Mark's Gospel blank - Web viewFor most people, the word church refers to a building. Jewish people have synagogues, Muslims have mosques, Hindus and Buddhists have temples and

10RE - A GROWING CHURCH

A GROWING CHURCHSTUDENT BOOKLET

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

At the end of this unit, students should be able to provide detailed answers to these questions:

How has the Catholic Church been challenged over time?How has the Church responded?What have been the implications?

What is the message of Christianity?

ASSESSMENT

You will be assessed on a range of small learning tasks and a working in teams ICT task. Included in the individual work tasks are:

The creation of a series of key event records which contain information about these events; The preparation of a simple timeline with the major events in the history of the Church placed on it;

and A visual diagram outlining developments in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

NAME: CLASS: TEACHER:

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PART ONE: THE CHURCH AND ITS MISSION

For most people, the word church refers to a building. Jewish people have synagogues, Muslims have mosques, Hindus and Buddhists have temples and Christians have churches. But that is not strictly true. When people say ‘church’ they usually mean the building where Christians gather for religious ceremonies, but it is really the people who gather who are the church. The church is the people.

In Christian usage, the word ‘church’ therefore refers to the people who gather to pray, to worship or to celebrate the sacraments. Jesus said to his disciples, “When two or three gather in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” So when people gather in his name, it is the church that gathers. But the word also means the local community of believers and the world wide community of believers in Jesus Christ. These three meanings are inseparable. ‘The Church’ is the people whom God gathers in the whole world. She exists in local communities and is made real as a liturgical, and above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws her life from the word and the Body of Christ and so becomes Christ’s Body. (For further information see such websites as http://www.xenos.org/classes/um1-1a.htm .)

So that the Church can fulfil her mission, the Holy Spirit gives to her various gifts – gifts to her formal leaders such as the bishops and to her informal leaders such as Mary MacKillop who led by example. Faithful to the mission given to her by Jesus, the church proclaims and establishes among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Opening Task

a) Read through each of these passages. They are the final instructions of Jesus to the eleven disciples (Judas has died) before he returns to his Father in heaven. For each passage, you are to write down what they were told to do.

Matthew 28:16-20

Mark 16:9-20

Luke 24:44-49 and Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11 (The Acts of the Apostles was also written by Luke. It continues the story from the Ascension of Jesus onwards.)

John 20:19-29

In your own words, state what the final instruction was.

b) Now put yourselves in the position of the apostles. Make a list of five or more challenges they would have had to face in fulfilling their mission of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus and establishing the Kingdom of God.

ConclusionThe instructions that Jesus gave to his apostles and disciples were quite simple and clear. But, as we shall see, carrying them out was another story. There were situations to be addressed, problems to be solved, but Jesus was no longer there to be asked for directions. God’s Holy Spirit had been given to the leaders of the Church but careful thought and prayer would still be required if the appropriate decisions were to be made for the growth of the Church in faithfulness to the mission that it had been given by Jesus.


http://www.xenos.org/classes/um1-1a.htm


WHO ARE CHRISTIANS?

At the most basic level, a “Christian” is anyone who professes that Jesus of Nazareth is the “Christ” (the "Messiah," the "anointed one" of God). This sounds simple! Yet what does it mean? And what else do Christians believe about Jesus (and about God)?

“Christ” is a title derived from the Greek word Christos (lit. “anointed one”), which in turn comes from the verb chrio (“to anoint; to smear or pour oil over someone”). It has exactly the same meaning as “Messiah”. According to Acts 11:26, the first time those who believed in Jesus were called “Christians” was in Antioch, a Greek-speaking city of ancient Syria (about 480 kilometres north of Jerusalem), about the year 35 or 40 CE. Before that time, in the Aramaic-speaking environment of Judea, the followers of Jesus may have been called Nazarenes, or Messianists, or Followers of the Way, or by some other designation.

Furthermore, most Christians of the past and present believe much more about Jesus: that he was not just a intimate and unique that he could rightly be called the Son of God, the Lord, the Saviour of the world, and given many other titles, some of which make him “equal to God,” in dignity or even in his nature. Yet how can Jesus be both human and divine? And how can Christians continue to profess “monotheism” (belief in only one God), when they proclaim Jesus (and the Holy Spirit) to be just as “divine” as the Father?

