Glossary Apocalyptic: With its roots in O.T. prophecy, apocalyptic literature is preoccupied with the power of sin and its hold on the world. Such literature prophesies an impending catastrophic war of a cosmic nature, a final and climactic conflict between God and evil in which God wins and creation is restored to its preternatural state. CCC 2642 “The Revelation of “what must soon take place” Arianism: The heresy propagated by the Alexandrian monk Arius, originating in the fourth century and claiming that Jesus Christ was created and, therefore, not divine. Arius was excommunicated in 319. The Council of Nicaea (325) condemned Ariuss proposition and developed a creed to teach that Christ is the Son of God and of the same substance as the Father. The Council of Constantinople (381) reaffirmed Nicaeas definition and also taught the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit. CCC 242, 465, 476, 1170, 2131 Biblical Studies/Methods: The Second Vatican Council gave great impetus to Catholic Bible study and reading. Earlier in the twentieth century, Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943), had encouraged renewed scholarly study of the Bible. CCC 132, 2651 “the study of the sacred page” Chalcedon, Council of: The fourth ecumenical council (451) defined that Jesus Christ is one Son, one Person, with two complete and distinct natures: a divine nature consubstantial with the Father, a human nature consubstantial with us. This most significant Christological council brought to conclusion a quarter-century of fierce theological and ecclesiastical debate.CCC 247, 467-68 Christology: The study of the person of Jesus, particularly in the mystical union of His divine and human natures. Since the patristic age, serious Christological studies have taken place, with various aspects being defined by the ecumenical councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, all based upon the New Testament teaching that Christ is fully human and fully divine. These counciliar definitions have come in response to various heresies that have denied the divinity (such as Arianism) or have exaggerated the distinctiveness of His two natures (as in Nestorianism) or have given the natures a false unity (as in Monophysitism) CCC 426, 600, 605, 616, 618, 625, 627, 630, 1004, 1088 Codex: Forerunner of modern books, a tome composed of cut and stacked papyrus rolls. Existing codices in Greek and Latin, dating FROM the fourth and fifth centuries and containing texts of Holy Scripture, include Codex Alexandrenus, Codex Vaticanus, Codex, Sinaiticus, and Codex Bezea. Codify: The process of systematically arranging documents. Constantinople, Councils of: As political and social forces of the fourth and fifth centuries forced Rome into collapse, Constantinople, the Rome of the East, began to be considered the head of the world. Thus, from 381 to 869 four ecumenical councils were convoked in this city, Posphorus, the capital of the Byzantine Empire: the first (381), which was the second ecumenical council after Nicaea, condemned the Arian heresy and reaffirmed the teaching of its predecessor; the second (553) condemned the Nestorian heresy; the third (681) reasserted the Christological clarifications of the Council of Chalcedon; the fourth (859) condemned Photius and his followers. CCC 242, 245, 247, 256, 468, 475; “the fifth ecumenical council at Constantinople in 553 confessed that “there is but one hypostasis [or person], which is our Lord Jesus” Councils, Ecumenical: The most solemn and official assembly of all bishops of the world (thus ecumenical, or universal) that, when summoned by the Bishop of Rome, constitutes the highest teaching authority in the Church. These meetings are usually convoked at pivotal, critical moments in the life of the Church and are charged with discussing and then articulating formal statements on doctrine or discipline. CCC 195, 242, 245, 465-67, 475, 884, 2131; “The college of bishops exercises power over the universal Church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council” Divinio Afflante Spiritu (DAS): On September 30, 1943, Pope Pius XII issued an encyclical that draws its title from the first three words of the document, Divino Afflante Spiritu, meaning Inspired by the Divine Spirit. The document was to provide guidance to Catholic biblical scholars for whom the use and abuse, the advantages and limits of historical and linguistic methods in biblical research had become a pressing issue. DAS encourages the careful study of the original languages in which Sacred Scripture was written, in order to study and determine which of the surviving manuscripts of Sacred Scripture are closest to the autographs that did not survive (this is called lower criticism or textual criticism). One cannot study the manuscripts without competent knowledge of the language in which they are written. Docetists or Docetism: The heresy denying the hypostatic union, asserting that Christ merely appeared in a human body and therefore only seemed to die. The second-century Gnostics articulated Docetism. CCC 465; The first heresies denied not so much Christs divinity as his true humanity Ephesus, Council of: The third ecumenical council (431 A.D.) convened by Emperor Theodosius II in response to the Nestorian and Pelagian heresies. (See Nestorianism and Pelagianism below.) CCC 466 Eschatology (eschatological