STO.

DOMINGO CHURCH MANAOAG CHURCH

VATICAN
CHURCH
A. MEANING & UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHURCH

Etymology and Definition

a. Qahal:

• Hebrew word for this

gathering of the people

• Calling of Abraham and

electing of Israel as His people.

• “ I am your God and you

are my people”
A. MEANING & UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHURCH

Etymology and Definition

b. Ekklesia:
•Greek equivalent of Qahal
•Known as ek-kalein, which
means: “to call out of”
•Ekklesia means a
convocation or an assembly
(usually for religious
purpose).

Note: In CFC 1355, ekklesia and qahal are used as:

“the people of God called together”/”an assembly
called by God.”
A. MEANING & UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHURCH
Etymology and Definition
c. Kyriake:
• literally means: “what belongs to the Lord” (Kyrios)
• It is where the German term, Kirche, came from, and from which
the English term Church was derived.
i.) it connotes the belongingness of that assembly of God.
ii.) it designates the toal community of the people of God.

Qahal & Ekklesia = stressed the

action of God in calling the people
together

Kyriake = stressed its belongingness

to the Lord
A. MEANING & UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHURCH

The Church claims to be faith-assembly whose

root cause is God’s free call to all to share His
divine goodness and love in Christ.

Christian Usage:
• liturgical assembly

• local community

• the whole universal

community of believers
I came that they may have life and have it to the full.
John 10:10

⚫ Christ’s death on
the cross restored
our original
belongingness or
relationship with
the Father.
The Christian Community
⚫ The Christian
community is a
community of
disciples, of
people who trust
Christ and follow
his way of loving
God and one
another.
They devoted themselves to the
apostles’ instruction and the communal
life, to the breaking of bread, taking
their meals in common and to the
prayers and praising God. They were
of one heart and mind and shared even
the things they owned so that no one
among them was in want. Day by day
the Lord added to their number those
who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47
⚫ In Christian community
the people experience
belongingness not only
among community
members but especially
with Christ.

⚫ This experience helps

them to grow in their faith.

⚫ We call this Christian

community the Church.
For Filipino Catholics, what is the most common
understanding of what the Church is?

⚫ The Church is a building

or a place where people
go to pray or to attend
mass.
⚫ The Church is a social
organization where
people are gathered
together for an agenda
or for company.
⚫ The Church is the
hierarchy, the priest and
the bishops.
⚫ The building where people worship is obviously
a church but we do not restrict the meaning of
Church to the concept of a building. It is more of
a building, or a group of churchgoers, church
workers or a social grouping. (PCP II 1354)
 “Church” Where
does it come
from?
⚫ The gathering together
of the People of God
began at the moment
when sin destroyed the
communion of men with
God, and that of men
and women among
themselves (CCC 761).
⚫ In gathering us as a
people, God aimed
at our original
belongingness to
him

⚫ The first gathering

started by calling
Abraham and
electing Israel as his
people (Gen 12:1-)
A. Community of friendship
– Koinonia -
need for friendship and
social relationship.

B. Community of Service –
Deaconia -
to serve those who are
in need esp. the poor,
sick and dying.

C. Community of faith –
United in one faith,
one belief
 TWO NATURE OF THE CHURCH

1. The Church as a Mystery

2. The Church as Sacrament
CHURCH as A MYSTERY
We mean not something we can’t
know nor understand but rather
a reality we can never fully grasp
because there is always more to
learn. NCDP 200
 Church is a mystery. It is a
reality imbued with the hidden
presence of God, always open to
new and ever greater exploration
(Pope Paul VI)
Father – Its origin in the father’s
plan of salvation.
The saving design of the father

Son – One mediator, ongoing

life in the Risen Christ.
Redemptive mission of the
Son

Holy Spirit – Dwells in the

church and in the hearts of
the faithful.
Sanctifying work of the
Spirit.
Church as a
Sacrament

By her relationship
with Christ, the
church is both a
sacramental sign and
an instrument of
intimate union with
God and the unity of
all mankind.
GS 42; LG 1
Church as a Sacrament

The Church is the

tangible sign of Christ’s
presence in the world, a
beacon of light visible
to all and drawing them
in the power of the
spirit to communion
with God and with one
another in Christ.
Acts 13:47, Mt 5:14-16
Church – Universal
Sacrament of Salvation
◼A visible symbol of God’s
continued presence among
us.

◼The salvation brought by

Jesus reaches us through the
church, which is empowered
by the Holy Spirit to be the
means of salvation.

◼An instrument for the

Redemption of all.
Essential Characteristics
of the Church

A. One
B. Holy
C. Catholic
D. Apostolic
A. Mission of the Church
A. Prophetic Mission
B. Kingly Mission
C. Priestly Mission
B. Ministry in the Church
a. Ordained Ministry
b. Lay Ministry
 Few Issues that affected the Church Life
1. The three C’s can have a paralyzing effect
on us. (Code, Culture and Creed)

2. The Church seems to be led by a fearsome

group of men, who dressed in clerical garb
and who have some sort of absolute and
sacred power.

3. The Church appears to be a rich and

powerful organization.

4. The Church is an imported entity within our

Filipino culture.
 Changes/Improvement in the Church Life
1. Changes the way the three Cs presented.
New books have replaced the catechism
books of old (CFC and CCC)
2. Efforts have been made to democratize the
Church and to invite lay people to fully
participate in the life of the parish.
3. The Church has made an option to be
present in the word of the poor and to
transform herself into a Church.
4. The process of inculturation was introduced
after the Second Vatican Council.
Major Sources:
1. Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC 23)
2. Austin Flannery, O.P., Vatican Council II
3. Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II)
4. Dennis Doyle, Communion Ecclesiology, 2000
5. Dennis Doyle, The Church Emerging from Vatican II
6. Bruno Forte, The Church: Icon of the Trinity, 1990
7. Avery Dulles, S.J., Models of the Church, 1988
8. Walter Kasper, Theology and Church, 1992