Sadly, Christians have debated, disagreed, and divided themselves over these questions for most of the past 2000 years. Thus, there is a bewildering number of different Christian groups, churches, sects, and denominations in the world today.

Main Branches of Christianity:Many organizational schemes divide Christians into several main “branches” (each of which can be further subdivided, of course). Yet how many “main” branches are there? Who gets grouped together? Where do smaller groups belong? And does arranging the divisions in certain ways reflect any bias?

Three (or Four) Main Branches: Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant (and Anglican, "Anglo-Catholic"; half-way between Catholic & Protestant)

Subdivisions of the Main Branches (here in overview; see the next section for more details): o Eastern Christians are mostly "Eastern Orthodox," but some are Nestorians ("Church of the

East") or Monophysites ("Oriental Orthodox").

o Catholic Christians are mostly "Roman Catholic"; yet some groups still call themselves "Catholic," but are no longer united with Rome.

o Protestant Christians are subdivided into thousands of different denominations, as well as "independent" or "non-denominational" groups.

The historically earliest were founded in the 16th century by Martin Luther ("Lutherans") and by John Calvin ("Reformed" or "Calvinist" Christians).

The Anglicans, or "Church of England," separated from the Roman Catholic Church for political reasons; thus, "Anglo-Catholic" beliefs and practices are similar to Roman Catholics, but Anglicans don't acknowledge the leadership role of the Pope.

(Source: Wikipedia.com)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ChristianityBranches.svg


The Four Main Branches of Christianity: An Overview of Some Contrasts and Differences

Branch: Orthodox Catholic Anglican ProtestantMeaning/Origin of Name

“right teaching; correct opinion”

“universal; general; whole”

Church of “England”

“protesting” against Catholicism

Geographical Origins

Eastern Roman Empire, esp. Constantinople

Western Roman Empire,esp. Rome

England Central Europe, esp. Germany & Switzerland

Principal Languages

Greek, Russian, etc. Latin, European, etc. English, etc. German, Dutch, English, etc.

Concentrations Today

Eastern Europe S. America & W. Europe

Great Britain & former Colonies

N. Europe & N. America

Number of Members

ca. 250 Million over 1 Billion ca. 75 Million ca. 400-500 Million

Top Leaders Patriarchs (esp. Constantinople & Moscow);Autocephalous Bishops

Pope (Bishop of Rome);Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops

Archbishop of Canterbury;Presiding Bishops

varies greatly by denomination: Bishops? Presidents? None?

Local Leaders Priests, Deacons, Monks

Priests, Deacons, Lay Ministers

Canons, Priests, Vestry

Pastors, Ministers, Deacons, Elders, etc.

Titles for Worship Divine Liturgy Holy Eucharist, Mass Eucharist, Holy Communion

Sunday Worship, Communion Service

Books in Bible 53-56 OT + 27 NT 46 OT + 27 NT 39 OT + 27 NT 39 OT + 27 NT

Artistic Focus Painted Icons, lots of gold

Statues, Paintings, Stained Glass

Some art, esp. Stained Glass

Little art; often plainer church decors

Distinctive Emphases

Maintain Ancient Customs & Languages

Papal Authority; Seven Sacraments

Formal Liturgies; Organ Music

Participatory Music; Biblical Preaching

Sacraments of Initiation

Baptism, Chrismation, Communion - all three together, usually for infants

Infant Baptism, Child First Communion,Teen Confirmation;all at once for Adults

Mostly use Catholic sequence,for children or for adults

Infant Baptism in some denominations;Adult Baptism more common

(An Overview of the Main Branches, Churches, Denominations, Religious Orders, and other identifiable Groups within Christianity of the Past and Present compiled by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.)

Your task

Create a document titled ‘denominations_lastname_firstname’ and add the heading CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS. Then do these two tasks.

1. Create a visual diagram to represent Christianity and its main branches and denominations. 2. Google ‘churches Werribee’ or ‘churches Hoppers Crossing’ or ‘churches YOUR SUBURB’ and copy

and paste your results into your file. Highlight the churches that you know.



