RENEWAL OF CHURCH STRUCTURES

Abstract

It is proverbial that the Church is comprised of a divine and a human element. Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy states: “It is of the essence of the Church that she be both human and divine, visible and invisibly endowed ...” (N.2). These two dimensions “form one interlocked reality” (LG 8). Hence the importance of the visible element in the Church is not diminished by the fact that “in her the human is directed and subordinated to the divine, the visible likewise to the invisible” (SC 2). The Church’s episcopal structure very much participates in this composite nature of the Church. At the same time we must bear in mind, that “the pilgrim Church in her sacraments and institutions, which pertain to this present time, takes on the appearance of this passing world” (LG 48; 1 Cor 15:24) and is therefore in need of “continual reformation” (UR 6). This explains why we see such a vast range of changes in church structures during her two thousand year history. These variations have reflected not only her inner nature, but also changing social-cultural contexts. The following observation of Pope John Paul II, regarding the context in which Christ lived, is equally applicable to the Church in its structures: “That context exercised an important influence on the life and mission of the Redeemer as man” (EA 5). So we cannot evade accountability for the reformation of church structures, with the claim that they are unimportant, or that being of divine origin they are unchangeable.