event): Christian doctrines and theology concerning the end-times or last things, including the Second Coming of Christ (parousia). According to the Scriptures, this final period has already begun with the birth of Christ, but it continues to unfold in the period after Christs death and Resurrection until he comes again. Essenes: A Jewish ascetic group that lived a highly structured communal life in the desert near the Dead Sea from the second century B.C. (BCE) to the second century A.D. (CE). Our present knowledge of the Essenes stems from the discovery of a large collection of scrolls at Qumran (the Dead Sea Scrolls), which apparently represents a portion of their library. Ethics (Ethical): The systematic reflection on human goodness and righteousness along with human fulfillment and the role of the human person in decision-making. It analyzes the end of human existence, studies human acts, and defines the qualities that make one complete. CCC 1916; “As with any ethical obligation, the participation of all in realizing the common good calls for a continually renewed conversion of the society” Exegesis: Interpreting Sacred Scripture by using various rules of hermeneutics (i.e. methodologies employing language, literary, and other skills). CCC 116 ; “the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation” Exorcism: Expelling of demons FROM persons or things. Known in the ancient world especially in Egypt or Mesopotamia (third century, exorcisms were performed by Jesus on those possessed. CCC 550, 1237, 1673; “object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his Dominion” Faith: The acceptance of the word of another, trusting in that persons authority or right to be believed; in theological terminology, faith means specifically the assent given to a truth. By faith, one adheres in intellect to the truth revealed by god because of Gods authority rather than the evidence given. While faith is a disposition of the intellect, it also involves an act of the will, which is moved by the grace by God to believe, so that one responds to the revealing God in faithful obedience and trust. CCC 145, 158-65, 1658, 171, 1124; ““Faith seeks understanding ”: it is intrinsic to faith that a believer desires to know better the One in whom he has put his faith” Gnosticism: Derived from the Greek from knowledge (gnosis), refers to a religious movement which claimed that salvation was based on secret knowledge conveyed to the elect by a heavenly revealer. This knowledge sets the Gnostics apart form others whose faith was placed in such public scriptures as the Jewish Law, the canonical Christian Gospels, or the well-known teachings of Greek philosophers. Gnosticism flourished between the second and fourth centuries A.D. when it was embodied in many different sects. Gnostic teachings posed a strong challenge to the emerging orthodoxy in the Christian Church, since its teachers claimed that they, not the orthodox bishops, possessed the secret revelations that Jesus had transmitted to individual disciples after his resurrection. CCC 285, 465; “to some of these conceptions, the world (at least the physical world) is evil, the product of a fall, and is thus to be rejected or left behind” High Christology: Known as Christology from above. Most of us as children learned to think of Jesus first in doctrinal terms similar to those defined by Chalcedon as mentioned earlier. We were taught the meaning of Jesus life and the doctrinal formulations that had emerged as the end products of those early foundational councils. This Christology starts from Jesus divine nature, it logically emphasizes Jesus as the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity and the pre-existent Word of God. Hypostatic Union: The substantial unity of the divine and human natures in the one Person (hypostasis) of Jesus Christ. This doctrine was proclaimed at the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451), ruling out both Nestorianism (which denied the real unity of the natures of Christ) and Monophysitism (which denied the real distinction of the human and divine natures of Christ). CCC 470, 473, 474, 483, 627, 650; “The Incarnation is therefore the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one person of the Word” Liberation Theology: A contemporary theological movement growing out of the Church in Latin America, emphasizing the Christian commitment to the poor. Literary Criticism: Studies the Bible as literature. Literary criticism focuses on the text of Scripture and enables us to examine both the story (what is told) and the discourse (how it is told) of a particular work. Literary criticism understands the Gospels as a dynamic interaction between evangelist (author), text, and reader. Even though the Christian community is first distinguished as a community of storytellers proclaiming the incidents of Jesus life as oral stories of faith, it has long since become a community of readers of the biblical texts. Low Christology: The humanity of Jesus is stressed. Jesus from below is viewed as a man within his particular time and culture. He walked the earth like us and acted out of the worldview of his times. In a Christology from below the emphasis shifts from the central place of Jesus sacrificial death as payment to the Father for our sins, to an emphasis on Jesus victory over sin and death in his Resurrection. Salvation in low