Christianity

as State Religion, the

Ecumenical Councils, and the
Rise of Monasticism
 PERIOD OF Christianity
In this chapter, we shall highlight the declaration of Christianity as
the Roman State Religion, the Christological heresies, the
Ecumenical Councils and the emergence of Monasticism.

2
 End of persecution
The persecution of the Christians ended at the time of the
Emperor Galerius who gave the Edict of Toleration in 311 A.D.,
thereby granting an imperial assurance of safety, respect and
independence in the conduct of the Christian faith. 3
 CHRISTIANITY WON
It was Galerius’ dying wish through
an edict that “formally ended the
persecution, freed imprisoned
Christians and restored Christianity.

But there were authorities who

still insisted that Christians must
pay homage to the Roman gods.

roman OPPOSITIONS 4
 ANTI CHRISTIANS

Inscription from Arycandia in Lycia

preserves the petition of the provincial
councils of Lycia and Caria demanding the
‘atheists’ (Christians) should be made to
sacrifice or be expelled from their midst.
5
 ANTI CHRISTIANS

The same tone was adopted by the

councils of Nicomedia, Antioch, and Tyre.
At Damascus, the military commander
rounded up prostitutes and coerced them
to confess to having witnessed disgraceful
scene in Christian churches.
6
KILLING OF
Christians
The savage outbreak of killing
between November 311 to
January 312 deprived the
Christians in the East of some
of their foremost leaders”.

7
The Power of PowerPoint | thepopp.com
8

PERSECUTION
RESUMED
◼ It seemed like persecution was not yet
fully subdued. Christians re-experienced
the horror of persecution and at the same
time, the gift of martyrdom.
 01 End OF persecution

02 Constantine: A Political
Opportunist or Religious Hero?
TABLE OF
CONTENTS 03 Great Ecumenical Councils of the
Early Church

04 Rise of Monasticism

05 CONCLUSION
Quiz

9
 SECTION 1

End OF
persecution
 Edict of
toleration

But through an edict, Constantine

who with Licinus, gave the
persecution its final and definitive
halt in 313 A.D., right after defeating
Maxentius in October 312 11
 ◼ “…it is our pleasure that
all restrictions which were
previously put forward in
official pronouncements
Edict of concerning the sect of the
Christians should be
toleration re moved and that each
one of them … may
The edict of milan endeavor to practice its
precepts without any fear
or danger…”
12
Edict of
toleration
The edict of milan
“ We, Constantine and Licinus the
Emperors… are of the opinion that
among the various things which
could profit men… was to be
found the cultivation of religion; we
should therefore give both the
Christians and to all others the
free facility to follow the religion…”
13
 After a thousand lives
had been slaughtered
for the conviction which
they paid by their blood,
the Christians felt that
their prayers were finally
ALLELUIA! answered and their faith
triumphed against the
evil of persecution.
14
WHAT is the
MOTIVATION?
But we may ask this question:
What prompted Constantine to
issue such a degree? Was it
religiously or politically motivated?
15
SECTION 2

CONSTANTINE:
A political
opportunist or
religious hero?
17

Constantine: opportunist or
hero?
◼ Constantine was
criticized by some as a
shrewd political
strategist who used
Christianity for his self-
serving intentions.
 Constantine: opportunist or
18

hero?
◼ Accordingly, he used
such religion to expand
the territory and power
of the Roman Empire,
multiplied the number of
his army and exploited
the Christian teachings to
control and regulate the
behaviors of his subjects.
 let us cite the
historical
events
01 02 03
TIME OF WAR & THE VISION EDICT of MILAN Devotion and conversion
Constantine’s victory Decree of He speaks of the
over the Emperor
Maxentius at the unrestricted “Christian God” as our
Milvian Bridge on freedom to the God (famulum Dei). His
October 312, Christians obedience to “the will of
God” was absolute.

19
Time of war &
The VISION

◼ Constantine started his

journey to Christianity when
he received the vision “with
a cross of light inscribed “in
hoc (signo) vinces, as
described by Eusebius.”
20
Time of war & The
VISION

The victorious emperor

had his soldiers marked
the Chi-rho monogram on
the shields before the
historic war.
21
Time of war & The VISION

Constantine’s victory
over the Emperor
Maxentius at the
Milvian Bridge on
October 312.

22
Edict of milan

23
 Edict of milan
The decree also
granted full
independence of
pagan religions to
practice their
worship.

24
Edict of milan

But as Constantine
progressed in his reign
as the head of the
Roman Empire, his
strong inclination
towards Christianity
was gradually revealed.

25
Edict of milan
Constantine instructed the
proconsul of Africa,
Anulinus, to see that the
Catholic Church in North
Africa received back in
Toto the possessions
forfeited in the
persecutions, even if these
were now in the hands of
private citizens.

26
Edict of milan
At the same time, he wrote
to Anulinus, the proconsul,
instructing him that the
clergy “in the Catholic
Church over which
Caecilian presides, were
to be granted immunity
from state burdens .”

27
devotion and
c o nve rs i o n
Constantine’s
personal devotion to
the Christian religion
became more
pronounced.
28
 devotion and
c o nve rs i o n
An increase of Christian
infrastructure and monetary
favor was also noticeable.
There was “the gift of his
wife Fausta’s palace on the
Lateran to the Church in
313;
29
devotion and
c o nve rs i o n
Followed by the grant of
lands to various
churches in Rome, in c.
322 by the building of
monumental church in
honor of St. Peter.
30
 devotion and
c o nve rs i o n
Great privilege was given to
the clergy of the Christian
Churches in the form of
immunity granted from
the financial burdens
of municipal administration.
31
 devotion and
c o nve rs i o n
Bishops were assigned
jurisdiction the same validity as
that of magistrate. Clergy were
being recognized as civic as well
as religious leaders and accorded
a corresponding status.”
32
 devotion and
c o nve rs i o n
◼ On 11 May 330, two months before
his 25th anniversary as Augustus,
he dedicated the new capital
C o n s t a n t i n o p l e . He forbade the
offering of sacrifices in the pagan
temples that had been erected there.
There was to be no idolatrous
worship and no pagan festival.
33
 devotion and
c o nve rs i o n
◼ While the Christians, who only
consisted one-fifth (1/5) of the
empire’s population at that time,
were enjoying f u ll i m p e r ia l
vi n d i c a t i o n in the practice of
their worship.
34
IS IT
SINCERE?
No matter how great the words
and works of Constantine towards
Christianity, some historians
r e m a i n e d d o u b t f u l regarding
his sincere conversion to Christian
faith, which only took place on his
deathbed.
35
SECTION 3

Great
ecumenical
councils
 Great
ecumenical
councils

◼ While Constantine bestowed the

Church with so much temporal
privilege, peace and power, it was
not immune from internal threats to
her unity. 37
Great
ecumenical
councils

◼ The Church encountered

differences of interpretations
pertaining to its dogma and
doctrines.
38
 Great
ecumenical
councils
By definition, an ecumenical
council is “literally a council
drawn from the whole wide
world or a “meeting of all the
bishops of the inhabited world
(in Greek, o i k u m e n e )”
39
Great
ecumenical
councils
In order “to deliberate ecumenical
councils of the 4th century were
primarily focused on
Christological heresies - a
dispute pertaining to the person
and identity of Jesus Christ. 40
 3.1
Claim of arius
41
Claim of arius
arianism
Arius, a priest at Alexandria, preached
that the Jesus Christ is God’s foremost
creature and creator of all the others, but
He is not of the substance of God the
Father and not eternal. 42
Claim of arius
arianism
◼ The Son is a creature,
created in time by the Father
and then used by the Father
in the creation of the world.
43
Claim of arius
arianism

◼ Thus Christ was neither God nor

a human being. Rather, he was
less than God but more than
human. He was a kind of
composite intermediary
being. 44
 3.2
Council of nicea
45
Council of
nicea
◼ Arius disturbed the unity of the
Christians and s o w e d t h e s e e d o f
c o n f u s i o n . He managed to convince
a few believers and went around
continuously teaching his belief on
Jesus being subordinate to the Father. 46
 Council of
nicea
The First Ecumenical Council of
Nicea, which was attended “by 230
bishops” condemned Arius as a
heretic and affirmed its faith in
Jesus as equal to the Father in the
famous Nicene Creed of 325 A.D.
47
Council of
nicea
Through the council, “the bishops
added the adjectives
h o m o o u s i o s in speaking of the
Son of God; that is to say that the
Son is of the same substance
(ousia) with the Father or
consubstantial with him. 48
Council of nicea

The Council affirms Jesus as

fully divine, eternal, not
made and truly human.
49
 Council of nicea
◼ Athanasius the bishop of
Alexandria, was responsible
for the partial defeat of
Arianism . He was
considered as “the greatest
of the 4th century defenders
of 1st Council of Nicea.

