in North Africa was his insistence that
all sins could eventually be forgiven, except the
sin of schism.
 To destroy the Unity of the Church was an
unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.
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ECCLESIAL UNITY CELEBRATED IN THE
EUCHARIST
Ecclesial unity is one of the concerns of Ignatius
of Antioch in his letters.
 “Take care to keep only one Eucharist. For there is one
flesh of Our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup to unite us in
his blood; one sanctuary; one bishop, together with the
presbyters and the deacons.” Letter to the
Philadelphians
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HOLY
The Church is holy because Christ is holy.
 Israel was holy because God is holy.
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Maureen Tilley – well respected patristic
theologian has written recently “The
predominant use of the word ‘holy’ concerned the
Holy Spirit. …Holiness was not so much an
individual attribute as a communal one. …It is
the Church and not the individual that is called
‘holy’ in the New Testament.
MAUREEN TILLEY ON ‘HOLY’
 We
can gather a little about the patristic
usage of the word ‘holy’ by the manner in
which patristic bishops began their
letters, their manner of addressing their
recipients. “To God’s holy people who
sojourn at Corinth, grace and peace…..”
 Or
‘beloved of God, grace and peace….’
 It was intimately connected to being in
the Church which was one and catholic.
HOLINESS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
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In the O.T. God is holy. “for the Lord, your God is
holy’. So holiness is participation in the life of
God.
In the Old Testament ‘holiness’ was an attribute
of a community or nation in communion or
covenant with God.
 All holiness was a gift given by God to some
individual for the sake of the community or
nation of Israel.
 The prophets called for holiness, but it was a plea
for national holiness, not personal piety.
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HOLINESS IN GOSPELS
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At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew,
we find a saying closely paralleling those of Leviticus.
Jesus says: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The same word ‘teleios’ is used to the rich young man who
desired to gain eternal life when he asked Jesus about
being good or, as we might say, being a saint (Mt 19:16-22
and parallels: Mk 10:17-22 and Lk 18:18-23).
That holiness and unity are intimately related is revealed
in John 17:2
HOLINESS WHERE SIN IS PRESENT AMONG MEMBERS OF THE
CHURCH
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What happened when the reality of sin among members of the
early Church is plainly visible?
In the Acts of the Apostles there were persons within the
Christian community whose claim to holiness was less than
stellar, e.g., Ananias and Sapphira, and Simon Magus.
But it seems that if you had been baptized and not formally
excluded, you could claim to be a member of the holy Church and
thus, ipso facto, holy.
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You shared the same Spirit in the holy kiss.
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You ate at the same table of the Eucharist.
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These were so much the signs of unity that refusing the kiss or
the Eucharist to someone was a sign of their outsider, and
therefore, unholy character.
ST. CYPRIAN ON HOLINESS IN THE
CHURCH
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St. Cyprian of Carthage, in the early 250s taught that the Church
was a pure and pristine entity that was completely dependent on
the Holy Spirit for that holiness.
North African pneumatology was very literal as indeed were most
of their theological standpoints.
The bishop who himself possessed the Holy Spirit called down
the Spirit on the baptismal water, the Eucharistic elements, and
on ordinands. Evil had no place in this church. The ministers
were sharers in the Holy Spirit’s holiness which pervaded the
Church.
Even those who were baptized and claimed to be Christians but
committed some grave sin were not part of that Church the same
way other Christians were. This is the beginning of the
understanding of the visible and invisible Church which is part of
Augustine’s theology.
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Clergy who had committed the sin of apostasy,
for example, were estranged. They were outsiders
to the holiness of the Church, because an
unworthy vessel cannot be a temple of the Holy
Spirit.
The Spirit literally fled apostate bishops. Their
sacraments conveyed not grace, only the
contagion of sin. By their sin they had
transgressed the boundary and were outside the
Church, where there was no salvation for them.
If they wanted to come back in, they needed to
show repentance publicly so as not to corrupt
holy Mother Church.
THE CHURCH AND SINNERS
Cyprian’s theology had some serious errors. He
allowed re-baptism early on during the first
persecutions.
 This was a grave error, one which he did correct
later.
 He and others believed that the Holy Spirit’s
presence within a baptized person depended on a
holy and good life.
 This what many Christians believe today.
 That is why we hear of non-practising Catholics
being spoken of as ‘ex-Catholics’ or ‘former
Catholics’
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CHURCH AND SINNERS IN OUR CULTURE.
Cyprian fell into the same error as many modern
people in deciding that sinners cannot be
members of the Church. The sinner belongs to
the public Church just as much as the saint.
 Sinners join with the saints in worship. That is
how we hope for their conversion.
 Here in Texas and all over the South, the
Christianity of the Great Revival of the 1890’s
and again in the 1920’s made a serious
theological error in allowing for the rebaptism of
sinners who repented.
 That mistaken belief makes its way into Catholic
mind-sets also.
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CYPRIAN’S SERIOUS ERROR ON RE-BAPTISM
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Cyprian’s errors on baptism were caused by a
siege mentality, a belief that the Church had to
circle the wagons to protect its holiness.
The influx of new, perhaps less committed
Christians also frightened some people. They
feared the dilution of the corporate holiness of
the Church through the contamination by sinful
Christians. Their fear shows how far they had
fallen away from the earlier view of holiness as
an attribute of the holy Spirit.
CYPRIAN’S REVISED THEOLOGY
Later in life, Cyprian realizes his mistake.
 He regrets that some Christians, while in the
rigorous process of repentance and reconciliation,
had died without the sacraments.
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He began to speak of the Church as a place where
reconcilaition was more readily available and
where re-baptism was not necessary.
 “We must fortify them with the Body of
Christ.””he said, referring to returning
Christians still on the journey back to full
membership.
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YVES CONGAR O.P ON THE HOLINESS OF THE
CHURCH
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Congar defined holiness as orientation to God, origin from
God, belonging to God, and total reference to God.
The objective holiness of the apostolic institution of the
church, is not due to any human goodness but rather
because Jesus Christ, the Holy One, established the church
as holy.
He presented the church in biblical terms as both the ‘holy
temple’ (Ephesians 2:21) and the bride of Christ (Ephesians
5:26-27).
He drew upon Thomas Aquinas’s explanation of the Spirit
working holiness in the church by washing away sin, by
anointing the faithful, by dwelling within them, and by
inviting them to invoke God’s name.
CATHOLIC
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To be catholic implies universal. But that is not to say that
the catholic nature or ‘mark’ of the church depends on
being really present and working in every part of the world.
Catholicity is an attitude of Christian generosity, a
willingness, and indeed a determination to go out and teach
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The Church is catholic primarily because we all share a
single revelation through the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
St. Paul placed this essential universality in context when
he wrote of the Body of Christ. All the members need to
play a part in the life of the Body and all those parts form
part of the same Body.
In the first centuries of Christianity, travel and
communication was poor. Thus, the various Christian
communities developed according to the culture and way of
life of the local country or city.
CATHOLIC
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Where does the word originate?
It appears that Christians began to use the word in the second
century.
The first evidence occurs in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch,
his letter to the Smyrnaeans; “Wherever the bishop is, let the
people be there, wherever Christ is, there is the catholic church.”
Universality was probably stressed because the early Church
wanted its various outposts and far flung communities to be
joined together as a single Body of Christ.