PART TWO: KEY PERIODS IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

In this section of the unit, the task is to look over key periods in the history of the Church so we can get a good idea of the main developments over two thousand years. As you look at each period, you need to keep a record of key dates, events, people and ideas that help make the period what it was. To help you do this, you will answer a series of questions. Do not lose this work as it will be part of your assessment and will also be used to help you complete the timeline.

2.1 THE FIRST THREE CENTURIES (30-313CE)

IntroductionDuring the first three centuries following the ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the followers of Jesus established themselves as a new, distinctive group, separate from Judaism, and a challenge to Roman religion. As the religion grew, so did opposition from the Roman Emperors. At various times, the early Christians found themselves being persecuted to the point of martyrdom (being killed for their religious faith). In 313, the Emperor Constantine ended the persecution of Christians by granting them religious freedom. Worship of the old Roman religion with its many gods was soon forbidden and Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 380s under Emperor Theodosius. In his Gospel, Mark had predicted that the Romans would one day recognize Christianity as the true religion. This happened about 270 years after Mark wrote his Gospel.

Your Task:Revise what you learned in Year 8 by reading through TKWL sections 6.2, 6.4, 6.5 and 6.6 and answering these questions.

a) Section 6.2. In the beginning, Christianity was a movement within Judaism. What did the first Christians do to be both Jews and Christians?

b) Section 6.2. Why was Stephen stoned?

c) Section 6.2. What changes did Stephen’s martyrdom cause?

d) Section 6.4. Who are the Gentiles? What does this term mean?

e) Section 6.4. List what you think are the two most important of the seven reasons for the spread of Christianity amongst the Gentiles. Give reasons for your answer.

f) Section 6.5. Briefly describe the roles of the bishops, presbyters (priests), deacons and prophets/teachers?

g) Section 6.6. List the three sacraments central to the Christian life in the first centuries of the Church.

An Early Controversy - Is the Good News for Everyone or just God’s Chosen People? (Ca 50CE)

For over 700 years before the birth of Jesus, the Jewish people, God’s chosen people, had been waiting for God to send the Messiah, the saviour who would answer all their needs. There were many people who claimed to be the Messiah. Some attracted many followers while others only a few. Some Jewish people accepted Jesus as the Messiah while others did not. Those who did accept Jesus became the first Christians. They did not think of themselves as Christians but as Jewish people who believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

St Paul did not know Jesus when Jesus was alive. In fact, he thought that the Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah were not to be trusted. He was committed to stopping the spread of the followers of Jesus by persecuting them, even encouraging them to be killed. Jesus appeared to Paul and Paul was converted to become a follower of Jesus. From then on, Paul worked tirelessly to spread the Good News about Jesus. He took the Gospel message far beyond the land where Jesus had lived to places such as modern day Malta, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece, beginning 45CE and ending in 64CE when he was imprisoned by the Romans and beheaded. (Paul was a Roman citizen. Roman citizens were executed by being beheaded as this was a more dignified and less painful form of execution that crucifixion.)



While he was alive, Paul preached the Good News about Jesus to many people who were Gentiles (non-Jews). This led to the problems of whether these Gentiles could become Christians and, if they could, did they also have to become Jews and follow all the Jewish laws and practices. After all, Jesus was a Jew. If they had to become Jews, there were over six hundred religious laws that had to be learned and followed. In addition to the ten commandments, there were laws about what you could and couldn’t eat (You couldn’t mix meat with dairy. Therefore, cheese – yes; burgers – yes; but definitely no cheese-burgers!), ritual washings, prayer routines and what was permitted or not permitted on the Sabbath day of rest. But there was also the matter of male circumcision – and don’t forget it was adults and not babies who became Christians and modern painkillers didn’t exist. So there was a problem to be solved. What was to be required of the new comers?

Your task:Read through Acts 15:1-21 and TKWL Section 6.3. Then answer these questions.

h) What was the decision that was made at the Council of Jerusalem?

i) Did this decision satisfy Paul and meet the needs of the converts he was representing?

j) How did this decision fit with the mission given by Jesus to the apostles – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19-20)

k) If the decision went the other way, that is, all converts had to become Jews and follow all the Jewish laws, what impact do you think this would have had on the mission given by Jesus to the apostles?

