Kościół jako sakrament dialogu według Edwarda Schillebeeckxa

Abstract

Ecclesiology continuously makes efforts to reinterpret the biblical images of the Church (the People of God, the Body of Christ, the Kingdom of God). Professor Edward Schillebeeckx proposes a dynamic-existential conception of the Church as a sacrament of dialogue. He notices a dialectic tension between humanity and the Church defined as a sacrament of the future (sacramentum futuri). Christ is really present in the Church and at the same time He goes beyond her visible borders and becomes a gift for those who are not related with the Church. Therefore each anonymous relationship with Christ is simultaneously an encounter with the Church. Anonymous Christianity needs the voice of the Church, so that it could enter the level of conscious participation in the fellowship of faith. The basic task of the Church is a dialogue with the world. Owing to this dialogical relationship between the Church and the world, they both listen to and enrich each other. The dialogue with the world demands that the Church be always ready to conversion. Through dialogue the Church becomes herself more and more and is committed to the promotion of good in the world.