scholarly journals The Eucharist as a sacrament of unity. The legal consequences of Church Magisterium in accordance to regulations included in Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-102
Author(s):  
RAFAŁ HOŁUBOWICZ

In the first words of his last encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, blessed John Paul II reminded what have been determining the foundation of Church teaching, from the very beginning: «The Church lives thanks to Eucharist. That truth not only expresses the everyday faith experience but also contains the essence of Church mystery. The Church feels with great joy and in immense variety of ways, that the promise: “And now I am with You, through all these days, until the world ends” (Mt 28, 20) is continually coming true. Thanks to Sacred Eucharist, during which wine and water are being transformed to Holy Blood and Body of Jesus Christ, the Church rejoices in this presence in a unique way.            In this meaning, The Eucharist, that is always in the center of Christian’s life, becomes for whole community of believers, in particular way, the sacrament of unity. The last Council reminded this fact, telling that the sacrament of Eucharist, constituted by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper, which not only reminds but also embodies in a real way the Sacrifice of the Cross is, first of all, the sacrament of God’s mercy, sign of unity, love tie and paschal feast. It is necessary to underline the fact that according to council’s teaching, Eucharist is not only the sign of whole Church community, but also the sacrament, which really builds and strengthens the unity of all Christians.            The teaching of council fathers determines the base of present canonical legislation within whole Catholic Church, both Latin and East. Though canon number 698 reads: «In God’s liturgy, through the service of the Christ impersonated by the priest, celebrated over the Church gifts, by the power of Holy Spirit, continuously there is performed exactly the same what Jesus himself made during the Last Supper, when he gave to his Apostles his body sacrificed on the cross for our redemption and also his blood, shed for our sins, constituting the real and mystic sacrifice in which sacrifice of the cross is being recalled with thanksgiving, presented, and in which the Church takes part through the contribution and communion for expressing and improving the unity of God’s People, to build his own Body, which means the Church». Consequences of this canon, with strong theological sound, occur in next canons concerning the sacrament of Eucharist. There is possible to find inside them norms regarding to active participation of worshippers in celebration of the Eucharist, which causes that the internal unity of God’s People gathered around Christ’s Altar, becomes expressed also in external form as well as the norm regarding to an individual celebration of God’s Liturgy or concelebration made by many priests. The problem of concelebrating is extremely important due to the fact, that just in this form of celebrating the God’s Liturgy, there is visible its uniting function. The base to define which form (individual or concelebrated one) is advisable in particular situation, is pastoral criterion. Priestly favors allow even to concelebrate the Eucharist by bishops and priests belonging to different Churches sui iuris, every time when justified reason exists, and there is no danger of liturgical syncretism; rules of liturgical books that belong to main celebrant are kept and colours of  canonicals are used according to own Church rules.            These and other norms enclosed in Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, pointing out in a perfect way the Eucharist as a sacrament of unity for everyone who have been baptized, constitute canonical translation of the theological teaching that have been given by Second Vatican Council and regulate presently all of the liturgical life of east Catholics.

2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
Jan Szczych

The bishop’s ordination prayer derives from Traditio Apostolica (3th century). This prayer had been re-instated to the latin liturgy of the Church after the Second Vatican Council. Its structure contains the anamnesis, the call, the part of the intercede and the enlogize. Detailed content’s analysis of the prex ordinationis episcopi allows deeply substantiate of the purpose and sense of the bishop’s mission in the Church. Only God calls up the chosen one to attend the bishop’s service. When the elect receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, the ordained bishop will comes about superior of the God’s people who are entrusting him and will actualize the topflight priesthood. The mainspring of the bishop’s ordination prayer had been inscribed to the trend of the Church’s Instruction, particularly expressed by the Vaticanum II. Contemporary successor of the Apostles guides the God’s sheep-fold and as the minister of the Christ’s mysteries fulfils the Christ’s work of redemption.


Author(s):  
Hiermonk Ioann ( Bulyko) ◽  

The Second Vatican Council was a unique event in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Initiated by Pope John XXIII, it was intended to make the Roman Catholic Church more open to the contemporary society and bring it closer to the people. The principal aim of the council was the so called aggiornamento (updating). The phenomenon of updating the ecclesiastical life consisted in the following: on the one hand, modernization of the life of the Church and closer relations with the secular world; on the other hand, preserving all the traditions upon which the ecclesiastical life was founded. Hence in the Council’s documents we find another, French word ressourcement meaning ‘return to the origins’ based on the Holy Scripture and the works of the Church Fathers. The aggiornamento phenomenon emerged during the Second Vatican Council due to the movement within the Catholic Church called nouvelle theologie (French for “new theology”). Its representatives advanced the ideas that became fundamental in the Council’s decisions. The nouvelle theologie was often associated with modernism as some of the ideas of its representatives seemed to be very similar to those of modernism. However, what made the greatest difference between the two movements was their attitude towards the tradition. For the nouvelle theologie it was very important to revive Christianity in its initial version, hence their striving for returning to the sources, for the oecumenical movement, for better relations with non-Catholics and for liturgical renewal. All these ideas can be traced in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, and all this is characterized by the word aggiornamento.


Exchange ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 209-237
Author(s):  
Stan Chu Ilo

Abstract This essay argues for a participatory synodal Church and the possible contributions of the African palaver as a model for participatory dialogue in the Roman Catholic Church. The African palaver is the art of conversation, dialogue, and consensus-building in traditional society that can be appropriated in the current search for a more inclusive and expansive participatory dialogue at all levels of the life of the Church. I will develop this essay first by briefly exploring some theological developments on synodality between the Second Vatican Council and Pope Francis and some of the contributions of the reforms of Pope Francis to synodality in the Church. Secondly, I will identify how the African palaver functions through examples taken from two African ethnic groups. I will proceed to show how the African palaver could enter into dialogue with other new approaches to participatory dialogue for a synodal Church.