Christianity in the First Three Centuries: PersecutionsAs we saw when we looked at Mark’s Gospel, the early Christians, in particular those living in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, suffered persecution at the hand of the Romans. Mark wrote his Gospel to encourage the community in Rome by showing them the example of Jesus Christ who was crucified and died but was raised from the dead. If they, too, remained faithful, they would also be raised to new life after death.

Your task:Read through TKWL Section 6.7. Then do a google search of ‘Roman persecutions of Christians’ and ‘martyrs of the early Church’ or similar.

l) The early Christians kept themselves apart from many public activities. Name two and explain why you think they would not have participated in these activities.

m) List five early martyrs and the ways in which they were killed.

The Conversion of the Emperor Constantine – 312CEConstantine was a Roman Emperor of enormous importance to Christianity. A general in the Roman Army who was posted in northern England, Constantine marched with his army to present day Italy where he defeated the emperor of the Western Roman Empire at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312. The following year, Constantine and Licinius, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, signed the Edict of Milan which granted religious freedom to all peoples, including Christians. The persecutions were over.

Your task:Read through TKWL Section 6.8 and answer these questions:

n) What is the story behind Constantine granting religious freedom, including to Christians?

o) Why did Constantine shift the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to New Rome which was renamed as Constantinople?

p) List the five most important bishops in the early Church.

q) What is the link between Rome and New Rome and the head bishops known as Patriarchs? What problems could result from this?



2.2 CHURCH COUNCILS: FORMALISING CHRISTIANITY’S BELIEFS (325-451CE)

IntroductionChristians believe that there is one God and that Jesus is the Son of God. But what does that mean? Is Jesus also God or is Jesus just a human being like the rest of us? If Jesus is just human, how have we been saved? And if Jesus is God, what does that make his mother, Mary? Is she the Mother of God? Is there only one God, or are there two Gods or even three? These matters were of great concern to Christians, especially those in the Eastern Roman Empire. They had a Greek background which stressed the value of debate and discussion. But the debate got out of control. Bishops took sides against other bishops. Christians were engaged in riots against other Christians. Violence between people and the burning of churches became a feature of community life. This was a serious problem that needed attention. In 325, Constantine called a council of the church (gathering of the bishops) to come up with a common statement of belief so that religious disunity wouldn’t threaten to tear apart his recently re-united empire. Trying to come to correct understandings of these two essential beliefs was a feature of these centuries.

The First Ecumenical Council (meeting of all the bishops) - Nicea 325CELook at these two images of Jesus. The one on the left is a forensic reconstruction and the other is an icon.

Your task:a) For each image, write down five or six words that come to your mind. For example, human.

b) Which image do you associate with the humanness of Jesus and which with his divinity (Godness)?

The First Ecumenical Council was held in Nicea, Asia Minor in 325. It was called by Emperor Constantine the Great to resolve the Arian controversy. Three hundred and eighteen Bishops were present.

Arius was an influential priest in Alexandria, the capital of Egypt, who denied the divinity of Christ. If Jesus was born, then there was time when He did not exist. If He became God, then there was time when He was not. The Council declared Arius' teaching a heresy, unacceptable to the Church and decreed that Christ is God. He is of the same essence "homoousios" with God the Father. At the end of this council, a new statement of Christian beliefs was written which built upon the beliefs expressed in the older Apostles Creed. This new statement of beliefs is the Nicene Creed which is said at Mass each Sunday and at baptisms.

Your task:Go to the Summaries of Christian Teaching in your textbook. There are two creeds or summaries of beliefs shown there. The shorter one is the Apostles’ Creed and the longer one is the Nicene Creed. Read through what each creed statement has to say about Jesus. Look for the sections on Jesus’ divinity (true God) and Jesus’ humanity (true man).

c) Which one says little about Jesus’ divinity (Jesus as God) compared to his humanity (Jesus as man)?

d) Which one says about equal amounts about Jesus’ divinity and his humanity?

e) The Council of Nicea taught that Jesus was divine as well as human. Write down the eight things the Nicene Creed states about Jesus’ divinity.



The Third Ecumenical Council – Ephesus 431CE

This council was held in Ephesus, Asia Minor in 431. It was called by Emperor Theodosius II (grandson of Theodosius the Great) to resolve the Nestorian controversy. Two hundred Bishops were present.