Polycarp of Smyrna wrote to the Church at Philomylium (2nd
Cuntury) “To the Church of God dwelling as a pilgrim in Smyrna
to the Church of God living as a pilgrim in Philomylium, and to
all the people in all the holy and catholic church in every place.
May the mercy and peace and love of God our father, and of Our
lord jesus Christ be multiplied.”
CATHOLIC
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There is a long history of Christian churches coming to
believe that their manner of worship, derived from
Revelation and their own customs and culture, is
greater than the ways in which other Christians
worship.
The most famous example of this denial of universality
was when the majority Christian Church in North
Africa, the Donatists, insisted that they alone were the
true Christians, and that the other churches of the
world were out of communion with them.
 St. Augustine once teased them for their provinciality

AUGUSTINE DEFENDS THE
UNIVERSALITY OF THE CHURCH
“The clouds of heaven thunder their witness that
God's dwelling is being constructed throughout
the world, and yet all the while frogs are croaking
from the swamp, "We are the only Christians"!
 En. in ps. 95, 11
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UNIVERSALITY/CATHOLIC
What weakens the universality of the Church?
 Racism
 Nationalism/Provincialism
 Abandonment
of missionary spirit
 Schism
 National
or tribal exceptionalism
CATHOLIC
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In the early Church, a Christian travelling away from
home might take with him a letter from his own bishop
confirming his Christian identity, so that he might then
participate in the Eucharist in his host church.
Catholicity was also expressed by the gathering of bishops
together in synods to discuss mutual problems and to share
their common faith.
Catholicity is often associated with “çommunion’’. The fact
that local churches shared the same sacraments, the same
faith and the same desire for the conversion of the world
brought them into a spiritual and indeed physical
communion with each other.
This catholicity or communio ensured a delicate unity that
was above the racial, language and cultural differences
that were real among them.
CYRIL OF JERUSALEM ON
CATHOLICITY

