HSTR 203 The Church: Community and Institution
Why is the Christian life essentially one of community, and what kind of institutional organization is appropriate for this particular community? These were central questions addressed by Vatican II in its constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, and they remain central questions in ecumenical dialogue seeking the unity of the Church today. This course will consider the life and shape of the Church at various points in its history, and the flourishing of study of the Church or 'ecclesiology' in the 20th century. It will closely examine the teaching of the Council itself and issues that have arisen in ecumenical discussion in recent decades on this topic.