The Nestorian controversy concerned the nature of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Nestorius taught that the Virgin Mary gave birth to a man, Jesus Christ, not God, the "Logos" ("The Word", Son of God). The Logos only dwelled in Christ, as in a Temple (Christ, therefore, was only Theophoros: The "Bearer of God". Consequently, Virgin Mary should be called "Christotokos," Mother of Christ and not "Theotokos, "Mother of God." Hence, the name, "Christological controversies".

Nestorianism over-emphasized the human nature of Christ at the expense of the divine. The Council condemned Nestorius' teaching as incorrect. Our Lord Jesus Christ is one person, not two separate "people": the Man, Jesus Christ and the Son of God, Logos. The Council decreed that Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Logos), is complete God and complete man, with a rational soul and body. The union of the two natures of Christ took place in such a fashion that one did not disturb the other.

Your Task:Read these sections from your text book and answer these questions:

f) Section 6.10. What positive results came from the Council of Ephesus?g) Section 6.10.Which community did not accept the teachings of the Council of Ephesus in 431 and broke

away from the Christian church?

The Fourth Ecumenical Council – Chalcedon 451CEThis council was held in Chalcedon, near Constantinople, 451. It was called by Emperor Marcian to resolve the Monophysite controversies. Six hundred and thirty Bishops were present.

The Council was concerned, once again, with the nature of Jesus Christ. The teaching arose that Christ's human nature (less perfect) dissolved itself in His divine nature (more perfect): like a cube of sugar in a post of water. Thus, in reality, Christ had only one nature, the Divine. Hence, the term: Monophysites ("mono", one and "physis", "nature"). Monophysitism overemphasized the divine nature of Christ, at the expense of the human.

The Council condemned Monophysitism and proclaimed that Christ has two complete natures: the divine and the human, as defined by previous Councils. These two natures function without confusion, are not divided nor separate (against Nestorius), and at no time did they undergo any change (against the Monophysites).

Your Task:Read TKWL Section 4.1, page 64. Answer these questions:

h) What positive and negative results came from the Council of Chalcedon?i) Which communities did not accept the teachings of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and also broke away

from the Christian church?

Summary

While agreement was reached between most of the bishops of the early Church, groups of bishops of the Eastern and North African churches would not agree. The breaking up of Christianity into its different branches had begun. This can be seen in the diagram on page 3 of this booklet.



2.3 DIVISION AND DISUNITY – THE BREAK UP BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY (1054)

IntroductionAt its peak, the Roman Empire became too large to rule from Rome alone and it was divided into the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. The Western Roman Empire continued to be ruled from Rome until Rome was sacked by invaders in 410 and the Western Roman Empire collapsed forever. The Eastern Roman Empire was ruled from the city of Constantinople, present day Istanbul, the capital of Turkey. This became known as the Byzantine Empire which lasted another thousand years until Constantinople was captured by the Turks in 1453. Western Christianity was based on Rome and Eastern Christianity on Constantinople. Two different forms of Christianity emerged from this situation.

The major centres of Western and Eastern Christianity

Your Task:Read through your textbook, Section 6.8 and fill in the answers.

a) Write down the names of the five major centres of Christianity and whether it is in the Eastern or Western Roman Empire.

b) Which of the five major centres was considered to be the first in importance and why?c) Which was considered to be the second most important and why?d) Explain the difference between being ‘the first among equals’ and ‘the first above the rest’.

The differences between Western and Eastern Christianity

Your Task:Read sections 6.11 and 6.12. Complete the tasks below.

e) Complete the chart activity on page 115 which asks you to make a list of the differences between the Church in the West, governed from Rome, and the Church in the East, governed from Constantinople.

f) Briefly summarise the argument over papal authority.g) What resulted from these differences?



2.4 DIVISION AND DISUNITY IN THE WEST – THE BREAK UP OF WESTERN CHRISTIANITY (16th Century)

IntroductionThe 1300-1500s were troubled times for Western Europe and the Church. During the 1300s, the Black Death plague killed tens millions of people, or about one quarter of the population, in Europe and elsewhere. Between 1309 and 1377, the popes, seven in all, were French and chose to live in France instead of in Rome where St Peter, the first Pope, had been martyred. There was the Western Schism or Papal Schism (also known as the Great Schism of Western Christianity) which was a split within the Catholic Church. It lasted for almost fifty years and was a very serious issue in the western church. Three “popes” (or one holy Pope and two unholy antipopes) claimed to be the true Bishop of Rome. Catholics, that is, Christians who recognized the supreme authority of the pope, were divided as to who was the true representative of God on earth. There was also a wider problem of corruption involving priests, bishops, cardinals and even some of the popes who lived more like greedy kings than as servants of God and followers of Jesus. It was not a good time for the Catholic church.

