1. Session 01C M308 Michael Pascual, MA
Models of the Church

2. Goal for the section
Consider the different models of Church to assist us in our understanding the readings.

3. Background
Like the Models of Revelation, Avery Dulles wrote about the Models of Church to capture the complexity of Church.
Unlike the Models of Revelation, the Models of Church correspond better because we are always applying each of them.

4. An analogy of “models” The 3-D Statue
When you look at a statue, and stand at different points, you will always see a new perspective.
The 3-d statue is the church.
The different points are the “models”.
In a way, you can say that each model is a “perspective.”
When we understand the church, we are always using a “model.”
But what “model” are you using?

5. The Church: A Great Mystery and a Divine Gift
Church is symbolic reality, we understand by analogy
Every model falls short
Each model as “an extreme paradigm”
We can only begin to understand the Church as mystery through analogy—through models.
No  matter what model—or combination of models—we choose, our models will fall short.
©Shutterstock/Rafa Irusta

6. Five Models of the Church
The Five Models of the Church
Institution
Mystical Body / Communion
Herald
Servant
Sacrament

7. Institution
The Church is defined primarily in terms of its visible structures
The Church is defined primarily in terms of its visible structures, especially the rights and powers of its hierarchy.
Church government is not democratic or representative, but hierarchical.
This model maintains that the Church’s leader-ship structure is part of the original Deposit of Faith handed down by Christ’s disciples.
Therefore, the authority of the ruling class is understood as God-given, and should be accepted by the faithful unquestioningly.
(Notes: Emphasize that this hierarchy is based on Christ’s commissioning of the Apostles.)
Popular in Catholic Theology after the Protestant Reformation
© MAX ROSSI/Reuters/Corbis

8. Need for Order
This model reflects a need for order, unity, and consistency of teaching.
Image in public domain
“The true Church was a Perfect Society, visible, distinct from and superior to other societies, and lacking for its own completeness.”
Hence it looked more like the monarchies of France, England et al. (Theology has Sociology)
Didn’t need the world, ignored (if not condemn) the Enlightenment and the modern world.

9. Institution Members: Formal members Signs and functions:
Popes, bishops, priests
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Canon Law
Magisterium
Diocesan directories
Members: All those who formally recognize themselves in relationship to an official Church community and Church teachings.
Signs and functions:
Popes, bishops, priests
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Canon Law
Magisterium
Diocesan directories

10. Strength in Unity
The strength of this model lies in its visible manifestation of unity.
Unlike any of the following models, all tests of membership are clearly visible.
This is the only model that must not be paramount. The institution must serve other ends besides its own preservation.
Meaning of third point: THIS SHOULD NOT BE THE FIRST AND FOREMOST MODEL. INSTITUTION is meant to serve the Kingdom of God.
©life.com

11. Mystical Body / Communion
The Church consists of people of faith who are united by their common participation in God’s Spirit through Christ.
Emphasis: INVISIBLE BOND
The symbol for this model is community.
Emphasis of the interior bond of communion
Pope Pius XII developed this idea in his 1943 encyclical on the mystical body, Mystici corporis
Model was utilized by Vatican II
Ministry’s purpose is to foster communion
Image in public domain

12. Strength through Sharing
The strength of this model lies in its emphasis on the shared life of mutual fellowship in loving community.
This model emphasizes sharing.
(Notes: Community life is vital for growth in the faith.)
Bostoncatholic.org

13. Mystical Body / Communion
Members: All who share in the body of Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Signs and functions:
Prayer groups (unofficial)
Relationships
Members: All who share in the body of Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Signs and functions:
Prayer groups
Parishes
Relationships

14. Sacrament
In this model the Church is a sacrament, a sign and symbol of God’s grace in the world.
The Church as the sacrament of Christ and of the union of all humankind
“The visible sign of an invisible grace” in history
Harmonizes Institution and Communion Model
Used in Vatican II
Especially by Karl Rahner, Edward Schillebeeckx et al
Image in public domain

15. Visible Sign A sacrament is a “visible sign of an invisible grace.”
The Church truly transmits grace—the favorable presence of God.
(Notes: Ask the students to discuss the first bullet before you click for the second bullet.)
Image in public domain

16. Community
Sacraments are never merely individual transactions. Nobody baptizes, absolves, or anoints themselves, and the Eucharist is not to be celebrated in solitude.
Here, the order of grace corresponds to the order of nature. Man comes into the world as a member of a family, a race, a people.
Image in public domain

