Historia zbawienia a Kościół

Abstract

The view of the history of salvation is often reduced to salvational history, which culminates, that is, completes in the Offer of the Cross and Resurrection. Thus the reality of the Church is omitted from the theology of the history of salvation. This results mainly from the understanding of the Church merely as an institution, and not as a part of the history of salvation. The Church of Jesus Christ belongs to a particular history of salvation, aside to the redemption history of Christ and salvation history in Israel. Therefore the relationship between the Church and the history of salvation in general should be drawn out, thereby proving the role of the Church as a particular history of salvation against the perspective of the general history of salvation. The distinction between the two circles of salvation history does not cause a dissolution of this unity and community. It is determined by the unity of the salvational will of God, by the unity of mankind and history in the Event of Christ, and by the unity of the ultimate aim of history. Now the Church, as a particular history of salvation, fulfills its indispensable function towards the general history of salvation: it testifies to the redemption carried out by God in Christ, serves to gain salvation, combines the universal and limited character of the Event of Christ, and makes the individual’s acts of faith objective throughout history. Since the grace of Christ’s salvation is efficient also "beyond the Church", the Church, as a historical grace made concrete, should stand in a dialogic confrontation with the "non-Church". Both fellowships interact and fulfil the historical and salvational functions towards each other in the service to the whole of mankind.