scholarly journals Famiglia cristiana come “Chiesa domestica”: evoluzione storica e prospettive future

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2(28)) ◽  
pp. 27-45
Author(s):  
Młyński Trębski ◽  
Józef Młyński

The family is one of the most basic, yet important gifts that God has given us. The Christian family constitutes a specific revelation on the interior life of God in the Divine Trinity and realization of ecclesial communion, and for this reason it can and should be called the domestic Church, agent and object of the work of evangelization in service to the Kingdom of God. This article presents an evolution of the concept of domestic Church and tries to indicate its future perspectives. It highlights the many deep ties that bind the Church and the Christian family and establish the family as a domestic Church - “Church in miniature”, so that in its own way the family is a living image/icon and historical representation of the mystery of Church.The little domestic Church, like the greater Church, needs to be constantly and intensely evangelized, which becomes the shared responsibility of all God’s people, each according to his ministry and charism. Without the joyous testimony of married people and families, domestic churches, proclamation, even if done in its proper way, risks being misunderstood or lost in a flurry of words that is characteristic of society today. Catholic families today can build up their own domestic churches and strive to be “islands of Christian life in an unbelieving world” (Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica 1992, 1655).It should be emphasized that the Church's pastoral intervention in support of the family is an urgent matter. Every effort should be made to strengthen and develop pastoral care for the family, which should be treated as a real matter of priority, in the certainty that future evangelization depends largely on the domestic Church (Giovanni Paolo II. 1981, 65).

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-153
Author(s):  
José M de Mesa

AbstractThe family, José M. de Mesa argues in this article, is the basic unit of the church, and should therefore be the basic unit of the church's mission. It is in the family where the Kingdom of God is most immediately experienced and witnessed to, and where the inclusiveness of God's saving presence can be exercised through the practice of dialogue and hospitality. Following the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, Dr. de Mesa calls for an understanding of marriage as a distinct ordo or ministry within the church, and for a renewed recognition of the family as the "domestic church," missionary by its very nature. "Parishes and dioceses," he says, "ought to rethink their pastoral vision, approaches and programs in renewing ecclesial life by first looking at the church already alive in families. The question should then be, 'How can these families be more church?' rather than 'How can we involve people (who belong to families) in the parish or the diocese?"'


1994 ◽  
Vol 37 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 3-17
Author(s):  
Jan Dyduch

The Catholic Church observes the year 1994 as International Year of the Family in accordance to the announcement made by the United Nations. For this reason it is proper to talk over the obligations and the rights which a family exercises in a secular society and in the Curch. These rights and obligations are contained and treated in the following postconciliar documents of the Church: 1. The Encyclical Humanae Vitae, 1968; 2. The Adhortation Familiaris Consortio, 1981; 3. The Codex of Canon Law, 1983; 4. The Charter of the Family Right, 1983; 5. The Adhortation Christifideles Laici, 1988. Propagating of the family rights and obligations is necessary in view of the situation of the contemporary family, encountered by a multiple crisis. Calling in question of the sense of the family, the mentality adverse to life, and divorces are the most severe indications of that crisis. The basic right and obligation of a family is its service to the life itself, expressed in the procreating and upbringing of children. Doing this, a family needs protection and support from a civil authority which ought to maintain the appropriate policy favourable for the family and its development. A Christian family, sacramentally incorporated into the organism of the Universal Church, constitutes a „Home Church” and participates in Christ’s triple mission: prophetic-evangelizing, priestly-santifying and royal-apostolic. The family is a subject of the Church’s constant pastoral care.


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan C. Clements ◽  
Mary D. Walsh ◽  
Paschal M. Corby

