Knowra Ecclesiology Ecclesiology Ecclesiology is the theological study of the Christian Church’s nature, structure, and mission, including its unity, authority, sacraments, and relation to salvation.
Church (Christianity) : The community of Christians, understood as a religious body, local congregation, or institution. Ecclesiology studies the identity and life of this community.
Papal primacy : The doctrine that the pope holds a distinctive primacy of authority among Christian bishops. It contrasts with ecclesiologies that reject universal papal jurisdiction.
Ecclesiology in the New Testament : The New Testament’s accounts of Christian communities, leadership, worship, unity, and mission. These writings provide the earliest sources for Christian claims about the Church.
Church polity : The structures and procedures by which a church organizes leadership and makes decisions. It translates theological claims about authority into institutional arrangements.
Great Schism : The conventional name for the enduring division between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, conventionally dated to 1054. Competing accounts of authority and jurisdiction contributed to this lasting rupture.
Body of Christ : A New Testament image describing the Christian community as united with Christ and interdependent in its members. This image expresses the Church’s unity and the diversity of its members.
Conciliarity : The principle that councils of bishops or church representatives exercise collective authority in the Church. It offers a collective model of authority alongside claims of individual primacy.
Ignatius of Antioch : An early second-century Christian bishop and writer whose letters emphasize bishops, Eucharist, and church unity. His letters offer an early account of episcopal leadership and local church unity.
Ordination : A rite by which a religious community formally appoints a person to an office of ministry. Views of ordained ministry reflect beliefs about the Church’s authority and mission.
Protestant Reformation : A sixteenth-century movement that produced major changes in Western Christianity and the formation of Protestant churches. Reformers challenged established claims about church authority, ministry, and tradition.
Show all 27