1. Key Forms of Church in History
‘Introduction to Ecclesiology’ by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
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2. Eastern Orthodox
The Church as Icon of the Trinity
Spirit focus vs Christology of West, but by the Father
Salvation not as guilt and sin (West) but on deification
Salvation as deliverance from corruption and mortality
Prayer, asceticism, service, for formation in this goal
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3. Eastern Orthodox
Church as image of the Trinity
As are other social institutions, family, school, parish etc
Individual and communal
When church achieves it’s fullness, the world will perish having been
used up
The church is where humans are restored as co-creators with God
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4. Eastern Orthodox
Eucharistic Ecclesiology
God’s grace is mediate and experienced in eucharist
Received in faith and give birth to faith
Where the eucharist is, there is the church
Church makes the eucharist and the eucharist makes the church
Liturgy for eucharist is a taste of worship in eternity
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5. Eastern Orthodox
Unity: Church as one, no visible and invisible dichotomy
Church as body of Christ and fullness of the Holy Spirit
Christological gives stability, objective
Pneumatological gives dynamic character, subjective
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7. Roman Catholic Ecclesiology
Church as continued incarnation
Church as pilgrim (Vatican II), vs Perfect
Church as communion (like orthodox): Baptism, Communion,
confirmation as sharing in Holy things
Church is concretization of the Charismatic, open system
Charisms: Spirit calls all Christians to ministry
Union with other churches by the Holy Spirit
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9. Lutheran Ecclesiology
Communion of Saints
non institutional gathering of believers
Church is where Gospel is preached and sacraments administered
Church is visible and invisible
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10. Lutheran Ecclesiology
Marks of true church: Word and Sacraments, structure flexible
around that
Church created by the word and sacraments in a context
Saints and Sinners: mixed body
Priesthood of all believers: 1 Peter 2:9, priest from above and
below, all priests (ontologically), but function of ordained priest to
make that manifest
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11. Lutheran Ecclesiology
Spirit is tied to word and sacraments, sole means of mediation
Christians as Christ to neighbors: theology of love
Church as hospital for the incurably sick
As Christ gives himself in bread and wine, we are bread and drink
to people, Christ to others
Church as mother: womb for birthing Christ in us, and in others
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13. Reformed Ecclesiology
Marks of the Church: word and sacrament like Luther
Legalism: unlike Luther’s private conscience, more focus on rules
for behaviour
Calvinism: made all christians monks, asectics
Church and state two aspects of one reality, Geneva set up church
and politics together
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14. Reformed Ecclesiology
Church visible to God, and invisible to humans
Eschatological distinction: invisible comes into view at end of time
Invisible is a hope, not a reality in this life
Visible church is the concrete church in this life
Calvin eucharistic: high view of sacraments and church
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15. Reformed Ecclesiology
Responses to contexts, not systematic theologies of church
Tensions with other reformers
Zwingli: contact with anabaptist, local church as authority, not
state
Zwingli: role personal faith more important, hence less of role for
sacraments
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16. Reformed Ecclesiology
Karl Barth: church is the body of Jesus, not invisible
Local congregation as the form of church
Barth opposed: Sacramentalism of RC and moralism of Anabpatists
Church as witnessing community, not a focus on means of grace, as
judgment is God’s
Gifting of all believers, Lutheran priesthood but with Gifts of Spirit
Union with Church and State is anathema
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18. Free Church Ecclesiology
Fastest growing, protestant congregationalism in world, free
church
Origins in Radical Reformation and Anabaptists
Saw RC and Magisterial Reformers as compromising
Saw self as ‘true church’
Heavenly church, pure form on earth, no ‘mixed body’
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19. Free Church Ecclesiology
Primacy of Word, but mediated only by Spirit, no person
Biblical literalism, and all could understand by Spirit
No need for sacraments, Quakers for example, listen to Spirit
Focus in individual, but lived with all in common and under
discipline
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20. Free Church Ecclesiology
Believers church: voluntary choice
Separation from world: owing to choosing belief
All members as missional, doing mission
Dignity and separation of church and state: secular own ontology
Appeal to NT recovery for ecclesiology
Gathered church vs Given church
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21. Free Church Ecclesiology
Priesthood of all believers: extended so ordination as function of calling,
not sacrament
RC lead from Pastoral Epistles, Free Church from 1 Corinthians of
spiritual gifts of all believers
High participation by all, women, uneducated etc
Mission is not a task but the task of the church
Menno Sims: 4 marks plus the 2 (word & sacrament), of Holy Living,
Brotherly Love, Suffering and unreserved testimony
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23. Pentecostal/Charismatic
Ecclesiologies
1901 Bethal Bible School, Topeka Kansa, speaking in
tongues
1906 Azusa Street, William Seymour preaching
1950’s renewal entered institutional churches
From 0 to 400 Million in 90 years!
Pentecostalisms not one Pentecostalism
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24. Pentecostal/Charismatic
Ecclesiologies
Grass roots, ground movement, not top down theological
theory/model
Recovery of experience of God, immanence, Holy Spirit in
worship and life of the church
Continuation of radical reformers, i.e Quakers, Montanists
Empowerment for witness by the Spirit
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25. Pentecostal/Charismatic
Ecclesiologies
No one type of ecclesiology
Charism vs Institution tension
But each new charism leads to institution
“Fellowship” as model not institution, relational, family etc
The church is the faithful people of God, at worship etc
Pentecostal Ecclesiology sees: Protestant as ‘lecture’, Catholic as
“Theatre” and Pentecostal as “fellowship”
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