50
 3.3
1st Council of
Constantinople 51
 1st
Council of
Constantinople
(381 A.D.)

◼ Even with the fruits of the

Council of Nicea, heresies still
persisted. Another controversy
came up because of this
question: If he Jesus Christ was
“ v e r y G o d , ” how could he be
“true man?” 52
 1st
Council of
Constantinople
(381 A.D.)

◼ Apollinaris of Laodicea “d e n i e d
t h e f u l l h u m a n i t y of Jesus
saying that the rational soul in
him had been replaced by the
divine Logos.”
53
 1st
Council of
Constantinople
(381 A.D.)

◼ Therefore, making Jesus

“incapable of sin because he did
not have a human soul which
was capable of sin and error.”

54
1st
Council of
Constantinople
▪Richard McBrien further explains:
“How can God become a human
being without ceasing to be God
except by taking the place of the
mind in a human being?”
Apollinaris asked.
55
1st
Council of
Constantinople
▪The Emperor Theodosius I,
who declared Christianity as
the official religion of the
Roman Empire, appointed a
new bishop of Constantinople,
Gregory of Nazianzus.
56
1st
Council of
Constantinople

▪The Council of Constantinople

indeed re-affirmed Nicea and
condemned Apollinarianism and
Arianism.”

57
 3.4
Council of
Ephesus 58
Council
of
Ephesus
(431 A.D.)
After the achievements of the
councils at Nicea and
Constantinople, a new question
assailed the church authorities
and divided its leaders. 59
Council of
ephesus
▪Nestorius, patriarch of
Constantinople, “divided the two
natures in Christ, one divine and
the other human and each has its
own personal manifestation.
60
 Council of
ephesus
▪Nestorius conceded that she
[Mary] was Christ-bearer
(Christotokos) but not the
“Mother of God” (Theotokos) as
it was “called by both Origen
and Eusebius of Caesarea. 61
Council of
ephesus
On the other hand, Cyril,
bishop of Alexandria,
attacked the claims of
Nestorius. An intelligent
theologian who is faithful
to Nicea. 62
 Council of
ephesus
▪Cyril worked to emphasized
the unity of divine and
human in Christ” and
strongly argued that the title
Theotokos for Mary is
“permissible.”
63
Council of
ephesus

▪The Council of Ephesus

condemned the views of
Nestorius and declared
Mary as Theotokos.
64
 3.5
Council of
Chalcedon 65
The Power of PowerPoint | thepopp.com 66
Council of
Chalcedon
▪Dissatisfied with the previous
declarations on the person of
Christ, Eutyches, a monk from
Constantiople, “asserted that,
although there were 2 natures
before the union of the Incarnation,
there resulted only 1 nature, the
divine, after the union. 67
Council of
Chalcedon
▪In other words, “Christ’s human
nature was completely absorbed
by the divine nature.” Such new
heresy was termed as
“m o n o p h ys i t i s m , the
doctrine of one nature in Christ.”
68
Council of
Chalcedon
▪Since heresy deliberately and
clearly violated the teachings of the
previous councils, “Flavian, the
bishop of Constantinople had
Eutyches condemned and
excommunicated.”
69
 Rise of Monasticism

Monks They were the best keepers of the

Church at a time when Christianity was
bombarded with worldly concerns and
immersed with mundane desires,
earthly allurements of power, prestige
and privilege.

70
 Categories given by
Richard Cronin
3 Variety of Early
a) Eremitical Monks
Monastic Life:
b) Cenobitical Monks

c) Stylites Monks
71
 Eremitical
Monks

The word eremitical is from

the Greek word eremos
which means solitary.

The Power of PowerPoint | thepopp.com 72

 Eremitical
Monks
It was thought that “St.
Anthony (251-356), the Father
of Monasticism chose to live in
a life of solitary existence in
the desert of Egypt, of celibacy
and of self-mortification. 73
Eremitical
Monks

He was later, was

followed by at least five
thousand monks.
The Power of PowerPoint | thepopp.com 74
 Cenobitical
Monks
From the Greek word
koinobion meaning
convent)

75
 Cenobitical
Monks
In contrast to the solitary life of
the eremitical monastics, the
cenobitical monks lived with
their fellow monks in a
community under the guidance
and leadership of an abbot. 76
 Cenobitical
Monks
While personal prayer and work
can be pursued, this group set
a common time of prayer, work
and various communal
activities.
77
 Cenobitical
Monks
They still practice the vows
of poverty and celibacy with
the addition of the pledge of
obedience to their superior
or abbot for an orderly
communal life.
78
 Stylites
Monks
Strange but true, the
stylites (from the Greek
word, stulos, meaning
pillar) made their sincere
act of penance by living
at the top of a pillar. The Power of PowerPoint | thepopp.com 79
 Stylites
Monks
Among the Stylites, according to Richard
Cronin, “St. Simeon Stylites was the
most famous. He lived at the top of a
sixty foot pillar for forty-three years.
The whole day was spent in prayer and
intercession.” The Power of PowerPoint | thepopp.com 80
Conclusion
• We have come to understanding and
appreciation of the Church’s growing of
her faith in Jesus
• Greater enlightenment through the
declaration of the ecumenical council
• Our generation is so blessed to enjoy
the fruit of the labor from those
councils. Thus, today we simply need to
read, listen and understand the
knowledge and wisdom handed unto
us. The Power of PowerPoint | thepopp.com 81
Conclusion
• Greater understanding of Jesus, leads us to
a greater love for our Lord.
• The monks made their mark in history,
convinced that the calling of a Christian is to
seek poverty, purity and holiness, enable us
to admire their dedication and inspires us in
our own struggle for contentment with our
worldly desires.
• We are again once reminded to consciously
and continually decide for our faith.
• We do not need to be stylite monk to carry
that out and be holy. The Power of PowerPoint | thepopp.com 82
CHAPTER IV

THE DIFFICULT TIMES FOR THE

CHURCH: FROM INVASION TO
COUNTER-REFORMATION

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ At the end of the session students will be
able to:
▪ Identify the factors of the downfall of
Learning Rome and the
Catholic Church
challenges of the

Objective ▪ Figure out how does the church grew

mature and develop common
understanding between other religion.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

Fall of Rome
and the
The early part of the 5th century: Germanic
Germanic tribes pressed on by Huns, the Visigoths and
Invasions the Vandals – Germanic Barbarians

The mighty empire of the West and converted

instrument of Christianity destroyed and
ruined by the barbarians, shocked and fear
and fear overwhelmed the entire empire

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

Fall of Rome
and the
Germanic
Invasions

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

Fall of Rome
and the
Germanic
Invasions

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ Invasion by the Germans caused the decline of
the Roman Empire and the Church
▪ During the early part of the fifth century, many
Germanic tribes, pressed on by the Huns
(Huns were a nomadic people who lived in
Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern
Europe, between the 4th and 6th century AD.)
Fall of Rome
▪ In 410, Rome was captured and sacked by the
and the Visigoths (were the western branches of the
Germanic nomadic tribes of Germanic peoples referred
Invasions to collectively as the Goths)
▪ To those who were faithful to the old pagan
religion of Rome, such misfortune was deemed
as a “punishment for abandoning the old
religion”
▪ To some Christian believers, such tragedy can
be attributed as “punishment to their sins”
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
Rise of Islam