17. Church Is Sign and Instrument
The strength of this model is It combines the Mystical Communion and Institutional Models
It shows that the Church is truly a sign and an instrument of grace to its members and to the world.
Image in public domain

18. Grace
Members: All who share in the liturgical life of the Church, to be transformed by grace to be a sign of Christ in the world.
Signs and functions:
Liturgy
Light and salt for the world
Communal prayer
Source of grace

19. Herald
The herald model emphasizes faith and proclamation over interpersonal relations and mystical communion.
The Church is a herald—one who receives an official message with the commission to pass it on.
It is the task of the Church to proclaim.
Based on the preaching of the Word of God
Church as gathered in response to the Word
Sharp distinction between Church and the Kingdom
Church announces (heralds) the Kingdom
Sacraments are seen as “visible words”
At least in Lutheran theology
A typical Protestant Ecclesiology
Image in public domain

20. The Gospel Message
The strength of this model lies in its emphasis on the message of the Gospel.
Image in public domain
Firm support in prophetic tradition and in Paul
Supports a rich theology of the Word
Encourages the Church’s evangelical mission
Congregational approach risks making the local congregation self-sufficient
Risks reducing salvation to the individual
Exclusive Salvation for those who do not believe in Christ

21. Witness
Members: All those who give witness to their life in Christ and see the Word of God as key.
Signs and functions:
Bible studies
Evangelization
Missions
Media

22. Servant
The servant model shows that the Church is part of the total human family, sharing the same concerns as the rest of mankind.
An engaging Church of service in the world
Reflected by Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World
The bond of communion and solidarity is experienced by the work of justice
Ministry seen as an agent of change and liberation
Image in public domain

23. Ministry of Jesus
This model is based on the ministry of Jesus, the Suffering Servant of God, who was a man who served others.
Just as Christ came into the world not to be served but to serve, so the Church, carrying on the mission of Christ, seeks to serve the world.
(Notes: Emphasize that we can serve on an individual basis, in our families and at school, or as part of the larger service of the Church.)
Image in public domain

24. Serving Others
The strength of this model lies in its emphasis on serving others, and not simply serving the Church’s self-interests.
Authentic service includes the ministry of the Word and Sacrament.
The concept of service must keep alive the distinctive mission and identity of the Church.
(Notes: Interpreted in the light of the Gospel, the Kingdom of God cannot be properly identified with abstract values such as peace, justice, reconciliation, and affluence. The New Testament personalizes the Kingdom. It identifies the Kingdom of God with the Gospel, and both of them with Jesus.)
© wpwittman.com

25. Serving as Christ Did
Members: All those who serve the needs of others as Christ did. “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
Signs and functions:
Hospitals
Charities
Service organizations
Religious education classes
(Notes: Matthew, chapter 25)

26. Servant Name some of the servant groups of the Church:
Deacons and priests
Women religious
Saint Vincent de Paul Society
Campaign for Human Development
Catholic Relief Services
©crs.org
(Notes: Have the students name some groups before you click for the bullet list.)

27. No Model Is Complete
In the end, none of the models is sufficient to address the fullness of God’s call to the Church.
Each model truly highlights and underscores a vital aspect of the Church.
Institution
Mystical Body / Communion
Herald
Servant
Sacrament

28. Weaknesses of each Model
Institution: Can look like it is rigid and authoritarian
Mystical Communion: Lacks structure and organization
Herald: Risks reducing salvation to the individual; risks making local congregation self-sufficient; exclusive salvation
Servant: May threaten the distinctive mission of the Church and secularize its ecclesiology
Sacrament: Lack of response in Protestant thought, the most theoretical of the five models

29. Integrating the Models
Each model of Church offers helpful insights and positive contributions to understanding the role of the Church in the world.
If the best insights are preserved from each model and integrated into one, a stronger vision of the Church is achieved.
© jerusalemgiftshop.com

30. In other words
If you are only using one model, your 3-d model because a flat picture…
In the end, you have to do a “juggling act” with all of these models.

31. EXIT SLIP Which Model of Church do you identify with the most? Why?
Which Model of Church do you identify with the least? Why? (Perhaps it needs more clarification for you?)
Concerning those you minister to, which Model of Church do they tend to identify with?