Ecclesiology: A Theological, Historical and Pastoral SummaryCourse Level: Basic

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Course Summary

Draw a historical line from the origin of the Church its present and future.

Strengthen the knowledge that the participants have of the Church its structure, its theology and spirituality.

Establish continuity between the mission of Jesus and the Church.

Advance the concept of an evangelization for today's world.

Successful completion of this course earns 1.5 CEU's. Click here for more information about CEU's.

General Course Objectives

  • Read and interpret the scriptures and tradition of the Church and how it went from being a sect of Judaism to the Universal Church we know today
  • Identify the greatest exponents and developers of Ecclesiology from Ignacio de Antioquia and Origen, Saint Agustin and Saint Thomas of Aquinas, to Karl Rahner and Gustavo Gutiérrez
  • Identify the largest Church Ecclesiological documents in the light of the Lumen Gentiun and contribute to local parish life

Course Materials

  • Required Book: Pelzel, Morris and Walters, Thomas P Ecclesiology: The Church as Communion and Mission Loyola Press, 2001 ISBN: 0829417265, ISBN-13: 978-0829417265; ASIN: B002Z7E33Q

Course Structure and Highlights

  • Week 1: Sources of Revelation
    • Incorporate into our ecclesiological knowledge in a summary way the action of the church in history
    • Walk with Christian primaries in their task of defining church and community life
    • Incorporate the concept of the Church as communion and mission
  • Week 2: Church: Human and Divine
    • Examine the relationship between the Word of God and the Church, paying special attention to the role of each member of the community in the progressive understanding of the revelation
    • Consider how it is understood that the Church is a sacrament and the pastoral consequences that this understanding implies for the evangelization of the modern world
    • Understand what it means that the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic
  • Week 3: “Woe to Me If I Do Not Preach the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16)
    • Understand that we are called to take the Gospel into every context, looking for ways to convey it that are attractive and relevant to the recipients in today's world. Live in harmony with the world, respect and care for it
    • Recognize evangelization as a primary task in the mission of the church and that without mission you cannot understand what the Church is
    • Value the Social Doctrine of the Church in the context of the mission of transformation of the world of the Church