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ Islam, in the seventh century, was born in
modern day Saudi Arabia
▪ Through the leadership of the great prophet
Mohammed, fled Mecca for Medina . This is
known as Hijra, the beginning of Moslem
era
spread Islam to the entire Mediterranean
world
Rise of Islam ▪ Unable to rally the Christians and the Jews,
Mohamed turned against both and began to
proclaim his religion as a world-wide-one
▪ The Persian empires opposed them, the
Arabs, who constituted a new military
force, hurled themselves into a series of
lightning conquests
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ They accepted death enthusiastically in
their ‘striving on the road to God (jihad,
often translated ‘holy war’)
▪ Jerusalem was captured in 638, at the
same time Syria and Palestine
▪ Alexandria fell in 642, Persia in 651 to
North America, Arabs & Spain.
Rise of Islam
▪ The expansion of Islam conquered Christian
territories, including the Holy Land; brought
converts to the Islamic faith; spread Islamic
influence and culture; and established
structures that were important to the
Islamic believer
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 Evil of
Feudalism

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ Means socio-economic system based
on land ownership by a wealthy people
▪ Not a unified, single system
▪ Age of Feudalism is when Europe broke
up into 3 separate kingdoms
▪ France
Evil of
Feudalism ▪ Germany
▪ Italy
The most prominent features of
feudalism were the nobles, knights,
serfs and crusades

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ Land belong to the warrior who
defended it
▪ He put himself under the protection of
a more powerful lord who would grant
his vassal the possession
Jean Comby:
basic ▪ The Church, which owned large areas
understanding of land, was caught up in his system
of the concept ▪ Every holder of ecclesiastical office
of feudalism had the use of a piece land, which
provided him a living
▪ The bishop was the lord and vassal in
the same way as the laity
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ Feudalism dominated the people’s way of life,
even influenced the Church on its attitude
towards the world and its people
▪ Ecclesiastical positions or ranks became
targets of trade and business when people
started to sell their positions and offices.
Such act, deemed to be sinful, is known as
Evil of
SIMONY - the buying or selling of
Feudalism
ecclesiastical privileges, for example pardons
or benefices.
▪ The competition to own, control and to
dominate became a culture of corruption and
greed to those who aimed for greater property
and power
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 Evil of
Feudalism

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 Evil of
Feudalism

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

Church &
Feudalism

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

Schism

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ SCHISM is defined as “a division of a
Church into factions because of
differences in doctrine”
▪ ROMAN WESTERN CHURCH claims
that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the
Father and the Son(filioque)
▪ EASTERN CHURCH maintains that the
Schism: Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father
Separation of but not from the Son. The “Spirit
the West and comes through the Son, but holds that
the East the Father is the source and origin of
the whole divinity
▪ An exchange of excommunication
followed, an action that would bring
long separation between the Roman
Catholic Church and Eastern
Orthodox Church
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 Schism:
Separation of
the West and
the East

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ This schism happened gradually over
centuries and became official in the
year 1054. It had political and
religious causes. The political cause
Schism: was the splitting of the Roman Empire.
Separation of
the West and
▪ In the 400s AD, the Roman Empire
the East
split into a western empire (capital at
Rome) and an eastern empire (capital
at Constantinople).

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ In the early church, “schism” was used to
describe those groups that broke with the
church and established rival churches.
▪ the East-West schism that divided
Christendom into Western (Roman
Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) branches
medieval ▪ It began in 1054 because of various
schism disputes and actions, and it has never been
healed, although in 1965 Pope Paul VI and
the ecumenical patriarch Athenagoras
I abolished the mutual excommunications
of 1054 of the pope and the patriarch of
Constantinople
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ the Eastern Christian churches (led by
the patriarch of
Constantinople, Michael Cerularius)

▪ the Western church (led by Pope Leo

schism 1054 IX).

▪ The mutual excommunications by

the pope and the patriarch in 1054
became a watershed in church history.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

schism 1054

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 Eastern
Western:
Orthodoxy:
Roman Catholicism:
▪ Patriarchs & other
▪ Pope has authority
bishops lead the church
over all other bishops,
as a collective group
kings & emperors
▪ Services conducted in
The Great ▪ Services conducted in
Greek or in local
Latin
Schism languages
▪ Priests cannot marry
▪ Priest may marry
▪ Divorce is not
▪ Divorce is allowed under
permitted
certain circumstances

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 The Crusades were organized by
western European Christians after
centuries of Muslim wars of
expansion.

Their primary objectives were to

Crusades stop the expansion of Muslim
states, to reclaim for Christianity
the Holy Land in the Middle East,
and to recapture territories that
had formerly been Christian.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ With a series of foreign invasions
threatening Christianity and taking its
holy place, like Palestine, the home
country of Jesus, Christianity became
militant.

▪ The reason and cause of the

Crusades crusades was a war between Christians
and Moslems which centered around the
city of Jerusalem and the Holy places of
Palestine. ... Pilgrims throughout the
Middle Ages made sacred pilgrimages to
the Holy city of Jerusalem and the
church.
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
▪ Most historians consider the sermon
preached by Pope Urban II at Clermont-
Ferrand in November 1095 to have been
the spark that fueled a wave of military
campaigns to wrest the Holy Land from
Muslim control
▪ Considered at the time to be divinely
sanctioned, these campaigns, involving
often ruthless battles, are known as the
Crusades
▪ At their core was a desire for access to
shrines associated with the life and
ministry of Jesus, above all the Holy
Sepulcher, the church in Jerusalem said
to contain the tomb of Christ
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
▪ Absolution from sin and eternal glory were
promised to the Crusaders, who also
hoped to gain land and wealth in the East.

▪ Nobles and peasants responded in great

number to the call and marched across
Europe to Constantinople, the capital of
the Byzantine empire

▪ . With the support of the Byzantine

emperor, the knights, guided by Armenian
Christians (57.185.3), barely marched to
Jerusalem through Seljuq-controlled
territories in modern Turkey and Syria.
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
▪ In June 1099, the Crusaders began a
five-week siege of Jerusalem, which
fell on July 15, 1099
▪ Eyewitness accounts attest to the
terror of battle. Ralph of Caen,
watching the city from the Mount of
Olives, saw “the scurrying or rushing
people, the fortified towers, the
roused garrison, the men rushing to
arms, the women in tears, the priests
turned to their prayers, the streets
ringing with cries, crashing, clanging
and neighing.”
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ The crusaders of the First Crusade managed
to recapture the holy city of Jerusalem in
1099. But after almost 50 years of peace,
fighting broke out again, with the Muslims
the winners. The Third Crusade made heroes
out of the Muslim leader Saladin and the
The Crusades English king, who became known as Richard
(1095–1291) the Lionheart.
▪ In 1291, one of the only
remaining Crusader cities, Acre, fell to the
Muslim Mamluks. Many historians believe
this defeat marked the end of
the Crusader States and
the Crusades themselves
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ It was taught by the ecclesiastical
authorities at that time that if a
crusader dies during the crusade,
Crusades he is assured of his salvation
because he was already forgiven
from his sins

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

Inquisitions
▪ A court established by the Roman
Catholic Church in the thirteenth
century to try cases of heresy and
other offenses against the church.
Those convicted could be handed
over to the civil authorities for
punishment, including execution
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
What happened ▪ The Inquisition was a powerful office
during set up within the Catholic Church to
Inquisitions root out and punish heresy throughout
Europe and the Americas. Beginning in
the 12th century and continuing for
hundreds of years, the Inquisition is
infamous for the severity of its tortures
and its persecution of Jews and
Muslims. Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ Once a heretic is found, he/she is given an
appropriate trial and corresponding measure,
depending on the case at hand
▪ An ecclesiastical authorities issued their
vigilant decision against the recurrence of
heresies
▪ But prudence was exercised for instance,
“Wason, the bishop of Liege, sent a letter to
Inquisitions the bishop of Chalons in 1054 reminding him
that a bishop cannot demand the death of
heretics.
▪ But the repression of heresies took an ugly
turn
▪ Religious and civil authorities elevated the
heresy as a crime and worst, named it as an
act of “high treason” Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ At the outset, the main focus was on
Jews and “judaizers” — Christian
What was the converts of Jewish ancestry who were
purpose of the accused of secretly adhering to
Inquisition in Judaism. The Roman Inquisition,
the eyes of the created to fight the Reformation, and
church? run from the Vatican, doesn't come to
an end until the 20th century

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪Events & Circumstances Leading
to Reformation:

Protestant
▪Stop the abuses!
Reformation ▪The Church must Reform!
(15th-16th was the clamor of the early
century)
reformers towards the Catholic
Church at that time

