A reflection on the question of the definition of the Church

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Antônio Luiz Catelan Ferreira

Abstract

Is it possible to elaborate an exact definition of the Church, which is able to accomplish its totality? It is verified that the ecclesiological argument lacks a proper differentiation between explicitly descriptive or conceptual notions and metaphorical use of abstractive procedures, that demonstrates the essential elements for a proper understanding of the Church. From a critique to the thought of J. Hamer, the author delineates a hypothesis with implications based on a proper terminology, so that the complex nature of the Church and its mysterious character incorporate the process of theological systematization in question. Thus it scroll through a trajectory that approaches the theme of knowability of the Church and its forms, as well the issue of its definability and its means - which illuminate aspects of the proposal for a renewed ecclesiology, whose thought is articulated around the notion of communion.

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Catelan Ferreira, A. L. (2013). A reflection on the question of the definition of the Church. Brasiliensis, 2(4), 79-117. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8111978
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Author Biography

Antônio Luiz Catelan Ferreira

Mestre em Direito Canônico pelo Instituto de Direito Canônico do Rio de Janeiro, afiliado à Pontifícia Universidade Gregoriana de Roma, e doutor em Teologia pela Pontifícia Universidade Gregoriana de Roma, Itália. É também assessor da Comissão Episcopal Pastoral para a Doutrina da Fé da CNBB (Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil).

How to Cite

Catelan Ferreira, A. L. (2013). A reflection on the question of the definition of the Church. Brasiliensis, 2(4), 79-117. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8111978