The Marks of the Church - Assignment Example

Lesson Question Ecclesiology is known as the study of the church. It helps to understand our role in the church and the role of the church (Fuchs 433). The church is an assembly of people who believe in God and belong to God. Ecclesial is a Catholic terminology. The word ecclesial means church. Church is a holy place where people worship God and receive blessings in return to reduce their sins. Ecclesiastical is similar to ecclesial. Anything related to ecclesial or the church is referred as ecclesiastical. Question 2 All the marks of Church are important. However, one and holy are the two most important marks. These two marks provide clear understanding regarding the Lord’s message. One speaks about God’s existence in the world. It says that God, the Father and the holy-spirit are one. It also says that there is one community and one Church. Jesus said that there is every type of people in the world and so is there in the Church. In the Church also there are good and bad people. In addition to this, every member of Church is not holy but the Church is itself holy because it is the guardian of special mean and source of holiness. The Church has the power to mitigate the sins of a person. The mark that can be frequently overlooked is Catholic. The four marks have same meaning in long-term. Catholic does-not deem to be so important because God has opened his gates for each and every individual. Hence everyone has equal right towards the Church. Question 3 The mark that can be most frequently overlooked is Catholic because it resembles only Christianity. However, God has equal vision for everyone on the world whether a Catholic or a non-catholic. Hence this mark can be overlooked. Question 4 The Petrine, Marian and Christological are the three dimensions of Church. The formation of Petrine dimension can be expressed as the result of servitude of St. Peter and his successors towards maintaining life and faith of Church and to spread charity and unity of Church (Szulc 46). The Marian dimension is the ecclesiological, anthropological, pneumatological and Christological structure of Church. The Petrine dimension of Church would have been limited in its fruitfulness without the Marian dimension because it provides an essential substratum to the Petrine dimension. The Petrine, Marian and Christological dimensions have expressed a miracle in the Church of Cana. Question 5 According to the Brueggemann and CCC, there is no single model for entire expression and life of Church. Brueggemann also concluded that it can be dangerous to choose an absolute model (Brueggemann 22). The model used by Brueggemann is not only based on an archetype structure, but also it is based on multitude of models. With the time of rapid cultural change, different types of models have come into existence. People from different countries have same faith towards the Church. Following only one kind of model is not appropriate based on these circumstances. Brueggemann considered every kind of church model and used a common metaphor to consider the imagination of Christian community. Lesson 2 Introduction One, holy, apostolic and catholic is the four marks of the Church. The four marks are linked with each other completely. Lord Jesus Christ has himself marked these characteristics while founding the church. The four marks of the Church are believed to be implemented by the First Council of Constantinople. In the year 381, it was expressed for the very first time. The four marks are also known as the attributes of the Church and they are still professed and recited in ritual of Orthodox, Anglican, Catholic and Protestant church worships. Roman Catholics have a belief that the four marks, such as one, catholic, holy and apostolic should only be applicable to Catholic Church. The significance of the four marks and relations have been elaborated in the discussion part. Discussion The four marks of the Church are very important principles that have been followed from a prolonged period of time. All the four marks are distinct and have been important while conveying the message of God to people through the Church (Madges 2). The first important mark is “One”, which says that God is one so is the Father and the Holy Spirit. The second mark is Holy, which resembles the holy Church and the remedies of limiting the sins by worshipping and learning under God’s blessing. The third important mark is Catholic, which resembles the people who follow Christ and worship him as Lord. Catholic’s must be baptized in the Church in order to get their soul purified from the evil. The last mark is apostolic, which signifies the place where the Church was found by Lord Jesus Christ. The four marks provide crucial establishment sculptures of Church. The first parameter is the Church as sacrament or mystery. It says that the Church is a sign of salvation for the community and there should not be any mystery behind any statement. The Church must address clear and appropriate information in order to build a peaceful society as per the message of God through the four essential marks. The second important parameter is the Church as the people of God, This statement does not mean that people who work in the Church would gain God’s grace and become next to God. The main idea is that everyone is equal and the Church should be able to gain people who can have the ability to treat people, teach people as well as feed people. As per Lord’s wish, the church should be able to spread the Holy messages conveyed by him to build an error free society (Dulles 51-52). Another important parameter is the Church as Servant. Besides preaching and educating society, the Church should aim to service the need of people by providing them political, economic