Let’s now look at a particular problem that led to the Christian church in the West breaking apart.

The Black Death Your Task:Read through TKWL Section 3.2.

a) What was the plaque, where did it come from and what were its affects?

b) Because the people of the Middle Ages didn’t have the benefits of modern medicine, they gave the plaque a religious interpretation. What was the religious interpretation people gave to the plague?

c) What was the view of God that resulted from the plague?

d) How did the plague affect the faith of the people?

The Fear of Hell and the Matter of IndulgencesBeing ready for death, meant confessing sins, receiving forgiveness and completing the penances, acts of making up, that were given by the priest during confession. If a person died without having their sins forgiven it was believed that a life punishment in hell awaited them. This life would be worse than the plague itself.

Read through TKWL Sections 3.3 – Indulgences, and 3.4 – Abuses of Indulgences.

Your Task:e) What were indulgences?f) What were the abuses associated with indulgences?g) What was the correct role that indulgences had to play in the matter of sin and forgiveness?



Martin Luther and his protest

Your Task:Read through sections 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7 of the text.

h) What were the issues that caused Martin Luther to circulate his 95 Theses in 1517?

i) Luther’s 95 Theses was seen by the pope as an attack on the pope’s leadership and authority. Was it Luther’s intention to attack the pope’s leadership and authority?

j) What did the church leaders do in 1521 in response to Luther’s criticisms?

k) Section 3.7. What was Luther really saying when he taught that salvation (eternal life) could be gained by faith alone? What is the link between this belief and the problem of indulgences?

The Three Outcomes from the Reformation (Martin Luther’s challenge to the Church)

Three outcomes resulted from Luther’s teachings. The first, and most obvious, was the breaking up of the western Church into those loyal to the Pope in Rome and those who followed the teachings of Luther. Those opposed to the Pope soon split into further groups or denominations. Almost thirty years after Luther raised his protests, the Pope at that time, called a new Council of the Catholic Church to look at the reforms that needed to be made and to reaffirm beliefs and teachings. New saints and leaders arose in the Church to help with its renewal.

Your task:Read through section 3.8.

l) Luther’s breaking away from the Catholic Church was followed by others. Name the main protestant reformers and one fact about their reforms.

Read through section 3.9 of the text.

m) Make a list of the decisions reforms that were made by the meeting of bishops that is known as the Council of Trent. There are three groups of reforms listed in section 3.9.

n) List the teachings of the Catholic Church which were confirmed by the Council of Trent.

The Catholic Reform

At the time when the church was at a very low point, God raised up men and women of great faith and courage who were very influential in the reform of the Catholic church. This is part of what is knows as the Catholic Reform or Counter-reformation.

Your Task:Read through TKWL sections 3.10-3.13 and complete these short tasks.

o) List the names of the great reforming popes.p) List the names of the founders of new religious orders and other groups.



2.5 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE MODERN WORLD – VATICAN COUNCIL II (1962-64)IntroductionAt the Council of Trent, 1545-63, the bishops dealt with the problems and challenges facing the church at the time of the Protestant Reformation. It also laid down clear rules or expectations about what being faithful to the Catholic church meant. Only those who were within the Catholic church could be saved. Protestants were to be rejected. The image was ‘fortress church’ – always there, reliable and true. Those who came into the Roman Catholic church, and those alone, would be saved.

It wasn’t until 1869, three hundred and twenty-five years later, that the next Council of bishops was called by the Pope. This was Vatican Council I and seven hundred and forty-four bishops attended. Much had changed since the Council of Trent. North and South America had been ‘discovered’ and colonized by Europeans. Christianity, which once spread from Jerusalem to all parts of the Roman Empire, had since spread to all parts of the inhabited world.

