The

Models of
the Church
 Main Purpose of the Presentation

DOCTRINE
1. Identify and Explain the different Models of the Church based on the writings of Avery
Dulles
2. Classify and define the other models of the Church according to Second Vatican
Council document Lumen Gentium

MORAL
1. Grow in one’s relationship with God and the Church by responding to His call of
discipleship through one’s giftedness

WORSHIP
1. Establish a deeper communion with God through prayer, devotions and celebration of
the Sacraments especially the Holy Eucharist
 Models of the Church

01 02 03
Church as Church as Church as
Institution
Clerics responsible Community
The Body of Sacrament
Visible
to the laity for Church, the manifestation of
teaching, worshipping the grace of Christ
sanctifying and community
ruling
04 05 06
Church as Church as Church as School
Herald
A faithful people Servant
A redeemed people of Discipleship
who “hear the who has the The process of
word and keep it” mandate to learning the “job
establish Christ’s description” of the
 01
Instituti
on
Clerics responsible to
the laity for teaching,
sanctifying and ruling
 Church as an
In this
Institution
model, the Church is seen as the
perfect society, a political society
alongside any government. This is the
"Romans side of Roman Catholicism, the
structure of which was designed after the
brilliance of the hierarchical (vs.
representative or democratic)
administration of the Roman Empire, whose
virtues were efficiency and accountability.
The Church is seen as on the giving (vs.
receiving) end of the three functions of
teaching, sanctifying and governing. The
main focus of this model is within, toward
those already in the institution vs. those
outside. The scriptural foundation for this
model is Matthew 16:18: "You are Peter
and upon this rock I will build my church.”
The advantages of this model are a strong
 02
Communi
ty
The Body of Church,
the worshipping
community
 Church as
This
Community
model stresses the personal
and the interpersonal, the
fellowship of persons with God and
with each other. It stems from the
"house church structure of the first
decades of Christianity, wherein the
associations were face-to-face, the
organization is fluid, relations were
covenantal (vs. contractual), the
numbers small (30-40) and the
participants intimate. The scriptural
precedent is strong: the Church is
the "Body of Christ (Romans 12,
1 Corinthians 12) and the People
of God.
 Christ is the
Head
As a body, the Church is vital,
organic, growing structure

Christ is the Head (Eph 1:22;

5:23).The Church and its individual
members depend on Christ as the
whole depends on its head. Christ
communicates through His Spirit (Jn.
16:5-15); and governs the whole
Church, individually and entirely
through the visible hierarchy – the
Pope and bishops who He has given
the teaching, governing and
sanctifying powers.
The Holy Spirit is the
soul

The Holy Spirit is the

soul . The Holy Spirit
gives life to, unifies
and moves the whole
Body of Christ, the
Church. One receives
the Holy Spirit through
Baptism. It is Christ
who pours out the
divine life that makes
the soul one with the
Church.
The members are diverse
yet together they form one
body.
The members have diverse
gifts and functions yet they
work together for the benefit
of the entire body (1 Cor
12:1-13)
As the People of God (1 Pt. 2:9),
the Church opens its identity to the
world, calling all peoples to be part
of it (LG [Lumen Gentium], 13).This
model has been prefigured by the
People of Israel with whom Yahweh
established the old covenant. In
the fullness of time, God formed a
new people in Christ who
acknowledge Him in truth and
serves Him in holiness. Thus the
Church is the New People of God in
which through baptism, believers
are born as a new community,
God’s chosen people, people of the
covenant, the messianic people.
The disadvantages of this
model are:

