Module 3:

The Four Essential Features

of the Church
 Unit 4:

The Church is Apostolic

Lesson 1:
The Apostle’s Mission

A. Apostolic in Three Ways

The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostles, in three ways;

The Church was and remains
built on the foundation of the
Apostles, the witnesses
chosen and sent on mission
by Christ himself
With the help of the Spirit
dwelling within, the Church
keeps and hands on the
teaching, the "good deposit,"
the salutary words she has
heard from the apostles.
The Church continues to
be taught, sanctified, and
guided by the apostles until
Christ's return, through their
successors in pastoral office:
the college of bishops.
 The Apostle’s Mission

B. The Appointment of the TWELVE

How did the apostles come into being?

At the beginning of Jesus ministry, he called the twelve and appointed them as his
apostles. The twelve apostles were considered as Jesus’s “emissaries” (Greek apostoloi) . Mt.
10:1-4
 The Apostle’s Mission

C. Mission to Baptize and Evangelize

The Church earned her apostolic image because her leadership is anchored on the mission
of the apostles.  Jesus commissioned the twelve being emissaries to continue his mission.

1. Jesus sent the apostles to preach in his behalf. 

• Mk 3:13-14; Jn 20:21; Jn 13:20; Jn 17:18

2. The apostles' ministry is the continuation of Jesus’s mission. 

• Mt.10:40; Lk10:16

3. The ministry of the apostles is founded on Jesus’s mission. 

• Jn 5:19, 30;  Jn 15:5
Lesson 2:
The Apostolic Succession

A. The Duty to Pass on the Office

The divine mission entrusted by Jesus to the apostles: “Will

continue to the end of time, since the Gospel they handed on is the
lasting source of all life for the Church. Therefore, the apostles took
care to appoint successors. - Mt 28: 19-20

Church teaches that "the bishops have by divine institution taken the
place of the apostles as pastors of the Church, whoever listens to them
listens to Christ and whoever despises them despises Christ and him
who sent Christ
 The Apostolic Succession

B. Bishops – Successors of the Apostles

The apostles accordingly designated men of integrity, gave then the function as sacred order
of bishops and then made the ruling that likewise on their death other proven men should
take over their ministry

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be
shepherds of the church of God, which he obtain with his own blood.”
Acts 20:28
 The Apostolic Succession

C. The Apostolate
Refers to every activity of the faithful that aims to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth.

The whole Church is Apostolic:

She remains, through All members of the Church share in

the successors of St. this mission, through various ways:
Peter and the other She is “sent out”
apostles, in into the whole world  The hierarchy- according to their
communion of faith functions and ministries 
and life with her  The laity- according to their
origin;  involvement in the temporal
affairs. 
 Module 4:

CHRIST’S FAITHFUL
 Unit 1:

The Hierarchical Constitution of the

Church
Lesson 1:
Diversity of Ministries

Christ’s faithful- Refers to anyone who belongs to the Church by virtue of his baptism. This person
constitutes the People of God, he belongs to the Body of Christ- the Church.

Classification of Diverse Ministries:

The hierarchy - composed of those who receive the Holy Orders

The Laity-  refers to any baptized who has not received the Holy Orders

. The Consecrated - comes from the groups of the hierarchy and the laity. They live in the
form of communities to witness the values of the Gospel
 Diversity of Ministries

A. Receiving a Mandate - Holy Orders

 The Holy Orders is a sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his
apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time

  it is a sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate,

presbyterate and diaconate

 Order or in Latin word Ordo.

  accomplished through a rite called ordination or in Latin Ordinatio

 Diversity of Ministries

B. A Service

Essentially Ministers The word and  Christ is our model of

linked to the referring to those grace of ministers servant leadership. In
sacramental who received like manner, ministers
are not their own must express their
nature of Holy Holy Orders are but are given to leadership through
Orders truly slaves of them by Christ Service.
Christ
 Diversity of Ministries

C. A College of Service
 Jesus Christ called and chose the twelve apostles and sent them together
 He assigned Peter to lead them (Mt 16:18-20)
 Peter became the first Pope and the apostles became the first set of
bishops
 This set-up developed into the fraternal union of the bishops headed by
the pope.
 This is called an Episcopal College or the College of Bishops.
 The priests in the diocese are in fraternal union with each other headed
by the bishop
This is called Sacerdotal College or Presbyterium.  
Lesson 2:
The Hierarchy

A. Episcopacy
The hierarchy- is composed of the apostles and their successors
The Successors- are classified through the sacrament of Holy Orders that they have received as follows:

1. The Emergence and Development of Episcopacy 

 The first major hierarchical office of the Catholic Church is Episcopacy
  The episcopacy refers to the function of the bishops.
 The bishops are the successors of the apostles
 The rite of succession is known as the episcopal ordination.

2. The ministries (or office) of the episcopacy

 a) Teaching ministry
 b) Sanctifying ministry
 c) Governing ministry
 The Hierarchy

B. Papacy
 The second major hierarchical office of the Catholic Church is the Papacy (Office of the
Pope).

1) The Appointment of Peter:

• Peter possessed a permanent place among the 12 apostles. Jesus changed the name of Simon to
Peter.
2) Papal Primacy :
• The Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church
has full, supreme, and universal authority over the whole Church.
 Two powers of Papal Primacy:

1. Primacy of Jurisdiction
• The Bishop of Rome as successor of Peter possesses the supreme ecclesiastical discipline and
government, or the supreme and universal authority over all bishops and the faithful in the Church.