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ 7.1 BLACK DEATH
▪ he Black Death, also known as the
Protestant Pestilence, the Great Plague or the
Reformation Plague, or less commonly the Black
(15th-16th Plague, was one of the most devastating
pandemics in human history, resulting in
century)
the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200
Events & million people in Eurasia (largest
Circumstances Leading continent on Earth, comprising all of
to Reformation: Europe and Asia) and peaking in Europe
from 1347 to 1351

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

7.1 BLACK
DEATH

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ The untreated pneumonic form of the
disease (in which it is inhaled into the
lungs) has a mortality rate close to
100% and can kill within 24 hours.
What caused ▪ The Black Death is believed to have
the Black been the result of plague, an infectious
Death? fever caused by the bacterium Yersinia
pestis. The disease was likely
transmitted from rodents to humans by
the bite of infected fleas.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪7.1 BLACK DEATH
▪The population of Europe was
Protestant
almost wiped out because of a
Reformation
(15th-16th plague which resulted to a number
century) of 25 million death in Europe
Events & ▪Most of those who were affected
Circumstances Leading interpreted such affliction as a
to Reformation: divine punishment and an
invitation for conversion

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ The Catholic Church was enveloped
with a great controversy created by a
few of its own authorities.
▪ 1389 The College of Cardinals elected
Pope Urban VI, but for some reasons,
recanted their previous decision and
7.2 Papal
formally installed Clement VII as the
Controversy
new pope by 1394
▪ The third pope, Alexander V, was
named in Pisa through council

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ Pope in the middle ages, were subjects of
envy among the powerful and ambitious
because of the “absolute power and the
wealth of the papacy”
▪ Pope Alexander VI, came from a “corrupt
Borgia family… infamous for his political
7.3 Unworthy intrigues, mistresses and children. Often
Popes on the used his children’s marriages to make
Throne of Peter political alliances and held lavish orgies in
the papal palace after their wedding
▪ Innocent III went beyond his claim in saying
that he is “the Lord of the World,” a semi-
divine figure who was “below God but above
man”
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ The lay people aware of the corruption
and excesses of their religious leaders
lost their fidelity and respect towards
them.
▪ Slowly, this situation led them to sow
seeds of contempt and aversion to their
7.3 Unworthy leaders
Popes on the
Throne of Peter

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

7.4 Selling of
Indulgence

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ One particularly well-known Catholic
method of exploitation in the Middle Ages
was the practice of selling indulgences, a
monetary payment of penalty which,
supposedly, absolved one of past sins
and/or released one from purgatory after
death.
7.4 Selling of
Indulgence

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

7.4 Selling of
Indulgence

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪In 1517, Pope Leo X
offered indulgences for those who
gave alms to rebuild St. Peter's
Basilica in Rome. The aggressive
Why did the marketing practices of Johann
pope want to Tetzel in promoting this cause
sell
provoked Martin Luther to write his
indulgences?
Ninety-five Theses, condemning what
he saw as the purchase and sale of
salvation.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ All church officials, merchants, laborers,
and bankers gained wealth from the profits
of indulgences.
What does a person gain by purchasing an
indulgence?
▪ In the Roman Catholic Church,
Which groups
an indulgence is the remission of a
were impacted temporal punishment brought about by sin.
the most by the This punishment consists of either earthly
selling of sufferings or time spent after death in
indulgences? Purgatory. Typically a writ of indulgence is
issued by the Church and given to an
individual who has demonstrated some type
of penance, or good work. Indulgences can
be applied to oneself or to the soul of a
deceased person. Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ Not everyone agrees on the technicalities
surrounding indulgences or on the theology
behind them. For this reason, the term is
somewhat ambiguous and subject to much
confusion.
▪ In the Catholic tradition, there are two types of
indulgences: partial indulgences and plenary
Catholic indulgences. A partial indulgence removes
Indulgences part of one's punishment or suffering, while a
plenary indulgence removes all of one's
punishment or suffering. Historically,
indulgences have been linked to earning time
out of Purgatory. The abuse of indulgences
was a primary cause of the Protestant
Reformation in the early sixteenth century.
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ “helps it members by granting
indulgences, that is by authoritatively
assigning the penitent a portion of the
treasury of merits of Christ and the
7.4 Selling of saints to remit temporal punishment
Indulgence due to sins already forgiven”
according to CFC
▪ “for every coin that rings is a soul in
purgatory that springs”

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ While reasserting the place of indulgences in the
salvific process, the Council of Trent condemned “all
base gain for securing indulgences” in 1563, and
Pope Pius V abolished the sale of indulgences in
When did the 1567. The system and its underlying theology
Catholic Church otherwise remained intact.

stop selling
indulgences?

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

Reformers
Reformers emerged to condemned
their excesses and offered their
own teachings and practice

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

Reformers
▪ was a German professor of theology, composer,
priest, monk, and a seminal figure in the
Protestant Reformation. Luther was ordained to
the priesthood in 1507.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ Luther was extraordinarily successful as a monk. He
plunged into prayer, fasting, and ascetic practices—
going without sleep, enduring bone-chilling cold
without a blanket, and flagellating himself. As he
later commented, "If anyone could have earned
heaven by the life of a monk, it was I.
Martin Luther
▪ Though he sought by these means to love God fully,
he found no consolation. He was increasingly
terrified of the wrath of God: "When it is touched by
this passing inundation of the eternal, the soul feels
and drinks nothing but eternal punishment."

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ During his early years, whenever Luther read what would
become the famous "Reformation text"—Romans 1:17—
his eyes were drawn not to the word faith, but to the
word righteous. Who, after all, could "live by faith" but
those who were already righteous? The text was clear on
the matter: "the righteous shall live by faith.“
Martin Luther ▪ Luther remarked, "I hated that word, 'the righteousness
of God,' by which I had been taught according to the
custom and use of all teachers ... [that] God is righteous
and punishes the unrighteous sinner." The young Luther
could not live by faith because he was not righteous—
and he knew it.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ he nailed his famous ninety-five theses on the
door of the Church at Wittenberg as his “protest”
to the Catholic Church – an act that would bring
Luther to separation from the Church and to an
8.1 Martin
eventual birth of Protestant movement
Luther
▪ Abhorred and condemned the practice of selling
indulgences preached by the church at that time,
especially since it involved the monetary
purchase of a certificate, among other things

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ His central teachings, that the Bible is
the central source of religious
authority and that salvation is reached
What were through faith and not deeds, shaped
Martin Luther's the core of Protestantism.
Although Luther was critical of the
main ideas?
Catholic Church, he distanced himself
from the radical successors who took
up his mantle.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ Lutherans believe that humans are saved from their
sins by God's grace alone (Sola Gratia), through faith
alone (Sola Fide), on the basis of Scripture alone
(Sola Scriptura). Orthodox Lutheran theology holds
What are the that God made the world, including humanity, perfect,
three main holy and sinless.
ideas of ▪ in 1517, Martin Luther published his 95 Theses in an
Lutheranism? attempt to get the Roman Catholic Church to stop
selling indulgences, or 'get out of hell free' cards.
Luther did not think the Church had the authority to
grant such indulgences, especially not for money.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ The message of 95 Theses gave the summary and
expressed the feelings of many of his peers already had
about the corruption of Christ's teachings. Luther
illustrated the spiritual, material, and psychological truths
behind abuses in the practice of buying and selling
indulgences.
Why did Martin
Luther leave ▪ Luther was ordained to the priesthood in 1507. He came
to reject several teachings and practices of the
Catholic?
Roman Catholic Church; in particular, he disputed the
view on indulgences.
▪ Luther proposed an academic discussion of the practice
and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of
1517.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ The condemnation of the sale of indulgence
▪ The translation of the Bible into the vernacular
(German language) in order to make it available to
the ordinary people
▪ consideration of Baptism and Eucharist as the
only valid sacraments
Legacies to ▪ His attack on the veneration of saints and Marian
Protestantism: devotions
▪ The Sacred Scripture as the only authority of
Christian teaching ( sola scriptura, scripture
alone)
▪ His famous doctrine on justification by faith
alone(sola fide, faith alone)
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
8.2 Ulzich
Huldrych Zwingli or Ulrich Zwingli was a
Zwingli leader of the Reformation in Switzerland,
born during a time of emerging Swiss
patriotism and increasing criticism of the
Swiss mercenary system. He attended the
University of Vienna and the University of
Basel, a scholarly center of Renaissance
humanism