There is no explanation of the term until the midfourth century with Cyril of Jerusalem.
(CatechesIs 18:23)
The Church is catholic, he said, for five reasons:
1)
“it extends to the ends of the earth;
2) it teaches all the doctrines needed for salvation;
3) it brings every sort of human being under
obedience.
4)
it cures every kind of sin;
5) and it possesses every form of virtue.”

CATHOLIC
 In
virtue of this catholicity, each
individual part contributes through
its own special gifts to the good of
the other parts and of the whole
Church. Lumen Gentium 13
APOSTOLIC
The Church is founded on the Apostles.
 The variety of the patristic church was a large
part of its wealth of theological expression.
 By the 3rd century, a definite hierarchy of bishops
had evolved. Patriarchal sees were revered more
than others.
 Rome was the primary patriarchal see of the
West. This status was based upon her claim to
her foundation by Peter and Paul. No other
Church could claim two apostles as its founders.
Peter’s accepted role as the leader of the Apostles
also gave Rome immense prestige.

APOSTOLIC
Patriarchal bishops in Alexandria, Antioch and
later, in Constantinople came to be regarded as
focuses for the Church’s unity and catholicity.
 Alexandria claimed St. mark as its founder.
 Antioch was founded by St. Peter.
 Constantinople claimed St. Peter because it
considered itself the “New Rome.”
 The Church at Jerusalem was recognized a
patriarchal at the Council of Nicea, (325ad) but
not with the same status as the others. This was
because the city had been destroyed and so it was
not an im portant center of Christian life.

LUMEN GENTIUM
Lumen Gentium recognized this special position
of the patriarchal churches of the East.
 Apostolic origin is still a mark of the status of a
diocese.
 Consider the status of Baltimore as the premier
see of the United States. It did not have apostolic
origin, but it was the first local Church in the
United States.
 Churches such as Milan have immense status
because they are founded by great saints, not
apostles admittedly.


APOSTOLIC
Apostolic origin is still a mark of the status of a
diocese.
 But even without an apostle, churches have a
certain order of importance based on their saint
founder.
 Consider the status of Baltimore as the premier
see of the United States. It did not have apostolic
origin, nor was it founded by a saint, but it was
the first local Church in the United States.
 Churches such as Milan have immense status
because they are founded by great saints, not
apostles admittedly.

END
OF ‘FOUR MARKS
OF THE CHURCH’

Section 2 WEEK 1
 Old

Testament and Ekklesia or qahal
Ekklesia and qahal both are derived from the verbs meaning "call or
summon (kalew, lh;q"-ar'q')", while both synagoge and edah from the verbs
meaning "meet or gather (sunagw, d[;y")."

CHURCH IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT

In Byzantine and Orthodox art, the
prophets and patriarchs are often
shown in Christian pose,
sometimes with Christ beside them.

l In this case Moses and Aaron are
shown at an altar in the tabernacle
of the Lord God. If you observe
closely, the altar is Christian with a
Madonna and Child image.

