Intro to church
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The document discusses the origins and meanings of key Christian terms: 1) "Church" derives from the Greek "ekklesia" meaning assembly, used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew "qahal" referring to God's calling of the Israelites. 2) In the New Testament, "ekklesia" designates the early Christian community called together by Christ for prayer and the Eucharist. 3) Today, the Church is understood as the new people of God in each local community, made real in the Eucharist. 4) To be Christian means to follow Jesus Christ, Catholic means universal and all-embracing, and Roman Catholic implies
![O [Ekkle s ia ] was not a word coined by
the sacred writers themselves, for it
already existed in the secular Greek of
their day.
O The Englishword“assembly” perhaps
best conveys the idea of what e kkle s ia
meant in ordinary usage: an assembly
of men, and in particular, an assembly
of citizens “called together to
deliberate upon affairs of state.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/introtochurch-130107062539-phpapp02/85/Intro-to-church-11-320.jpg)
![O [The Lord said to Moses] “Thus shall you
say to the house of Jacob; tell the Israelites:
You have seen for yourselves how I treated
the Egyptians and how I bore you up on
eagle wings and brought you here to myself.
Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and
keep my covenant, you shall be my special
possession, dearer to me than all other
people, though all the earth is mine. You
shall be to me kingdom of priests, a holy
nation. That is what you must tell the
Israelites” (Ex o d us 1 9 : 3 -6 ).](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/introtochurch-130107062539-phpapp02/85/Intro-to-church-17-320.jpg)
Intro to church
- 1. Insights from Matthew 6.25-34 (oral sharing)
- 2. Matthew 6.33 “Seek ye first The Kingdom of God And His Righteousness And all these things Shall be added unto to you A-lle-lu… Alleluia (repeat)
- 3. Without GOD our WEEK would be… SINday, MOURNday, TEARSday, WASTEday, THIRSTday, FIGHTday and SHATTERday. Seven days without God makes one WEAK!
- 4. “CHURCH” is… (summary) O Building/Physical Structure O Place of Worship and Prayer O Hierarchy O Community of Believers
- 5. Results from Church Survey O What is the most common notion of the church according to: O First Year students ----- O Second Year students ----- O Third Year students ----- O Fourth and Fifth Year Students ------ O Tallying all the scores, what is the most common notion of the church? O Any unique responses about the church?
- 6. O The church defines today as… “ the community of baptized men and women who, united in Christ, and guided by the Holy Spirit, press onward towards the Kingdom of God and are bearers of a message of salvation intended for all men (and women).” GAUDIUM ET SPES (GS) 1
- 7. ORIGIN OF THE WORD “CHURCH” IN THE BIBLE
- 8. Theology of the Word by Fr. James Meehan, SJ O With the coming of the HS amidst the sound “a s a vio le nt wind blo wing ” and the appearance of “to ng ue s like fire whic h d is tribute d the m s e lve s a nd s e ttle d o n e a c h o ne o f the m ”(Acts 2:2-3) there began for all men to see, the life of the Christian community which has continued down to our own day and will remain until the Lord returns.
- 9. O The early chapters of Acts of the Apostles depict for us the first day of this community: a period characterized by a profound unity among all believers and an exultant joy in their possession of the Holy Spirit and in the visible but real presence among them of the risen Jesus.
- 10. O The When the divinely inspired writers of the NT wished to give a name to the community born of Christ and the Spirit, they frequently employed the Greek word e kkle s ia often translated into English as“church”.
- 11. O [Ekkle s ia ] was not a word coined by the sacred writers themselves, for it already existed in the secular Greek of their day. O The Englishword“assembly” perhaps best conveys the idea of what e kkle s ia meant in ordinary usage: an assembly of men, and in particular, an assembly of citizens “called together to deliberate upon affairs of state.
- 12. Greek “Assembly” of Citizens O If the word had a technical ring to it, it was in this civic sense. It had no special religious connotation.
- 13. O Although the word had no special religious meaning in ordinary Greek, it very definitely did in the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT known as Septuagint, a version of the Sacred Scriptures substantially completed a century or so before the Christian Era. O The word Ekkle s ia was chosen to render a Hebrew word rich in theological context.
- 14. O The word was q a ha l “assembly”. O Qahal “assembly”or Qe ha l Ya hwe h, “the assembly of the Lord,” designated the Hebrew people of the old at those moments in their history when they were most especially “called together”.
- 15. Two Characteristics of Qe ha l Ya hwe h 1. The people did not constitute themselves the “assembly of the Lord. Rather, it was God who took the initiative; It was He who freely summoned them to Himself. 2. The purpose of their being“called together” by the Lord was that they might become a sacred and holy people, a community consecrated to the worship of God.
- 16. The Chosen People of Yahweh
- 17. O [The Lord said to Moses] “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob; tell the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself. Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. You shall be to me kingdom of priests, a holy nation. That is what you must tell the Israelites” (Ex o d us 1 9 : 3 -6 ).
- 18. O The author of the book of Deuteronomy … picture Moses as recalling to the Israelites, who are about to enter the Promised land, all that God had said and done when “the Lord spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the d a y o f the a s s e m bly ”(Deut. 9:10)
- 19. O The Hebrew word qahal, then, is rich in meaning. Literally it signifies an assembly, a convocation, But the reality it refers to is much more than a mere grouping of men. It is essentially a divinely created assembly. O Yahweh, the lord, and He alone gathered His people to Himself and made them His own. He and He alone made them hole … and consecrated them to His worship.
- 20. ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH Old Testament – “ QAHAL ” New Testament – “ EKKLESIA ”
- 21. BIBLICAL MEANING OF THE CHURCH O Old Testament O New Testament (QAHAL) (EKKLESIA) --used to designate the --The gathering together of Hebrews who were early Christians for prayer CALLED TOGETHER by Yahweh, the Lord and for the breaking of the bread --Known as the ASSEMBLY OF THE --A COMMUNITY called LORD together by Christ
- 22. Modern Understading of the CHURCH today… O The church today is the NEW PEOPLE OF GOD which exists in each local community and made real in Eucharist assembly (Catechism of the Catholic Church or CCC 752).
- 23. Modern Understading of the CHURCH today… O Gaudium et Spes #1 of Vatican II document defines the church as “ a community of baptized men and women who, united in Christ, and guided by the Holy Spirit, press onward towards the Kingdom of God and are bearers of a message of salvation intrended for all men”
- 24. Understanding A New Term
- 25. What do we mean when we say: I am a CHRISTIAN.
- 26. Answer: O I am a CHRISTIAN because I am a fo llo we r and be lie ve r of Jesus the Christ.
- 31. How about … O As a Christian, I am a CATHOLIC.
- 32. Answer: O CATHOLIC means universal or all embracing as defined by St. Ignatius of Antioch in 100 AD. O As member of the Catholic church, we embrace and accept all types of persons.
- 33. In addition, but what do we mean by: O I am a ROMAN
- 34. Answer: O I am a ROMAN CATHOLIC because I submit myself to the authority of the Pope in Rome.
- 35. CHRISTIAN means … O A follower of Jesus Christ CATHOLIC means… • Given by St. Ignatius of Antioch in 100 AD which means UNIVERSAL, ALL EMBRACING, OPEN FOR ALL. ROMAN CATHOLIC means… • we are in union with the bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter = the Pope.