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

8.2 Ulzich
Huldrych Zwingli or Ulrich Zwingli (1
Zwingli January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader
of the Reformation in Switzerland. ... In
1519, Zwingli became the pastor of the
Grossmünster in Zürich, where he began to
preach ideas on reform of the Catholic
Church.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ “began to abolish the Mass itself”
▪ Challenge the legitimacy of some of the sacraments
▪ Began to seize Church property, rejected celibacy
8.2 Ulzich and the covenants and the monasteries were
Zwingli suppressed
▪ Claimed as far as saying that the Holy Eucharist is
just an ordinary, memorial meal: thus, “ Jesus was
not really present in the Eucharist”

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

8.3 John Calvin
Aug 13, 2019 - John Calvin, Martin Luther's successor as
the preeminent Protestant theologian, made a powerful
impact on the fundamental doctrines of Protestantism. ...
Born in France in 1509, theologian/ecclesiastical
statesman John Calvin was Martin Luther's successor as
the preeminent Protestant

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ Was the Protestant reformer known for his
influential writing, Institutes of the
Christian Religion, which eventually
became a “ handbook of Protestant
doctrine”
▪ Thus, the Church is the “company of the
elect”
8.3 John Calvin ▪ He put primacy on the Sacred Scripture as
a source of belief, rejected the papacy and
stressed on divine grace for salvation
▪ PREDESTINATION – he taught that “God
has already determined out destiny… and
that God indeed allows many to be
damned to manifest divine justice
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 Counter- The Counter-Reformation served to
Reformation: solidify doctrine that many Protestants
The Catholic were opposed to, such as the authority
Response of the pope and the veneration of
saints, and eliminated many of the
abuses and problems that had initially
inspired the Reformation, such as the
sale of indulgences for the remission
of sin.
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 Counter-
Reformation:
The Catholic
Response

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 Counter-
Reformation:
The Catholic
Response

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ Society of Jesus (known today as the
Society of Jesus), who “sought to be the
servants of the Church par excellence –
initiated by Ignatius of Loyola and his
Counter-
companion
Reformation:
The Catholic ▪ “the flowering of spirituality and the rise
Response of religious orders like the Order of the
Carmelites in Spain (notable among
them were Saints Teresa of Avila and
John of the Cross)

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 The Council of Trent was the
formal Roman Catholic reply to
9.1 Council of the doctrinal challenges of the
Trent Protestant Reformation. It served
to define Catholic doctrine and
made sweeping decrees on self-
reform, helping to revitalize the
Roman Catholic Church in the
face of Protestant expansion.
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ The Council of Trent, the nineteenth ecumenical council,
opened on 13 December 1545, and lasted until 4
December 1563. It sought to establish the definitive
doctrines of the Catholic Church, in response to the
Protestant heresies, and to remove abuses in the Church.
▪ Pope Paul III, who convoked the Council, oversaw the first
eight sessions (1545–47), while the twelfth to
9.1 Council of
sixteenth sessions (1551–52) were overseen by Pope
Trent Julius III and the seventeenth to twenty-
fifth sessions (1562–63) by Pope Pius IV.
▪ With the intention of clarifying the church’s doctrines,
imposing disciplinary measures, fighting heresies and
affirming fundamental beliefs & practices of the Catholic
Church.

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ 1. Trent affirms the due recognition of the Sacred
Scripture and tradition: the Holy Council, following
the example of the Orthodox Fathers, receives and
venerates with equal pious affection and reverence,
all the books both of the New and Old Testaments,
since one God is the author of both, as well as those
pertaining to morals

9.1 Council of ▪ 2. It emphasizes that “salvation comes from God as a

pure gift, but that it requires some measure of human
Trent cooperation which is a middle course between
Pelagianism (Pelagianism, also
called Pelagian heresy, is the Christian theological
position that the original sin did not taint human
nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing
good or evil without special divine aid or assistance)
or everything depends on human effort) and
Protestantism (everything depends on God)
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ 3. It teaches the 7 sacraments to be instituted by
9.1 Council of Christ and the Holy Eucharist to be an
Trent encounter of the real presence of Christ in the
consecrated bread and wine. To believe
otherwise would mean taking the risk of being
excommunicated (anathema)

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ 4. It maintains its practice of venerating the
Saints, its devotion to Mother Mary and its
recitation of the Rosary

9.1 Council of
Trent

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ 5. It mandates the formation of
seminaries where “young people are
educated…trained in piety and
religion.” such action was truly
necessary and faithful because of the
priesthood; counters the selling of
ecclesiastical office (simony - the
9.1 Council of buying or selling of ecclesiastical
Trent privileges, for example pardons or
benefices.) prevents the culture of
appointing relatives or giving them
favors within a particular priest’s
jurisdiction (nepotism and
corruption); and the ordination of
illiterate, unqualified priests
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
 ▪ 6. it establishes the index of Forbidden
Books which refers to the heretical writings
against the church

9.1 Council of
Trent

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 The post-Tridentine period was one in
9.2 Post- particular in which the inhabitants of the
Tridentine Era Spanish monarchy suddenly appeared on
the scene in great force, following the
immense reach of the Spanish monarchy
itself as it moved to create a vast global
empire (following the Portuguese
empire, which the Spanish monarchy
encompassed

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ The declaration and decision
promulgated by the Council of Trent
exercised lasting influence on the
9.2 Post-
Catholic Church for the next four
Tridentine Era
hundred years, until the time of the
Second Vatican Council was convened

Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE

 ▪ With may problems and
controversies the Church endured,
the Catholic Church had grown to
greater maturity
▪ Corrected its abuses and continually
implemented its own reforms for the
welfare of all members
Conclusion ▪ To the Protestant, the Moslems and
other religious adherents, the
Catholic Church today emphasizes
the need to be united, to foster
respect among all people even in
our diversity through a civilization of
love and a culture of dialogue.
Theo 300_Prof. Gladish C. Fontillas, MATRE
CHAPTER V

The Church and its Encounter

with the Modern World
 At the end of the session the students will
be able to:
▪ acquaint themselves to the different
documents of the Church, its decrees &
declarations
Objective ▪ ponder on our faith
▪ adapt to the signs of the times
▪ grow mature in our faith and to respect
individual’s expression of faith
 ▪ a person sent by a church into an area to carry
on evangelism or other activities, as
educational or hospital work. a person strongly
in favor of a program, set of principles, etc.,
who attempts to persuade or convert others. a
What does person who is sent on a mission.
missionary ▪ 15th – 16th century was the time when the
mean? Church was gifted both with the era of
exploration & discovery of new land and at the
same time, people who welcomed to be
evangelized, to be baptized and to be
converted to Christian faith.
Missionary
▪ Philippine stood as a witness in the history of
Expansion the Spanish colonization and religious
evangelization in the 16th century
▪ The historic arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in
Limasawa Island where Raja Humabon and his
men accepted the Christian faith
 ▪ While the Spanish and the Portuguese
hastened to conquer lands and exploited the
resources of their colonies, the Christian
missionaries toiled to deliver the message of
Christ to all men
▪ There were times that Christian missionaries
Missionary were opposed and rejected

Expansion
 ▪ On the other hand, there also numerous
occasions that they were welcomed and
accepted by their community of mission
▪ St. Francis Xavier served an exemplar of
missionary fervor.
Missionary
Expansion
 ▪ Christian mission spread from the
West to the East and missionaries
became new heroes of the faith by
their dedication to Christ
Missionary ▪ Saint Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, the
Expansion first Filipino saint, was among those
Christian missionaries who were
martyred for their faith
 ▪ The context of time favored that
Church to be sole guarantor of the
truth in matters pertaining to
religious and even to scientific
Reconsideration ▪ Culture initiated by science was
of Science as an distorted by some men who
Alternative elevated human reason as the sole
Source of Truth measure of truth against the
exercise of authority given by the
Catholic Church during the age of
the Enlightenment
 ▪ “application of human
reason” in all human affairs
and concerns in the pursuit
of “ knowledge, freedom, and
happiness”
▪ Theories gained wider
acceptance, this put a
Enlightenment shadow of doubt on the
Church credibility in matters
pertaining to science and
encouraged people to
exaggerate the role of reason
as the sole determinant of the
truth in human affairs
 ▪ Led by Pope Pius IX to deal with contemporary
problems
▪ Rising influence of rationalism, liberalism &
materialism
▪ “existence of God who could be attained by
reason”