Vatican Council 1 1869-70Your TaskRead about the First Vatican Council in TKWL Section 4.2 of your textbook.

a) What was the big issue for this Council which was called by Pope Pius IX, the longest reigning pope in the Church?

b) In 1054, the Orthodox Christians had rejected the supreme authority of the Pope. In the 1500s, the Protestant Christians did the same. From the 1500s, the authority of kings and queens was overturned in many places as governments by the people for the people were put in place. What did the First Vatican Council teach about papal authority?

c) Look at the 14th century painting of St Peter on page 65. What is he wearing on his head? What is this saying about papal authority as it had developed over time.

d) How does this image of St Peter compare with the account of St Peter being crucified upside down in Rome in 64CE?

In 1870, Vatican Council I was interrupted by challenges to the Pope’s authority in Italy and the loss of the parts of Italy that the Pope ruled. Pope Pius lost his political power and became a prisoner in the tiny Vatican state. All this happened at the same time as the pope’s authority was being strengthened. (It was not until 1958 that a pope, John XXIII, now Pope St John XXIII, left the Vatican to make pastoral visits. His successor, Pope Paul VI, was the first pope in modern times to leave Italy while serving as pope. The following pope, John-Paul I died after thirty-three days in office. Pope John-Paul II, now Pope St John-Paul II, was the first non-Italian pope in over four hundred years became the most travelled pope in history. He visited 117 countries, many more than once, and travelled over 1.1 million kilometres.

Vatican Council II (1962-64)

We begin our look at Vatican Council II by going to http://resource.fraynework.org.au/. Select Church History and view the feature on Vatican II. This was the largest ever gathering of Catholic bishops.

Your TaskRead through sections 4.3-4.5 of your textbook.

e) List some of the factors that led up to the calling of the Council by Pope John XXIII.

f) There were over one thousand bishops from Europe at the Council. How many bishops were from places other than Europe? (See page 69). How does this represent a changing church since the Council of Trent in the 1500s?


http://resource.fraynework.org.au/


g) There were sixty-three observers from other Christian churches. In 1054, members of the Orthodox churches were condemned. At the Council of Trent, members of Protestant churches were condemned. By inviting observers from these churches to Vatican II, what was Pope John saying about Christianity?

h) List Pope John’s goals when he call the Council and explain what is meant by the Italian word aggiornamento.

i) On Section 4.6 of your text, the sixteen documents of the Second Vatican Council are listed. Read through this list. Name the two or three documents that you think, according to their topic, would have been most important for the modern church. Give a brief reason why you have thought this.

How ordinary Catholics experienced the changes of Vatican IIIf you speak to your parents, or more likely your grandparents and ask them what the most significant changes they will probably mention things such as this:

The Mass changed from being celebrated in Latin to being celebrated in the local language and the priest said it facing the people instead of with his back to the people.

There were plenty of priests and religious sisters and brothers who could easily be recognized by the distinctive clothes that they wore.

Catholic schools were run by religious priests, sisters and brothers and there were very few lay people on staff. (For example, Mr Kennedy is the first lay Principal of MacKillop College.)

Most Catholics went to Mass each Sunday.

A lot more prayers were said a lot more often.

No Catholic would eat meat on Friday.

Catholics were not permitted to go into the churches of non-Catholics. This meant you could not go to your friend’s wedding if you friend was a non-Catholic Christian.

The Non-Italian Popes: Pope John-Paul II (Poland, 1978-2005); Pope Benedict XVI (Germany, 2005-2013); and Pope Francis (Argentina, 2013- )

Your task:Find out where each of these popes was from and three main facts about their leadership of the Catholic Church.

a) Pope John-Paul IIb) Pope Benedict XVIc) Pope Francis

ConclusionAs is often the case when changes are made, not everyone was willing to accept them. Many people were very happy about the renewal of the Church that was the goal of Vatican II. Some people thought it didn’t go far enough while others thought it went too far.

The Church continues to grow. In some parts of the world its influence is presently in decline while in others it is on the increase. That has often been the situation as the Church tries to live out the mission given to it by Jesus almost two thousand years ago.


Documents

Mark's Gospel blank - Web viewFor most people, the word church refers to a building. Jewish people have synagogues, Muslims have mosques, Hindus and Buddhists have temples and