This Authority includes:

• Jurisdictional: legislative, judicial, executive powers – real power not just a possession of honor and respect.
• Episcopal: The authority of the Pope covers the entire Church just as the Bishop has authority over his local Church.
• Ordinary: It does not rest in being “you”, but it belongs to the very nature of Pope.
• Immediate: The Pope can exercise his power and authority inherently to his faithful in any diocese.
• Full: There is an ecclesiastical authority the Pope has within his jurisdiction.
• Supreme: No other higher authority over the Pope in the church.
• Universal: It is universal in space and time, an authority that comes to all at all times.
 Two powers of Papal Primacy:

2. Infallible Teaching Authority:

 This teaching authority is related to the issues on FAITH and MORALS.
 EX CATHEDRA (from the seat of the Pope) -enjoys freedom from error and abiding fidelity to the
Christian revelation in the doctrine taught

DOGMA- principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.

This could be understood in the context of:

1) Infallibility of Christ Himself: He is the perfect revealer of the Father who can’t be deceived and who will not
deceive
2) Infallibility of the Church: Caused by presence of Christ in the church and also of the guidance of the holy
Spirit.
3) Infallibility of the Magisterium: This refers to the charism within the Church which is exercised in a special
way by those who are called to an apostolic ministry,
4) Infallibility of the Pope : the same charism in the Church exercised in a special way by the head of the
college of the bishops.
 The Hierarchy

C. Presbyterate

Priest refers to anyone who has received the sacrament of sacerdotal ordination. Once ordained, the person
becomes a co-worker of the bishop for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had been entrusted by Christ.

1. Preliminary Remarks :
A. -During the New Testament period, the term “priest” was applied to Jewish authorities.
-This priesthood is not classified as religious functions but rather as political positions.
B. -There is a Hebrew term “presbyteroi” (which is translated to English as “priest”).
-The presbyteroi refers to an “elder” of the community. During the period of the early Christian
community, the elders functioned as a council to lead the synagogue.
2. Biblical Roots of Christian Priesthood:
A. The Priesthood of the Old Testament (OT):
 In the OT, a priest was called as “levite”. Hence, we can call their priesthood as LEVITICAL
PRIESTHOOD”.
Three (3) functions of a levite:

 Discerner of God’s will (counselor): The levite gives counsel to and for the community.
 Teacher of the Law: The levite communicates or inculcates to the people a certain way of life.
 Cultic offerer of sacrifice: The principal role of the levite was to lead the cultic offering in the temple.

B. New Testament (NT) Antecedents to the Christian Priesthood-

 With the inception of the “New Israel” (Christianity), was the need of a new priesthood who would uphold
the leadership of its founder Jesus Christ and lead the celebration of its highest prayer- the Holy Eucharist
 Different ministries of Christian Priesthood:

I. Disciple: A priest is one who is called and chosen to follow the Lord. This speaks of a lifestyle of the priest.
II. Apostle: A priest the one who is sent or commissioned…. This speaks of the priest’s ministry or apostolate.
III. Presbyter-bishop: A priest is in-charge of administration; guardian of the Apostolic Doctrine.
IV. Presider over the Eucharist: A priest presides over the Eucharist. This speaks of the priest being a proclaimer of
the Paschal Mystery of Jesus.

3. The Three (3) Priesthoods:

A. The Priesthood of Jesus Christ- This is a unique priesthood of the divine son as the sole mediator between
God and man through His death on the cross.
B. The Common Priesthood- This is the priesthood which Jesus Christ shared to all believers through baptism.

C. The Ministerial Priesthood- This is the priesthood that Jesus shared to his apostles.
 The Hierarchy

D. Diaconate

 Diaconate is a ministry of service. It is located at the lower level of the hierarchy.

 A person becomes a deacon through the rite of the Sacrament of Diaconate Ordination.
 The sacrament of Holy Orders marks the candidate with an imprint (CHARACTER) which cannot be
removed and which configures him to Christ, who made himself “THE DEACON” or servant of all
 2:
Lesson 3:
THE APOSTOLIC COLLEGE

A. Foundation of Unity

 The College of Bishops is an assembly of bishops from all over the universal Church
called by the Pope.
 The college or body of bishops has no authority unless united with the pope or the Roman
Pontiff.

B.The College of Bishops

 When Christ instituted the Twelve, “he constituted them in the form of a college or
permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter,
 St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single apostolic college
 THE APOSTOLIC COLLEGE

C. Unity in the Diocese and the Province

 The individual bishops are the visible source and foundation of unity in their own particular
Churches.
 they exercise their pastoral office over the portion of the People of God assigned to them, assisted
by priests and deacons”
 The priests and deacons in the diocese united with their bishop forms a sacerdotal college or a
presbyterium.

The Sacerdotal College -refers to the priests and deacons in the diocese united with their bishop.
THANK YOU!