The understanding of the full truth and beauty of the marital relationship has developed from a remedy for concupiscence (cf. 1 Cor 7:9) to “a sacrament of mutual sanctification and an act of worship” (St. John Paul II). With this development came a realization of the need to respond to the dilemma of couples who legitimately and responsibly wanted to avoid pregnancy but in fidelity to the Church’s consistent teaching against contraception. In the middle of the last century, Dr. John Billings undertook to assist in the quest to find a reliable means of preventing pregnancy, which was in accord with natural moral law. He was aided in this quest by his wife Dr. Evelyn Billings and the many couples who contributed to the research. Their discovery formed the basis of all modern methods of natural family planning. “[T]he difference, both anthropological and moral, between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle…is a difference which is much wider and deeper than is usually thought.…The choice of the natural rhythms involves accepting the cycle…and thereby accepting dialogue, reciprocal respect, shared responsibility and self-control.…In this context the couple comes to experience how conjugal communion is enriched with those values of tenderness and affection which constitute the inner soul of human sexuality, in its physical dimension also”. Nontechnical Summary: Pope Saint Paul VI's magnificent but much misunderstood encyclical “Humanae Vitae” called on men of science “to labour to explain more thoroughly the various conditions favouring a proper regulation of births.” To doctors he asked that they “persevere in promoting on every occasion the discovery of solutions inspired by faith and right reason”. Dr John Billings and his wife, Dr Evelyn Billings, devoted their lives to answering these calls which the Holy Father also made to them in person some years after he gave his encyclical to the Church.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-63
Author(s):  
Debra J. Mumford

Prosperity preachers contend that God wants all of God’s people to be rich. However, the reality is that wealth is often gained for the few through the labor of the many. Prosperity for the rich minority in first century Palestine, much like in our day, was made possible by the systematic exploitation of the working class majorities. By studying the socio-economic ecology at work in the biblical texts, we are better able to understand the socio-economic dynamics at play throughout our world (both inside and outside of the church) and develop strategies to secure justice for all of God’s people.


2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. Van Staden ◽  
Yolanda Dreyer

Biblical perspectives on family ministry in a postmodern church. The aim of the article is to reflect on biblical-theological perspectives on family in order to enrich postmodern faith communities. In the post-biblical period the biological family was central to the process of the institutionalisation of the church and the spiritual aspect of family was underplayed. The church father, Augustine, indowed marriage with sacramental status. This emphasised the presence of God in the family, but ‘procreation’ dominated his theology of marriage. The sacramental status of marriage along with the dominance of patriarchy made marriage indisputable. This obstructed any possibility of thinking creatively about marriage in a postmodern context. In his reformation of marriage Martin Luther succeeded in deconstructing the sacramental status of marriage, but did not succeed in overturning patriarchal dominance. The reality of postmodern families differs vastly from that of biblical times and the times of Augustine, Aquinas and Luther. The challenge of the church in a postmodern world is to reflect in a responsible biblical theological way on the relationship between adults and children from the perspective of the kingdom of God. This article aims to contribute in this regard.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 9-23
Author(s):  
Marek Jagodziński ◽  

John D. Zizioulas’ publications do not include a special study of his Pneumatology, but his lectures on dogmatic theology contain a lot of material on the pneumatological vision of the Church. The foundation of the Church’s faith is the revealed and communicated truth of God, the preservation of which is a special task of the Holy Spirit. He is always active in community and creates communion, and all His gifts are for unity. The truth is revealed and secured only in the communion of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Zizioulas writes that it is the Holy Spirit who constitutes the true “essence of the Church”. Hence, Orthodox theologians often conceive of the Church as “an everlasting Pentecost event”. Thanks to the Son, we can get to know God, while the Holy Spirit reveals that God is communion. The great mistake of generations of dogmatists was to separate Christology from the science of God – and therefore from pneumatology. Salvation is realized in the Church, which is after all God’s people united in Christ and in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of communion, and it is no exaggeration to identify the Kingdom of God with Himself. The Eucharist is communion and participation in the Blood of Christ, which is “full of the Holy Spirit” and shares in Christ – and at the same time “in the communion of the Holy Spirit”. In the face of christomonistic or charismatic constraints, Zizioulas reminds us that Christ does not build the Church without the Holy Spirit, and He does not come to the Church only when he is completely formed. The institution of the Church was established at a specifi c point in history, but is constantly constituted and renewed by the Holy Spirit. The Church receives everything from God through Christ in the Holy Spirit, but it is necessary to receive His gifts in the event of communion – and it is in the Holy Spirit that everything what happens is an event of communion.