There is a chalice and a paten on
the altar.
THE WORD “CHURCH

In English, we use the word “Church”, which has no
etymological connection to the Latin word “”ecclesia” In
northern Europe the word “Kirsche”, in Scotland “Kirk" are
derived from kuriake, i.e., what belong to the kurioj, (the
Greek for Lord)
 Prefiguration
of the Church in the
story of Israel in the Old Testament
MOSES GIVES THE LAW TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL
CHURCH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
VEILED TRUTH
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The image of Moses with a veil over his face when he returns from
seeing God on Sinai is an allegory for the veil that hangs over the
Old Testament. It contains veiled truths which cannot be
appreciated without knowledge of Christ. “While Moses was read,
the veil is upon their heart; for the veil was not yet removed,
because Christ had not yet come.” (Augustine Tractate 24, 5 on
John)
When Matthew’s Gospel (27: 51) reports that the veil of the
Temple is rent in two upon the death of Jesus, that appeared to
some patristic readers to signify that the obscurity over the true
meaning of the Old testament was removed. “The Scripture was
closed; no one understood it; the Lord was crucified, and the
Scripture was melted away like wax, so that all the weak ones
should understand it.” (Augustine Enerr in Psalmos 21, II, 15)
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This famous scene - Abraham
welcomes the strangers at
Mamre.
It is interpreted as a visit by the
Trinity to the fledgling Israel,
God’s church, which is still
unconcieved.
Abraham and Sarai are a
prototypical Church or
assembly of God.
Hence, Abraham is truly our
father since the nascent Church
is still in his loins.
Sarai makes bread for the
visitors.
She laughed at their suggestion
that she will get pregnant.
CHURCH EXISTED IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT
In Sermon 4 St. Augustine says that saints were
recorded in the time of the patriarchs and
prophets and kings. The Church existed before
Christ, but was veiled from the view of mankind.
 “Now by Church, brothers, you must understand
not only those who began to be saints after the
Lord’s Advent and nativity, but all who have
been saints belong to the same Church. You
cannot say that our father Abraham does not
belong to us, just because he lived before Christ
was born of the Virgin.”
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“THE OLD TESTAMENT PREFIGURES THE NEW:
THE NEW TESTAMENT FULFILS THE OLD.”
ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO
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Perhaps we may benefit from remembering that the
early Christian Church read the Old Testament only in
order to enhance their understanding of the New
Testament. Hence, early Christians read the Old
Testament for ‘types’ of the Church. Our study will
include looking at O.T. scenes which were later read by
Christians as references to the Church.
LOUIS BOUYER WAS A FRENCH ORATORIAN PRIEST AND
SCHOLAR. IN 1970 HE PUBLISHED A CLASSIC TEXT ON
ECCLESIOLOGY, “L’EGLISE DE DIEU”, OR “THE CHURCH OF GOD:
BODY OF CHRIST AND TEMPLE OF THE SPIRIT.”
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“It is impossible to understand anything about
Christ, the Word of God made flesh, if we do
not begin by following the progress of the
Divine Word in the Old Testament.
 Similarly, we cannot hope to understand the
Church other than of the formation of the
people of God in Israel.”
GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE
Israel saw herself as “people of God” a nation
chosen out of all the peoples of the earth to be
God’s people. She is God’s ‘elect’, set apart for the
work of God.
 “A holy people, a royal nation, a people set
apart.” God loves Israel more than any other
nation. She is his portion.
 Deut. 7:6-8 “Israel is a holy people to the Lord
your God.”
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OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCES TO CHURCH
Abraham is told to leave his father’s house and his
own people to become the father of a new nation. “Go
into the land that I will show you, and I will make of
you a great nation.”
 The Call of Abraham is not for his own sake. God has a
purpose for a new nation and Abraham is the
instrument of the Lord’s wish.
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ABRAHAM OUR FATHER IN FAITH
 Abraham
is prepared to sacrifice his only Son
in obedience to God.
 Isaac is a symbol/type of Christ Himself.
 Irenaeus of Lyons once wrote that the
Incarnation of God among humans began
when Abraham offered up his son, figuratively.
 Hence Christians saw a type here for the
Incarnation and for the beginning of the
Church.
BOTH ISRAEL AND CHURCH
ARE BORN OUT OF A SACRIFICE
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By means of his sacrifice, Abraham makes a covenant with God.
It is a covenant for all his people. The people of the covenant is
Israel
By means of God’s sacrifice of His Son, he creates a New
Covenant in the blood of the Victim. The covenant is for all the
people, whether Jew or gentile.
MOSES AND THE COVENANT AT
SINAI
After the Law has been given to Moses, he
gathers the assembly together in front of the
mountain in order to seal a relationship between
