Ecclesiology – The Sacramentality of the Christian Community

Encyclopedia, manual, essay… Any of these three genres are adequately integrated into this broad reflection on the Church. Starting from the existential and theological event that was the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), and more specifically its dogmatic constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, the categories of communion and sacramentality are proposed as ecclesiological foundations. Not in vain, the latter allows us to address the complexity of the Church by positively recovering the category of institution, that is, understanding it as that community-sacramental sphere where the Christian faith is professed, celebrated and witnessed to. The work is structured synchronically. The broad general introduction reviews the great questions that have marked the understanding of the Church throughout its history. Secondly, a foundation of the Church is offered based on its roots in Christ, the names that define it and the hermeneutical principle of sacramentality. Finally, three major themes follow one another and complement one another: the Church as filiation and fraternity in Christ; the Church as community; the Church as society. The work concludes with several appendices, among which a reading guide to Lumen gentium stands out.

SALVADOR PIÉ-NINOT TEM

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