First Vatican ▪ Affirmation on how reason and faith complement

each other;
Council
▪ The pursuit of the truth and the highest good;
▪ Its declaration concerning “papal primacy and
infallibility”, whereby the pope is preserved free
from error when he teaches definitely that a
doctrine concerning faith or morals is to believed
by the whole church.
 ▪ In Roman Catholic Theology, the doctrine
that the pope, acting as the supreme
teacher and under certain conditions,
cannot err when he teaches in matters of
faith or morals
▪ This doctrine is based on the belief that the
church has been entrusted with the
teaching mission of Jesus Christ and that, in
Papal Infallibility view of this mandate from Christ, it will
remain faithful to that teaching through the
assistance of the Holy Spirit.
▪ The doctrine that the grace promised to the
church assures its perseverance until the
end of time
 ▪ Initiated by Pope John XXIII on January
25,1959
▪ Envisioned a Church that adapts to the
signs of the times’ and makes the
message of Christ relevant to modern
men and women in their daily life and life
decision
Second Vatican
▪ CURIA (Papal Bureaucracy)– the one
Council who wants to control and manipulate the
process and outcome of the council for
fear that sacred tradition and the Catholic
faith might be destroyed or distorted
 ▪ Greatest number of delegates 2600 bishops from all
over the world and the additional participation of
theologians and expert.
▪ Greatly represented in terms of nations and cultures,
wherein bishops and participants from various
countries like South & North America, Asia, Africa,
Central America and Oceania attended the council.
This priests and bishops were non-Europeans,
native citizens from missionary areas representing
their place and culture of origin.
Second Vatican ▪ It was the first council to include the presence of
Council non-Catholics, lay participants as guests and
observers of the council
▪ It was the first to utilize the gift of modern means of
communication and transportation
▪ It emphasized promotion of peace and unity among
nations, not the usual pattern in an ecumenical
council which usually focused on the condemnation
of heretics, or the formulation of doctrines
 ▪ After seeing the horror of war and its divisive
consequences on peoples and their nations, Pope
John XXIII initiated Vatican II on January 25, 1959
▪ He saw the need of restoring and promoting unity
among nations Catholic and non Catholics alike
▪ He also envisioned a Church that adapts
(aggiornamento, updating) to the signs of times and
makes the message of Christ relevant to modern
men and women in their daily life and life decision.
Second Vatican
▪ He sincerely believed that the church is always in
Council need of reform (ecclesia semper reformanda)
▪ As a result, great work was laid upon the council
▪ Those who where in attendance labored to align
their work within the objectives set by the Holy
Father at the start of the council.
 ▪ But opposition was always there. There were
minority members of the Curia who wanted to
control and manipulate the process and outcome of
the council for the fear that sacred tradition and the
Catholic faith might be destroyed or distorted.

Second Vatican
Council
 5.1 Vatican II
Documents

▪ Episcopal Consensus, enabling every participant to raise his own opinion

during the deliberation of the council documents
▪ The great outcome of the council is better appreciated through the essential
and relevant documents it produced from 1963-1965
 ▪ CONSTITUTIONS: Documents that deal with
doctrinal matters which pertain to the very essence,
or “constitution” of the Church
❖Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
(Lumen Gentium)
❖Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the
Let us cite such doc. & at Modern World
the same time (Gaudium et Spes)
integrating the
presentation by Richard ❖Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
McBrien & Jean Comby (Dei Verbum)
❖Constitution on Sacred Liturgy
(Sancrosanctum Concilium)
 ▪ Solemnly Promulgated by his Holiness Pope
Paul VI, Nov. 21, 1964
▪ Latin for “Light of the Nations”
▪ Magnified the authority, identify and the
Dogmatic Constitution on
the Church
mission of the Church, as well as the duty of the
faithful
Lumen
▪ Describe as one of the greatest achievements
Gentium of the council because it places its central
concern on the Church as a whole
 Contents:
▪ I. The Mystery of the Church
▪ II. On the People of God
▪ III. On the Hierarchical Structure of the Church and in particular on the
Episcopate
▪ IV. The Laity

Dogmatic Constitution on
▪ V. The Universal call to Holiness in the Church
the Church ▪ VI. Religious
Lumen ▪ VII. The Eschatological Nature of the Pilgrim Church & its Union with
the Church in Heaven
Gentium ▪ VIII. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God in the Mystery of Christ
and the Church
▪ i. Introduction
▪ ii. Role of Virgin Mary in the Economy of Salvation
▪ iii. On the Blessed Virgin in the Church
▪ iv. The Cult of the Blessed Virgin in the Church
▪ v. Mary the sign of created hope and solace to the wandering people of
God
 ▪ Solemnly Promulgated by his Holiness Pope
Paul VI, December 7, 1965
▪ “Joy & Hope”
Contents:
▪ Preface
Pastoral Constitution on ▪ Introductory Statement the Situation of Men
the Church in the Modern
World in the Modern World
Gaudium et ▪ Part I: The Church & Man’s Calling
Spes ▪ I. Dignity of the Human Person
▪ II. The Community of Mankind
▪ III. Man’s activity throughout the World
▪ IV. The Role of the Church in the Modern
World
 Contents:
▪ Part II: Some Problems of Special Urgency
▪ I. Fostering the Nobility of Marriage &
Family
Pastoral Constitution on
the Church in the Modern ▪ II. The Development of Culture
World
▪ Section 1: The Circumstances of
Gaudium et Culture in the World Today
Spes ▪ Section 2: Some Principles for the
Proper Develiopment of Culture
▪ Section 3: Some More Urgent Duties
of Christians in Regard to Cutlure
 Contents:
▪ Part II: Some Problems of Special Urgency
▪ III. Economic & Social Life
▪ Economic Development
Pastoral Constitution on
the Church in the Modern
▪ Certain Principles Governing Socio-Economic Life
World as a Whole
Gaudium et ▪ IV. The Life of the Political Community
▪ V. The Fostering of Peace and the Promotion of a
Spes Community of Nations
▪ The Avoidance of War
▪ Setting up and International Community
 ▪ Solemnly Promulgated by his Holiness Pope Paul VI,
Nov. 18, 1965
▪ Latin for “Word of God”
▪ It entails to life lessons and proves to people who
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine read the stories to trust God
Revelation
▪ The Church in itself, its sole salvific roles as the one,
(Dei Verbum) true and complete Christian Faith, also in relation to
ecumenism among other religions, in relation to the
modern world, renewal of consecrated life, liturgical
disciplines
 Contents:
▪ Preface
▪ I. Revelation Itself