2018 ◽  
pp. 110-129
Author(s):  
Andriy Georgiоvich Tyshchenko

The article deals with the specifics of religion as a regulator of relations in society and family. The analysis of the actualization of Christian family values and the form of their implementation on the example of the Church "New Generation", in the conditions of the revival of religious life and the development of Ukraine as a polyconfessional state is analyzed. Shown is the change in the role of the church and the extent of the impact of Christian values on the social in the regional dimension, as well as those social problems that the church should deal with. It turns out that the crisis of a modern family prompts Christian denominations to react to the existing state of affairs. This forms a confessional specificity in understanding the roots and ways of solving the problems of society. Charismatic churches today are characterized by increasing recognition, increasing tolerance in society, deepening of institutionalizing change, and the formation of their own theology. They function in the Ukrainian society and cause more or less influence on different components of society. Charismatics do not have a single center or doctrine, so the purpose of this article is to clarify the peculiarities of actualization of Christian family values ​​and the specifics of their implementation in the theology and activities of the charismatic Church "The New Generation"). The task of the article is to determine the specifics of theological understanding, the main forms of the practical solution of the charismatic Church "New Generation" of those problems that exist in the Ukrainian society and are related to the family as a primary collective. Another task is to investigate the influence of the church's role on marriage relations and the family in the region. It is stated that the theological basis of the Church "The New Generation" is in the dynamics of formation, based on the general religious principles of Christianity in general and Protestantism in particular. The Christian system of values has a theistic-objectivist character for them. The Protestant principle of "Soli Deo gloria" ("only God's glory") laid the foundation for the formation of the family values of carismatic spirituality carriers. The charismatic church as an institution reacts to constant changes in all spheres of society's life. It becomes mobile, open to change, modernizes, and tests various forms of solving relevant social problems associated with the family. The charismatic church's position on marriage is serious and well-considered. In the ecclesiastical environment, a series of seminars devoted to family and marriage issues have been developed, and preventive and spiritual work is being conducted on the prevention of hasty marriages. The region's statistics indicate positive changes towards strengthening the family's institute, reducing the number of divorces, and so on. Such indicators allow us to speak about the positive influence of the activity of the charismatic Church "The New Generation" on church parishioners, on the situation in the city and the region, as the "New Generation" subsidiary churches are located throughout the region. This testifies to the effectiveness of the practical activities of the charismatic Church "New Generation" in the region and the desire to extend its experience to other regions of Ukraine. The results of the research can be used in religious studies courses, in particular in the teaching of disciplines related to the study of Christian and non-Christian trends, the specifics of new religious movements, as well as for state bodies, with the aim of improving the state-confessional relations and harmonizing social work with the population.


MELINTAS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-333
Author(s):  
Parsaoran Parhusip

In Christianity, incarnation marks the culmination of the manifestation of God’s love in the world. Through the historical presence of Jesus Christ in the world, salvation is made possible. The salvation of human beings not only addresses worldly issues, but also restores their inner dignity as God’s creation. The Christian doctrine of incarnation gives hope to those who are in the situation of oppression, suffering, and injustice. The presence of Jesus Christ through the incarnation realises God’s love in defending, saving, liberating, and elevating human dignity. This article sees incarnation as  an event in which God’s act of love is experienced by human beings. This event needs to be echoed by the Church today in its mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God. The event of incarnation brings the image of the Church as God’s people who are liberated while still in pilgrimage on earth.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 19-30
Author(s):  
Ola Rongan Wilhemus

Modern communication medium allows one to easily share stories, establish contact with family members, to thank and apologize. Aware of the benefits of this communication medium each family member should utilize communications media wisely and more humanely. In the midst of this communication medium advancement of Christ's faithful should regard the family as a school of faith and a special communication experience divine grace. Each family who live karinia Divine love is called to give concrete testimony of the love of it. Every Christian family is a concrete sign of the presence and implementation of the tasks of the Church that lives. When carrying out this missionary task, God is always present in the family to bless, sanctify and strengthen family members. The presence of God is happening in real time when families gather to pray, worship and hear God's word together.


Author(s):  
Christine Talbot

This chapter traces the development of some of the fundamental theological turns that made Mormonism so unique among nineteenth-century Americans, including the doctrinal place of polygamy from the founding of the Church in 1830 through the Mormons' exodus to Utah in the late 1840s. The theological and political concepts that Joseph Smith outlined in the early years of the Church—including the plan of salvation, sealing and adoption, and eternal increase—intimately tied gender, plural marriage, and the family to the building of Zion and the advent of the kingdom of God in all its places. Since the public announcement of the Church's belief in and intent to openly practice plural marriage, Church leaders publicly endorsed the practice as a fundamental, even defining, aspect of Mormonism and integrated the practice into a broader vision of Mormon political philosophy.


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