1) an obscuring between the

spiritual and the visible
dimensions of the Church

2) The danger of divinizing

the Church beyond its due

3) The lack of clarity

regarding the Church’s
identity and mission and the
possibility of reducing the
Church to a mere social
impulse
 03
Sacramen
t
Visible manifestation
of the grace of Christ
 Church as the
Sacrament
Just as the Church is the
Sacrament (the visible form of
an invisible grace) of God, so
the Church is the Sacrament of
Christ. As sacrament, the
church is a visible sign that
effectively makes present
Christ’s redeeming presence
and activity offered to all
persons of every age, race,
culture and condition. By her
unique relationship with Christ,
the Church has become a sign
and instrument of God’s grace
This model challenges the Church to
be more like Christ in its dealings
with everyone. Since the Eucharist is
the central Sacrament of the seven,
the Church takes on the challenge of
being prayerful, liturgical presence in
the world while at the same time
calling the world to table fellowship,
to the conditions of cooperation,
friendship and exchange.
The disadvantage of this model is its
ability to serve a job description for
the Church, along with its
performance can be evaluated. A
disadvantage is that the job
 04
Herald
A faithful people who
“hear the word and
keep it”
 Church as Herald
This model gives
prominence to a theology
of Word: that Jesus is the
Word of God (John
1),preaches the word (The
Gospel as the Good News)
of the Kingdom (Mk. 1:15)
and commissions his
disciples to spread that
word and Word (message
and Person of Jesus) to all
people. The job
description of the Church
as Herald is clear: to
evangelize, that is to
The dangers of this model
are:

1) Words can become mere

formula (lose their content
and be reduced to magic or
meaningless formulae)

2) One might limit Revelation

to the Bible and forget
Tradition (a faithful handing
on of essential truths) which
established Scripture as
another source of revealed
 05
Servant
A redeemed people who
has the mandate to
establish in this world
Christ’s kingship of peace
 Church as Servant
This model sets the church is a
subordinate role to the world,
just as Jesus washed the feet
of his disciples and
commissioned then to do
likewise (Jn.13:34). This model
has inspired Church
sponsored institutions of
charity (hospitals, soup
kitchen, prison chaplaincies
etc.) as well as prophetic
voices which speak out
against injustice (extrajudicial
killing, illegal and immoral use
of Philhealth budget, human
The dangers of this model
are:

1) One may be tempted to

think subordination means
obedience to the world

2) To get easily co-opted by

political movements and
worldly values like
consumerism

3) Secularism, which values

human action but ignores the
 06
Disciplesh
ip
The process of learning the
“job description” of the
Church
 Church as
This Discipleship
model incorporates the
process of learning (disciple
means learner) into the job
description of the Church.
Indeed, becoming organized,
communal, holy, evangelical
and serving all involve the
Church in the process of
education which not only
informs person but forms him
and her, and transforms as well.
Jesus spent all of his public life
gathering and educating
disciples. The sensitivity of the
Church to different conditions of
The dangers of this model is:

1) Failing to recognize
appropriate conditions of the
learner
 Other images/models of the
Church from the Second Vatican
Council’s Dogmatic Constitution
Lumen Gentium
Lumen Gentium
Models of the
Church

Mystery Sheepfold

Mother Flock

Bride of Christ Temple of God Pilgrim

 Mystery
The Church originates from the
saving design of the Father,
the redemptive mission of the
Son and the sanctifying work
of the Holy Spirit.

She is a community of
believers drawn together by
Christ in the power of the Holy
Spirit. The church’s mission is
the mission of is the mission of
the Son and the Holy Spirt in
accord with the decree of God
the Father.
 Mother
The Church as mother (Gal 4:19)
brings forth children to a new and immortal
life through baptism.
A mother generates life, she carries her child
in her womb for 9 months and then delivers
him to life, giving birth to him. The Church is
like this: she bears us in the faith, through
the work of the Holy Spirit who makes her
fertile, like the Virgin Mary.
The mother helps her children grow,
gives them milk, feeds them, teaches them
the way of life, accompanies them always
with her care, with her affection, with her
love, even when they are grown up. And in
this she also knows to correct them, to
forgive them and understand them.
The Church like a good mother does
the same thing: she accompanies our
development by transmitting to us the Word
of God. She nourishes us with the Eucharist,
she brings us the forgiveness of God through
 Bride of Christ

The Church as the Bride of

Christ beautifully captures the
nature of the Church and her
relation to Christ. As His bride,
Christ deeply loves her that He gave
Himself up for her (Eph 5:25) His
love makes the Church a
resplendent bride, without spot or
wrinkle, holy and without blemish.
 Temple of God

The Church is built on the

foundation of the apostles with
Christ as the cornerstone.
 Sheepfold

The Church is a sheepfold

that keeps people close to
Christ as the Good Shepherd
who lays down His life for His
sheep (Jn 10:1-15)
 Vineyard

The Church as a vineyard

is understood God as the
heavenly Vinedresser and with
Christ as the true Vine who
gives His life and fruitfulness to
the branches (Jn 15:1-17)
 Pilgrim

The Church as pilgrim is

on her way towards the lasting
city, the Kingdom of God, the
heavenly Jerusalem
End
The lecture ends here
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