Dogmatic Constitution on Divine

▪ II. Handing on Divine Revelation
Revelation
▪ III. Sacred Scripture, Its Inspiration and
(Dei Verbum) Divine Interpretation
▪ IV. The Old Testament
▪ V. The New Testament
▪ VI. Sacred Scripture in the Life of the
Church
 ▪ Solemnly Promulgated by his Holiness Pope Paul VI,
December 4, 1963
Constitution on Sacred Liturgy
▪ Latin for “Sacred Council”
(Sancrosanctum ▪ The constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
Concilium) ▪ The main aim was to achieve greater lay participation
in the Catholic Church’s liturgy
 Contents:
▪ Introduction
▪ I. General Principles for the Restoration and
Promotion of Sacred Liturgy
▪ The Nature of the Sacred Liturgy and its
Importance in the Church’s life
▪ The Promotion of Liturgical Instruction & Active
Participation
Constitution on Sacred Liturgy ▪ The Reform of the Sacred Liturgy
(Sancrosanctum ▪ II. The Most Sacred Mystery of the Eucharist
Concilium) ▪ III. The Other Sacraments & Sacramentals
▪ IV. The Divine Office
▪ V. The Liturgical Year
▪ VI. Sacred Music
▪ VII. Sacred Art & Sacred Furnishing
▪ Appendix: A Declaration of the Second Ecumenical
Council of the Vatican on Revision of the Calendar
 ▪ Texts which appeared as the application of
principles laid down by the constitution
❖Decree on Priestly Ministry
(Optatam Totius): There must be a closer
connection between Seminary training and
pastoral situation
❖Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches
DECREES: (Orientalium Ecclesiarum) The Easter
Catholic Churches can be a bridge to the
Orthodox East. The integrity of Eastern
tradition of Liturgy, Spirituality and
discipline is to be restored
 ❖Decree on the Bishop’s Pastoral Office
(Christus Dominus) Bishops are the pastors of
their own local Churches and collaborate other
bishops through episcopal conferences with the
pope and all other bishops. Authority is always for
the service.
DECREES: ❖Decree on the Church’s Missionary
Activity
(Ad Gentes) The Gospel is to be preached also
and always to non-Christians, but not as a
culturally alien reality. Evangelization is an
obligation for every member of the Church
 ❖Decree on the Appropriate Renewal of
Religious Life
(Perfectae Caritatis) The renewal of Religious
life (a life lived according to the evangelical
councils of poverty, chastity and obedience),
must be based on the Gospel, the original
purposes of the community and the changed
DECREES: conditions of the times
❖Decree on the Instruments of Social
Communication
(Inter Mirifica) The Church must be vigilant
towards the media because of the ever present
danger of their abuse, but must also use the
media where opportune.
 ❖Decree on Ecumenism
(Unitatis Redintegratio) Christian unity is a
matter of restoration, not a return to Rome, other
Christian communities are churches within the
body of Christ; and both sides where to blame
for the division of the Church.
❖Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priest
DECREES: (Presbyterorum Ordinis) Priests are
members of a presbytery in union with a
bishop and with him serve the building up of
Christ’s body
❖Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity
( Apostolicam Actuositatem ) The laity
participates in the mission of the Church
 ▪ Principles and guidelines expressing the thought
of the Church
❖Declaration on Non-Christian Religions
(Nostra Aetate) God speaks also through other
religion, so we should engage in dialogue and
other collaborative efforts with them.
❖Declaration on Religious Freedom
(Dignitatis Humanae) No one is to be forced in
DECLARATIONS: any way to embrace the Christian or the Catholic
Faith. This principle is rooted in human dignity
and the freedom of the act of faith.
❖Declaration on Christian Education
(Gravissimum Educationis) Education must be
broadly humane and up-to-date, with a concern
for personal maturity & social responsibility.
 ▪ Even with the disagreement on certain
scientific finding, the condemnation
against secularism and atheism and the
need to adapt to the signs of the times in the
modern world, the Church truly proved
herself as ecclesia semper reformanda (the
Church must always be reformed) which is
expressed in the Second Vatican Council
CONCLUSION ▪ Catholic Church, though imperfect, has
remained firmly committed in its mission
of bringing Jesus Christ to all.
▪ She has recognized the goodness of the
modern world and its role and task of
evangelization
 ▪ Celebrated the inherent unity that binds
all men and women, regardless of
ideological, social or religious variations-
great changes that enable the Catholic
Church to widely open its door to all
▪ After Vat. II we are given the task to
support the Church in its mission

CONCLUSION ▪ Let us not forget that the true measure of

our understanding lies in its translation
into our own perspective, attitude,
decision and action, expressed in the way
we relate with our neighbors-Christians
and non-Christians, for we too are
persons always in need of reform
Chapter 6: The Church in the Light of
Vatican II
Church as Sacrament ▪ Vatican II document Lumen
Gentium “Church, in Christ,
is sacrament – a sign and
instrument of communion
with God and of unity among
men
▪ seeing the Church in such
light means two:
▪ 1. the Church is a means
for the re-presentation &
transmission of salvation
▪ 2. as re-presenting sign
she is also the fruit of
salvation. The mystery of
salvation become public
Church as Sacrament
because it is a visible reality which Christ has formed in this
world as a sacred sign of His presence. It is the sign and also
the means He uses to give us the unity and holiness He
actually confers through it. It is a sacrament of His presence
because He is really present in it.

✓ Church is a group of men and women celebrating their

shared faith in Jesus, striving to live and follow the
example of their Lord in the ways of love, charity and
hope
✓ Sinfulness community of faith, vulnerability to
temptation and sins become both an occasion and a
reason to inspire one other in their difficulties, to imbibe
joy and courage in their weakness and to celebrate their
ways of goodness and holiness – all for God’s Glory
Church as Sacrament
Church as Mystery
Described

❖ Church is a mystery because it is

rooted and related to the Holy
Trinity

❖ conceived in God’s loving design of

salvation and was destined to
share the gift of eternal life
 By virtue of out baptism
in Christ, we become a
▪ Its law is Christ’s new Commandments of love “Priestly, Prophetic and
▪ Its mission is to be the salt of the earth, the light Kingly People”
of the world, its salvation (cf. Mt. 5:134-16)
▪ Its destiny is the final Kingdom of God, brought to
perfection at the end of time
Body of Christ
as it is a living entity. It is the Body
of Christ, as Christ the head and
founder of the Church.

The relationship between the

Church and Christ is the same
as the relationship between the
body and the head. Neither can
survive without the other. The
Church needs Christ, just as the
body needs the head.
❖ The work of redemption for the
Church is moved, inspired and
sustained by the Holy Spirit.
❖ It is the Holy Spirit, through the gifts
and charisms of its members, that
strengthens the Church and sustains
her, especially in times of needs and
adversities

Church is a Temple of the Holy Spirit because it holds the grace of God
within. Our bodies are also Temples of the Holy Spirit.
 The Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce
and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her.
• Permanent renewal
• Conversion of heart
• Prayer
• Ecumenical Formation: Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue:
Ways to Foster Unity
• Ecumenism: is concerned with restoring unity of the Christian
churches

• Fraternal knowledge of each other

• Dialogue & Collaboration
• Inter-religious Dialogue: it is a dialogue between the
Catholic Church and the non-Christian religions, seeking
common grounds of unity and holiness
But the greatest cause of disunity is the reality of sin because “where there are divisions, schisms, heresies
and disputes
 ▪ In the light of Vatican II: Misconceptions of the Church was
corrected
▪ 4 essential marks affirm the theological truth that being
Church is always an experience of a community and of
Conclusion: communion among all men & women
▪ In modern culture where individualism and self-sufficiency
are often worshipped as marks of success and fulfillment, we
have the tendency to dissociate ourselves from our
communities
▪ Salvation is a communal gift and task for all of us.
▪ To the best of our unique gifts and charisms, we journey and
labor together and inspire one another knowing that we are
heeding the same path of salvation
▪ Let our church leaders set an example in their chosen
vocation.
▪ Let us seek that which brings people to communion and let
us strive in every occasion to be more loving
THE CHURCH
AT THE CHAPTER VII

GRASSROOTS
I. The Church: The Filipino Experience in the Light
of Second Plenary of the Philippines (PCP II) is a council
that was held in Manila from January 20, 1991 to February 17, 1991. PCP II aimed to change the ways of
the Church in the Philippines after Vat. II

• Confronted with the calling and urgency to make the Gospel

message relevant to lives and circumstances of the Filipino
people
• Attended by five hundred participants
1.1 Fourfold Dimensions of PCP II: the Philippines so richly blessed with 500 years of Christianity
The year-long celebration for the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines will begin on April 17, 2021, to commemorate
the first Easter Sunday mass in the Philippines at Limasawa Island in Southern Leyte. The Diocese of Maasin will lead
the celebration.
We still find so many reason to persist in our labor in the Lord’s vineyard in view of renewal and conversion.