and social orders. The four marks also have significant effects as collegial. The Collegial nature helps to rephrase and raise the meaning of the application of freedom in the moral principles. The ecumenical and eschatological parameters are equally important that are induced with effect to the four marks as parameters. There are five models of church, such as hierarchical institution, mystical communication, sacrament of Christ, herald of word of God and servant of a secular society. However, according to the characteristics of four marks and each of the five models, it can be stated that hierarchical institution model can be excluded by the four different marks. Institutions can be considered as sub-ordinates to individuals and structures are sub-ordinate to the lives of individuals. The importance and value of the institutions cannot be appeared properly unless it can be identified that specific structure helps to develop a church as sacrament of Christ, herald of word of God, mystical communication of Grace and a servant of a secular society (Dulles 442). The Marian principle is the most central part of the structure of Church. Mary is the heart of the Church because Mary and the Church both are Bride and Mother of Lord Jesus Christ (Burns 37). Another reason for the importance of Marian principle is the relation to the distinct Persons of the Holy Trinity. According to McCormick, the structure of Church is distinct. The internal or intrinsic model is a reflection of Marian characteristic. Mary is one, catholic and holy as she is apostolic. Moreover, she is historically bound to her lord Jesus Christ who recognized and found her in time and space. Therefore, the four marks are related to the Marian characteristics of the Church in a significant manner. On the other hand the Marian characteristics also have strong influence over the Petrine and Johannine principles. The feminine role of Mary embraces within the Church of Balthazar’s constellation. Thus Mary is the internal unity and Peter is the external unity. The first pope Fr. Peter structured the four marks within the Church so that followers could expand the theory of love and preaching with the help of the four marks. Hence the Marian and Petrine characteristics of Church are very important and the four marks are significantly related to these characteristics. There are several developments that have been mentioned by McCormick in order to make positive changes for future innovations. McCormick said that Church should be open to all. In spite of looking forward to a group of Catholics, Church should aim to listen and serve Hispanics as well because Church is a world Church and everyone should have equal right to come forward and receive God’s blessings. The Church should be Ecumenical i.e. it should make serious attempts to take activities of the Spirit for non-Christian and Christian communities (McCormick 24). The Church should also be insight-oriented. The Church should have broad vision regarding any problems addressed, it should not just conclude before receiving proper significance. Moral Theology should also aim towards Collegial in order to reflect equality for everyone. Moral Theology should also focus towards honesty and scientific information while advancing towards modernization. Moral Theology should also take personal responsibilities in developing moral conducts in order to reflect adult-hood. From the past experiences of good and bad moral theology should be promoted towards Realistic developments so that in future the problems from past can be mitigated and new development can be aroused towards equality and peace under the love and blessings of Lord. The discrimination between Catholics and non-Catholics should be over-ridden with equality in order to maintain social understanding. Messages should be communicated with love not with rage or anger. Moral theology should be centered on Christ. Lord Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God and it is sole responsibility for Christians to believe in their theology and Church. The discernment of moral wrongful and rightful conduct should be well understood to enhance the moral life and believe in God’s creation. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it can be concluded that the four marks of the church is very essential in the establishment of the Christian community and the church. The four marks one, holy, catholic and apostolic have been mentioned by Lord Jesus Christ. The emergence of the four marks has led in the formation of the structure of church along with development of the Catholic community in the entire world. The four marks are important because these signify the actual meaning of God’s own spiritual knowledge about human beings. The development of different church models and church management system is a result of emergence of the four marks. Hence it can be said that, four marks, such as one, holy, catholic and apostolic are the most important principles for the Christian community. Work Cited Btueggemann, Walter. Old testament theology. New York: Abingdon Press, 2010. Print. Burns, Mike. Credo: The battered bride. New York: Lulu, 2011. Print. Dulles, Avery. “A half century of ecclesiology”. Theological Studies, 50(1): 442, 1989. Print. Dulles, Avery. “Models of the Church”. Theological Studies, 1(1): 51-52, 1987. Print. Fuchs, Lorelej. Koinonia and the quest for an ecumenical ecclesiology. New York: Eerdmans Publishing, 2006. Print. Madges, William. The many marks of the church. London: Routledge, 2006. Print. McCormick, A. Richard. “Moral theology 1940-1989: An overview”. Theological Studies, 50(1): 24, 1989. Print. Szulc, Tad. Pope John Paul II: The biography. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. Print. Read More