2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 43-58
Author(s):  
Jan Dyduch

Synod of the Archdiocese of Lvov, inaugurated 16th January 1995, concluded 21st January 1997, became the brilliant event in the Archdiocese’s dramatic history of the last decades. The Synod assumed the renewal of the Church of Lvov and Luck on a basis of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and the provisions of Canon Law. The renewal of the Church life requires the renewal of priestly ministry. The Synod of Lvov turns priests’ attention to their participation in the triple mission of the Church. They take part in the teaching mission when they preach the Gospel, teach catechism and evangelize by means of mass media. They fulfil their mission of sanctification when they administer sacraments and take care ofreligious practices and piety of the faithful. While guiding God’s people and performing manifold cure of souls, they carry out their pastoral mission.


2020 ◽  
pp. 35-58
Author(s):  
Janusz Nawrot

On the occasion of 100 years of existence and activity of Adam Mickiewicz University in Pozna, one may sum up the contribution of the Faculty of Theology which has existed as part of the uni- versity for 20 years. This contribution has concerned the research and teaching arenas combined with a commitment for the social community of the Wielkopolska province. What is specific of the faculty is its ability to work both on the scientific and didactic levels as well as on the church level, which requires considerable knowledge and time in order to competently combine the requirements of working at university with demands of the Catholic Church managed by the Second Vatican Council. The scientific and popular scientific initiatives in the widely understood biblical studies represent a valuable contribution to the celebration of 100 years of the Pozna university. Like other scientific disciplines, they can proudly make their own contribution to the development of sci- ence in our city, as well as the entire country. One can only hope that the present generation of sci- entists will take the baton passed to them in the relay race of generations, and will make their own contribution to the science thereby honouring Pozna as an important scientific centre in Poland.


2015 ◽  
pp. 179-199
Author(s):  
Federico Ruozzi

The article presents the entanglement of the Catholic Church and the media by focusing on the case of the Second Vatican Council and the television broadcast of its events. The mass media attention of the council stimulated, according to the author, a double level: the media conveyed more information about the church event than it had ever done before, but at the same time, the mass media influenced the discussion of the council fathers. The article also analyzes, through the lens of the Council, the recent relationship between the Catholic Church and the Italian television.  


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Ngagne Tine

Interreligious dialogue is a decisive aspect in the dynamic of "aggiornamento", which the Catholic Church has initiated since the Second Vatican Council. In order to walk this path of renewal, the Church of Senegal must promote a dialogue of multiform dimensions: doctrinal, cognitive, pragmatic, ethical and spiritual. The concept of dialogue, developed through this book, is a form of contribution to this theological and pastoral task. It calls on the Church in Senegal to draw on the African genius to practice a dialogue rooted in the existence of the Senegalese people. Through this approach, it is possible to break down ethnic and religious barriers in order to open up a new horizon of brotherhood and human development. The Author Richard Ngagne Tine, born in 1975 in Senegal, is a priest of the Diocese of Thiès. He obtained his doctorate in systematic theology in 2021 from the Catholic theological faculty of the University of Münster, Germany. He specialised in anthropology, ecclesiology and the theological foundations of interreligious dialogue in Senegal.


Author(s):  
Ormond Rush

For 400 years after the Council of Trent, a juridical model of the church dominated Roman Catholicism. Shifts towards a broader ecclesiology began to emerge in the nineteenth century. Despite the attempts to repress any deviations from the official theology after the crisis of Roman Catholic Modernism in the early twentieth century, various renewal movements, known as ressourcement, in the decades between the world wars brought forth a period of rich ecclesiological research, with emphasis given to notions such as the Mystical Body, the People of God, the church as mystery, as sacrament, and as communio. The Second Vatican Council incorporated many of these developments into its vision for renewal and reform of the Roman Catholic Church. Over half a century after Vatican II, a new phase in its reception is emerging with the pontificate of Pope Francis.


Author(s):  
Edward T. Brett

Following the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), over a thousand priests and religious sisters and brothers were exiled, imprisoned, tortured, or murdered in Latin America by authoritarian governments. A much larger number of lay Church workers were also incarcerated, brutalized, or killed. Most suffered or died because, following the ideals of Vatican II and the Second Latin American Bishops Conference at Medellín, Colombia (1968), they committed themselves to the amelioration of the marginalized in their countries, even though they were fully aware that to do so placed their lives in great peril. This chapter treats a select number—mostly priests and nuns—who were killed because of their prophetic devotion to the poor. It is limited to the nations of Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Central America. It also touches on the bitter divisions that resulted in the Church as a consequence of this new religious activism. Finally, it demonstrates why the deaths of so many religious-based social justice activists forced the institutional Catholic Church to reexamine its outdated criteria for martyrdom.


Horizons ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Schubeck

ABSTRACTWho are today's martyrs? Many Salvadorans call Archbishop Romero and the Jesuits and the two women killed at Central American University martyrs. Should they be numbered among the martyrs of the church? The author contends that it would be fitting for the Catholic Church to do so, based on the contemporary church teaching on martyrdom. Tracing the origin and development of the notion of Christian martyrdom from the New Testament to the present day, the author shows how Thomas Aquinas, the Second Vatican Council, Karl Rahner, and Pope John Paul II have contributed to the enlargement of the concept of the Christian martyr that fittingly describes the Salvadoran witnesses. Moved by love of God and neighbor, the martyr courageously endures death for bearing witness to the Christian faith that includes speaking the truth and doing justice.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document