1. The Filipino culture as the context : we observe the increasing gap between the rich and the
poor, the culture of corruption, the need for more formation, the sustenance of families and communities, the
need for more vocation
2. The Spirit of the new Evangelization: Pope John Paul II’s call to “New Evangelization in order
to revitalize the faith, give a new energy to the building up of the Church, draw near to the unity of Christ desire
for his disciples and respond to the expectation of the human person
3. Christ as Focus: We carry such spirit and mission with Christ as the center, transforming and leading all
our efforts towards him. We seek to enrich our Filipino “belief, worship and witness.”
4. Pastoral Orientation: Responsive to the needs and situations of the people esp. the poor and the marginalized in our
society. The church fulfills its mission, taking its inspiration from Jesus himself, to be a Church of the Poor.
II. The Church of the Poor
2.1 Jesus’ Preferential Option for the Poor

-Jesus preference for the poor was made evident

in his public ministry when he called ‘the poor to be
blessed’, “frequented the company of those who
sought him in their poverty of spirit, the morally poor and
those who were uninstructed in the law”
II. The Church of the Poor
2.1 Jesus’ Preferential Option for the Poor

-let us not misled, in believing

that poverty is desired by God or
think of it as something desirable.
 After a series of communal prayer, reflection
and sharing, PCP II came up with striking insights and
objectives that redefined the Filipino Church in its
preferential option for the poor:

2.2 Church of the

Poor Defined
1. The “Church of the Poor” means a Church
that embraces and practices the evangelical spirit of
poverty, which combines detachment from possessions
with a profound trust in the Lord as sole source of
salvation
2.2 Church of the Poor Defined
2. Members and leaders have a special love for
the poor;
3. The poor are not discriminated against because
of their poverty;
4. The pastors and other Church leaders will give
preferential attention and time to those who are
poor and will generously share of their own
resources in order to alleviate their poverty and
make them recognize the love of the Lord for
them despite their poverty;
5.Be in solidarity with the poor and does all in her
power to relieve their need and in them she strives
to serve Christ;
6. The Church will not only evangelize the poor,
but that the poor in the Church will themselves
become evangelizers;
2.2 Church of the Poor Defined

7. Pastors and leaders will learn to be with, work

with and learn from the poor;
8. Pastors and leaders of such a “Church of the
Poor” will not compete for the most prosperous
parishes or offices and will not ambition for titles
and honors;
9. Entire community of disciples esp. the rich
and better off sector of the community and its
leaders and pastors, will have such a love or
preference for the poor;
10. Follow Jesus Christ through poverty and
oppression in order to carry out the work of
salvation
• PCP II must have been a life-changing experience for its participants
because so much attention, compassion and love were appropriated
for the poor.
• Philippine Church a renewed commitment to “the least of Christ’s
brethren,”
• Aimed to implement its vision, its ideal for all persons – starting from
the hierarchy down to last person of every Basic Ecclesial Community
 III. Basic Ecclesial Community

❖ are small communities of Christians, usually of families who gather

together around the Word of God and the Eucharist, united by their
pastors but are ministered to regularly by lay leaders
3.1 BEC Defined ❖ the members know each other by name and share the Word of God and
the Eucharist and concerns both material and spiritual
❖Have a strong sense of belongingness and responsibility for one another
❖a community of believers at the grassroot level which meets regularly
under the leadership of a lay minister to express their faith in common
worship to discern on their common living of the faith to plan and act on
common decision regarding the life of faith in community, as community
(late Bishop Francisco F. Claver, 2009)
3.2 BEC Activities

- Francisco F. Claver (2009)

offer a response:
1. Bible Sharing and practice
of lectio divina
2. Pastoral Planning, but both
done in
3. a genuinely participatory
way
3.3 Beginning of BEC in the • Fe Mendoza (2005) narrates that
Philippines the priests of the Foreign Mission
- the Second Vatican Society of Quebec (PME) were
Council’s call for renewal which responsible for the establishment
was first organized in the island of of Basic Ecclesial Communities.
Mindanao, particularly the Then, the Maryknoll missionaries
Prelature Nullius of Tagum,
considered as the pioneer of BEC took over. For the Maryknoll
building in the year 1930’s. Fathers in the 1960s, under the
followed by Prelature of leadership of Bishop Joseph
Malaybalay, 1971 and Iligan and
Marbel in 1971 and 1974 Regan, MM of Tagum (1962)
respectively “the priorities were building up
the Local Church, vocation
recruitment for the diocesan
clergy and the development of
lay leaders – emergence of
BECs in Tagum
 3.3 Beginning of BEC in the Philippines

• Gamay’g ng Kristohanong Katilingban (GKK) became the name of

each of the local, organized communities in Tagum where the faithful
meet together in seminars and in the Kasaulogan sa Pulong
(Celebration of the Word) under the guidance of a kaabag or lay
minister.
• In the Prelature of Bukidnon, Bishop Claver as its shepherd made a
great difference in the formation of a “Christian Community in the
Barrio”
• In the Prelature of Iligan, BEC was named “KRISKA, for Kristohanong
Kasilingan, which means Christian Neighborhood consisted of six
neighboring families – structure: weekly meetings for Scripture study
and prayer that included the application of the Scriptural message to
their situation
IV. Family as Domestic Church
BECs are composed of families. The church recognizes the essential role
of the family in evangelizing mission
4.1 Duties of Parents 4.2 Duties of Children
-The Catechism of the - “the respect of children,
Catholic Church recognizes that “ whether minors or adults, for their
the fecundity of conjugal love father and mother is nourished by
cannot be reduced solely on the natural affection born of the bond
procreation of children, but most uniting them” (Honor your father
extend to their moral education and and your mother)
their spiritual formation”
 Conclusion:
• Chapter Seven brings the Church closer to
us, even into our home and family, the
domestic church
• We come to realize that the Church is
concerned with our own sorrows and
struggles and shares our joys and triumphs
• Committed Church of the poor,
emphasizing social obligation to the least of
our brethren
• BEC are made to gather families and form
them in the example of Jesus Christ
• There is no way that we cannot be reached
by the Church, thereby making ourselves as
evangelizers at the grassroot level in
bringing the gift of the person of Christ to all
Conclusion:
Christianity was brought to the Philippines in 1521 when the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan,
landed there, heading a Spanish expedition in his bid to reach the East Indies, sailing west.
“Gifted to Give”, taken from Matthew’s Gospel (10:8), is the theme for the celebration.

In a statement, Father Marvin Mejia, secretary-

general of the conference, identified the various
elements of the logo, including a cross, a ship, the
sun, a rosary, among others.

The cross planted by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand

Magellan on the island of Cebu signifies Christianity
and serves as the mast of a ship.

The ship represents the navigators of the expedition

that brought the faith to the island. It also signifies the
Church and its sacraments.

A dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit, which shares the

"Divine Life" in the sacrament of baptism. It also looks
like a cloud that manifests the presence of God.
"It is also slightly attached to the cross or the mast as
a sail of the ship, significantly telling us that through
the Holy Spirit the missionaries were led to our
country, bringing us to Christianity," read Father
Mejia's statement.

"The circular pattern of the Holy Spirit shows that it

navigates all around the world as God is a
missionary God who commissioned the Church for
world mission," it added.

The central figure on the logo is taken from national

artist Fernando Amorsolo's "First Baptism in the
Philippines" painting.

The sun, a trademark of Amorsolo's various artworks,

was derived from the Philippine flag, suggesting the
idea that the country is "the pearl of the orient sea."
"It also signifies new life, a new beginning, the
risen Christ, the hope of our salvation," added
the statement.

The "ichtus" or the fish, which symbolizes Jesus, is

a reminder that the faith we professed is the
same faith as that of the early Christians. Its red
color signifies the blood of the martyrs, the "seed
of Christian faith in imitation of Christ."

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo,

chairman of the Episcopal Commission on the
Laity, earlier said the 2021 observance "is a
reminder of how Filipinos embraced the
Catholic faith."
 Bishop Broderick Pabillo : “But the quinquennial event is not just a
looking back to the past. It is also a looking forward to the future. Yes,
we have been chosen and truly gifted with the faith. This carries a
great responsibility. We gratefully accept the gift, we develop it, and
now it is our turn to pass it on to the others. By “others” I mean to the
coming generations of Filipinos and also to the other peoples in Asia
and in the world. Jesus has come for the salvation of all peoples.
Since we received the Good News, we have to share this Good News
to others, especially to our neighbors here in Asia. Hence, the
celebration is also a call to mission. In fact, the encompassing theme
of the celebration, which also serves as a challenge, is GRACIOUSLY
GIFTED TO GIVE. Let us vigorously celebrate so that we will all be
vigorously motivated to go out to share the gift of the Christian faith!”