God and Israel.
 The Quhal Yahweh or Assembly of God.
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The gathered tribes become “God’s holy people.”
LOUIS BOUYER, THE CHURCH OF GOD P. 203
“By its constitution and structure, this assembly had a
normative import throughout the later history of the
People. In it, it can be said, the People will, for the first
time, attain awareness .. Of what they are in the plan of
election. Consequently, all major developments of the
People throughout the history of their salvation, will be
registered and embodied definitively …through like
assemblies.
Precisely at the end of this process, we find the Christian
Church.”
QAHAL / EKKLESIS
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When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into
Greek in the third century B.C. by the writers of the
Septuagint, they translated the word QAHAL into
‘ekklesia’.
New Testament writers chose that Greek word
ekklesia to describe the group who are the ‘new elect’
who make up the Church of Jesus.
These same Septuagint writers translated the Hebrew
word ‘edah’ as ‘synagogue’ meaning a gathering of all
the people.
EZEKIEL 36:22-36
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“I will glorify my great name, …and gather you from all
countries…I will sprinkle clean water upon you …a new heart I
will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you.”
Even though Israel had betrayed God, He remains faithful.
ZECHARIAH 8:23
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“Let us go with you, for we have heard that
God is with you.”
 Prophets
are called for leadership.
 The Prophet is almost always murdered.
 The prophet leads people to God.
 His gift of prophecy is a gift he must
share.
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THE NATION, THE GROUP, THE TRIBE
The assembly of God is never simply a group of
like-minded zealots or holy men and women.
 The assembly is a larger group composed of
people at various stages of conversion.
 In Israel, the kings became the religious leaders
in the age of the first Temple. But David and his
descendents were personally sinful men.
 Nevertheless, the nation they led was God’s holy
people.
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NEW TESTAMENT
REFERENCES TO CHURCH
WORD “CHURCH” IN THE BIBLE
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Basic meaning = ecclesia from verb EK-KALEO "to call
out." So it's a called out group--selected from a larger group
by a call.
1.
2. Biblical usage:
a. Secular group-- Acts 19:32,39 (political assembly)
b. Jewish group -- Acts 7:38 (assembly in wilderness
at Mt. Sinai)
c. Church universal (Body of Christ) -- Matt16:18;
Eph 1:22-23;5:25
d. Local church -- Acts 14:23; I Cor 1:2
e. Group of churches -- Acts 9:31
CHURCH IN GOSPELS
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The actual word EKKLESIA occurs only once in
the gospels.
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh nor
blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father
who is in heaven. Therefore you are Peter, and
upon this rock will I build my Church, and the
gates of Hell shall not prevail against her.”
LET’S TALK
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Every day in class we will discuss matters that
will impact your future ministries and how a
good knowledge edge of ecclesiology might help.
August 25th
 What do average Catholics know about the
Church and her history?
 How often does a priest preach on the history in
your parish?
 Why is knowing history important to the
salvation of souls?
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WHAT ABOUT GETTING ALONG WITH THE
PASTOR?
One of the problems with the restoration of the
permanent diaconate is that in many cases
priests and deacons do not like each other and
the relationship becomes a well known feature of
the parish.
 How does the deacon’s wife relate to the pastor?
 What is the relationship between parish staff and
a deacon?
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AUGUSTINE AND THE MIXED SOCIETY
– SOCIETAS PERMIXTA
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Augustine defined the Church as having two
realities, the visible church and the invisible
Church. The Visible church contains everyone
who claims to be a Christian. The second reality
is a church of saints. But this invisible reality can
only be seen by God. The sinner and the
lukewarm Christian belong inside the public or
visible Church.
AUGUSTINE AND RELIANCE OF THE
CHURCH ON CHRIST
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Augustine and the Moon as figure for the Church
The moon allegorically represents the Church, because on the spiritual side the Church is bright,
but on the carnal side it is dark. Sometimes the spiritual part shows itself to men and women in
good works, but sometimes it is hidden in the conscience and is known only to God, because it is
only when it takes bodily form that people can recognize it. This is what happens when we pray in
the heart and seem to be doing nothing, since it is not to the earth but to the Lord that we are
ordered to have our hearts raised. To God.
Others say that the moon does not have her own light, but is illuminated by the sun. When she is
with the Sun, she turns toward us the side on which she is not lit up, and that is the reason no
