An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical & Global Perspectives is the 2002 book by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, professor of systematic theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, and it does exactly what you would think a book with that title would do--it offers a survey of some of the major ecclesiological perspectives within the Church. It does so relatively well, although on some points Kärkkäinen's analysis falls short or is misguided. His chapter on Reformed ecclesiology, for example, contains some misunderstandings of that tradition and, I think mistakenly, offers the ecclesiology of Karl Barth as the sort of archetypal understanding of the Church in the Reformed tradition. Additionally, despite being a survey of ecclesiology, he is quite biased toward Free Church ecclesiologies (those lacking distinctive structure) and critical of traditional structures established by the original Protestant Reformers. However, he later maintains that it is important for Pentecostal and Charismatic churches to work on developing some sort of structure.

Still, the book has strengths, and Kärkkäinen's chapter on the ecclesiology of the
Roman Catholic Church is one of those strengths. He makes note of the significance and importance of the
Second Vatican Council for the Catholic understanding of the Church specifically as it is laid out in the Vatican II document,
Lumen Gentium ("Light of the Nations," or the
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church). Having read that document for a class in my senior year of college, I am well-acquainted with its significance for Catholicism. Most notably, the new understanding of the Church that emerges from Vatican II replaces the Church as "the old
societas perfecta, [under an] institutional-hierarchic ecclesiology, with the dynamic 'people of God' notion" (Kärkkäinen, 28). As such, the Church is now understood as "a sign and instrument...of communion with God and of the unity of all human beings" (
Lumen Gentium, 1).
Historically, as noted briefly above, ecclesiology in the Catholic tradition focused largely on the hierarchy. In 1906,
Pope Pius X declared that the Church is "
essentially an unequal society, that is, a society comprising two categories of persons, the Pastors and the flock...so distinct are these categories that with the pastoral body only rests the necessary right and authority for promoting the end of the society and directing all its members towards that end; the one duty of the multitude is to allow themselves to be led, and, like a docile flock, to follow the Pastors" (
Vehementer Nos, 8). Vatican II overturned a great deal of this understanding and gave new life to the idea that the Church is the whole people of God and an equal society.
A further development of this more robust ecclesiology is a broader understanding of the local church, brought out by Michael Fahey in his chapter on the ecclesiology in
Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives. He writes:
The Church is one because of the indwelling of the one Holy Spirit in all the baptized; it is holy because it is set apart by God's graciousness for the reception of a mysterious love of predilection; it is catholic in the original sense of the word, meaning that it is whole and entire, possessing all the parts needed to make it integral; and it is apostolic because it remains in continuity in essentials with the original witnessing of the first-century apostles...Catholics are often inclined to apply these descriptive characteristics only to the worldwide, universal church, yet they are beginning to learn...that these characteristics are meant to apply just as truly to the local church (43).
This has renewed the sense of communion in the Catholic Church--communion referring not to the Eucharist, but to the the communal life of the people of the Church in reflection of the communal life of the Trinity. Naturally, the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church plays a role in this understanding of communion, but I will not get into that at this point. More important to note here is that part of this conception of communion is rooted in the idea of κοινωνία (koinonia), the Greek word most often translated as "fellowship" or "communion" (cf. the notion of koinonia mentioned specifically in Acts 2:42, and spoken of in a number Paul's letters). As such, Catholic theologians like Karl Rahner have placed a great deal of emphasis on allowing the Spirit to work within the Church. Rahner notes that "if the Church is founded in the sovereign action of the Spirit...it means that the Church cannot be understood or defined from a point within the Church itself but rather from outside, from the Spirit of God" (Kärkkäinen, 33).
Finally, what is important in this revised Catholic ecclesiology is the emphasis on
ecumenism.
Pope John Paul II, who played an instrumental role in the drafting of
Lumen Gentium, saw it as absolutely necessary that this new perspective on the Church include a significant stress on ecumenical considerations, as he outlines in his 1995 encyclical,
Ut Unum Sint ("That They May Be One"). If the Church is to be understood as the communion of the people of God, this includes those outside of the Catholic Church. John Paul II was one of the foremost figures in working towards ecumenical relations with other bodies of Christians. He writes that the unity of Christians "
is not just some sort of 'appendix'" attached to the end of a description of the life of the Church, but instead "is an organic part of her life and work, and consequently must pervade all that she is and does" (
Ut Unum Sint, 20). Of course, John Paul II's understanding of ecumenism was qualified with the caveat that there can be no true unity without the primacy of the
Bishop of Rome over the Church, but nonetheless, has led to some remarkable practical implications in recent history.
Like John Paul II, it is important to me that we seek the unity of the Church. I know that the body of Christ is divided to great extents, and that many will decry any ecumenical efforts as entirely fruitless. However, difficult as it may be, that does not negate our task to pursue it. In
John 17, we read the record of Jesus' prayer before he is arrested in which he places a great deal of emphasis on this unity. Paul also talks about it at length (see
Eph. 4:1-16).
So, if you are wondering why I use this space to include a discussion on Catholic ecclesiology, I hope that by now the reasons have become more clear. I am not a Catholic myself, but I am aware that there are a great deal of misunderstandings within Protestantism as to what Catholics believe. We hold a lot of unfair and unwarranted stereotypes because of our ignorance. Many Protestants are not aware of how monumental of an event Vatican II was for Catholic theology and how it has transformed the Catholic Church. It is important that we do. Before we can engage in any ecumenical efforts, it is essential to understand the perspectives of one another on issues like ecclesiology. A lot has happened since the time of the Reformation, and many of us do not know a great deal about each other. However, it is crucial that we do, and therein lies the rationale for posts like this.
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