ligbt is seen in her. But when she begins to draw away from the sun, she is lit up also on that part
which is turned toward the earth; this process necessarily begins with the borns, until on the
fifteenth day she is directly opposite the sun. On this day, as the sun sets, the moon rises, and so, if
you watch the sun setting, and at the moment when it becomes invisible turn to the east, you see
the moon rising. Conversely, as the moon begins to draw near to the sun again, her other side,
which is not lit up, is turned toward us, until the light is reduced to horns and then disappears
altogether, because the illuminated portion is directed upward toward the sky, and only the part
which the sun's rays cannot reach is turned toward the earth. According to this theory too,
therefore, the moon is understood as the Church, because she does not have her own light but is lit
up by the only-begotten Son of God, who in many places in the sacred scriptures is allegorically
called the sun. Certain heretics, not knowing him and not being able to see him, try to turn away
the minds of the simple to this ordinary material sun which everyone can see, the light of which is
common to the bodily life of human beings and even flies.
AUGUSTINE AND RELIANCE OF THE CHURCH
ON CHRIST
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Others say that the moon does not have her own light, but is illuminated
by the sun.
When she is with the Sun, she turns toward us the side on which she is
not lit up, and that is the reason no ligbt is seen in her.
According to this theory too, therefore, the moon is understood as the
Church, because she does not have her own light but is lit up by the onlybegotten Son of God, who in many places in the sacred scriptures is
allegorically called the sun.
Certain heretics, not knowing him and not being able to see him, try to
turn away the minds of the simple to this ordinary material sun which
everyone can see, the light of which is common to the bodily life of human
beings and even flies.
ECCLESIOLOGY AFTER THE
REFORMATION
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For many of us Catholics, our ideas about the nature and structure of the
Church, even after 50 years of development following Lumen Gentium,
comes from the model that came into vogue after the Protestant
Reformation.
In the Tridentine period, i.e. the period of the late 1500’s and the 1600’s ,
the period of the counter-Reformation, the ecclesiology of Cardinal Robert
Bellarmine laid great stress on the need of the church to function as an
institution complete in and of itself, parallel (and superior) to the state,
whose structures the church mirrors but which does not have the
perfection of the church.
This notion of church stressed the need for top-down, hierarchical,
monarchical government in the church, a model that mirrored the
contemporary political structure.
Indeed, the perfect society model made being church synonymous with
monarchy, with absolute control (perfect control) of the whole church
exercised from the top down through a hierarchical chain of command.
ROBERT BELLARMINE
Bellarmine’s perfect society model prevailed from
the Tridentine period of the church through the
first Vatican Council and up to Vatican II.
Vatican I endorsed the model, adding to it the
new twist of papal infallibility.
 During this period of its history, the Catholic
church appeared to be locked into a bitter battle
against secular society—against the world. Only
in the church, which was a fortress of truth and
light in the midst of a surrounding culture of
error and darkness, could one find salvation.
Only in the Catholic church could one find the
perfect society that guarantees salvation
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SEPTEMBER 24TH 2012
IGNATIUS THE GODBEARER.
Now we turn to the letters of Ignatius of Antioch
for a view of the sub-Apostolic Church of the second
century.
 Ignatius of Antioch lives in the generation which
sees the death of the last Apostles and disciples
the witnesses of the resurrection.
 l He is bishop of Antioch in Syria. He is described
as such by Eusebius and Origen.
 He is martyred in a Roman amphitheatre under
Trajan circa 115 ad.
IGNATIUS BISHOP OF
ANTIOCH
IGNATIUS WAS ARRESTED AND BROUGHT FROM
SYRIA THROUGH MODERN TURKEY TO THE
MEDITERRANEAN SEA, FROM WHERE HE WAS
SHIPPED TO ROME FOR TRIAL AND EXECUTION. ON
THE WAY HE VISITED MANY CITIES. THE CHURCHES
IN THOSE TOWNS WANTED TO SEE THE GREAT BISHOP.
HE WRITES LETTERS AS HE MAKES HIS WAY. THESE
LETTERS ARE TO THE CHURCHES AT PHILADELPHIA,
LAODICEA, SMYRNA, EPHESUS, MAGNESIA,
TRALLES AND A PERSONAL LETTER TO POLYCARP OF
SMYRNA. HE EVENTUALLY ARRIVES AT ROME IN 115
.
AD AND IS EXECUTED AS A MARTYR
IGNATIUS’ CONCERNS
 His
letters are principally concerned
About
1.
martyrdom
2. obedience to authority in the Church
3.
the defeat of heresy
 We
look at # 2 Obedience in the Church
OBEDIENCE IN THE CHURCH
“Thus, united under the bishop and the
presbyters, and in submission to them, you will
become real saints.” (Eph 2,2)
 l “I speed to encourage you to harmonize your
 actions with the mind of God. For Jesus Christ
 is the mind of the father, as also the bishops,
 appointed all over the world, reflect the mind of
 Jesus.” Eph 3, 2)
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