Christology arises not merely from Baptism, but also from continual conversion to Gods will, as it becomes known to us. Monophysitism: A fifth-century heresy that claimed that Christ had only one nature, a composite of human and divine. Strong Monophysite sentiment lingered for about a thousand years, and Monophysite churches still continue today. Nestorianism: A fifth-century heresy that taught that there were two separate Persons in the incarnate Christ, the one divine and the other human, as opposed to the orthodox doctrine that the incarnate Christ was of two natures in one Person, who was at once God and man. Nestorianism was condemned in 431 by the Council of Ephesus CCC 466; “heresy regarded Christ as a human person joined tothe divine person of Gods Son” Nicaea, Councils of: Church councils held at Nicaea, a city of Bithynia, in Asia Minor; the fist Council of Nicaea, convened by the Emperor Constantine, met FROM May to August, A.D. 325, and was the first ecumenical council of the Church; it settled the doctrinal question of the relationship that exists between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity, deciding in favor of their sharing homoousia, the same substance; this council also condemned the Arian heresy. CCC 242, 465, 476, 1170; “The first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325 confessed in its Creed that the Son of God is “begotten, not made, of the same substance” Nicene Creed: The formal presentation of the chief doctrines of the Catholic Faith used as the Profession of Faith in the Mass; its recitation is prescribed as part of the Sunday liturgy. It was first formulated by the Fist Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D in response to the Arian heresy. CCC 195-96, 242, 263, 279, 325, 456, 750 Parable: The comparing of realities by placing them side-by-side. Ancient rhetoric used this term for a figure of speech that Aristotle claimed could be used as proverbs or stories in order to teach a message. Jesus used parables – which were often paradoxical and chosen from everyday events – to challenge his listeners. CCC 546, 605, 633, 1021, 1439, 1696, 2613, 2631, 2831; “Jesus invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching” Paschal Mystery: The passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, commemorated at each Holy Mass. The Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts: The Paschal mystery of Christs cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. Gods saving plan was accomplished ˜once for all by the redemptive death of His Son Jesus Christ (#571). CCC 512, 542, 1067, 1085, 1113, 1135, 1171, 1200, 1398, 1400; “in the great Paschal mystery—his death on the cross and his Resurrection—he would accomplish the coming of his kingdom” Patristics (Patrology): The systematic theological study of the contents of the writings of ancient Christian authors who were accepted as orthodox during their lifetimes. Their authority is acknowledged throughout the Church and carries such weight that they have come to be called Fathers of the Church (hence the term patrology). Pelagianism: The heretical opinion held by Pelagius, a fifth-century monk, that one can earn ones own salvation by sanctifying oneself. He believed that one could reach perfection unaided by Gods grace. This teaching diminishes the need for Christs redemption and the impact of Original Sin on the human race. CCC 406 Pharisees: A Jewish religious party whose membership was largely lay, in contrast to the Sadducees, who were mostly clerical. Apart FROM the New Testament, our principal sources of information about the Pharisees are Josephus and the Talmud. CCC 447, 535, 574-75, 579, 588, 595-96, 2054, 2285 Preternatural Gifts Exceptional gifts, beyond the exigencies and powers of human nature, enjoyed by Adam and Eve in the sate of original justice: including immunity from suffering and death, superior knowledge, integrity, or perfect control of the passions. Redaction criticism: This type of biblical criticism comes from the German word meaning editing. Redaction criticism stresses the role of the evangelist as editor, as the one who assembled, arranged, and edited the traditional materials, and in this process consciously interpreted the Jesus event in written form. The evangelists were not only authors, but also editors, arranging the materials in such a way as to convey a particular picture of Jesus and those surrounding him. Reign of God: The term reign is synonymous with kingdom. The reign of God thus includes the notion of kingship or the exercise of royal power and rule in a kingdom. The term the reign of God occurs more than 150 times in the NT, almost two thirds of these in the synoptic Gospels (this includes Matthews use of a similar term, the kingdom of heaven); the word heaven is probably a euphemism for God so that the metaphor has little difference in meaning. There is little doubt that the coming of Gods reign was a keynote of Jesus own ministry. Both Mark and Matthew cite this as an inaugural summary of Jesus preaching. CCC 395, 423, 542, 550, 763, 786, 865, 1615, 2818, 2859; “The Lord Jesus inaugurated his Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of the Reign of God, promised over the ages” Sadducees: One of several distinct groups within Judaism during the New Testament era. The Sadducees existed from around the second century B.C. to the first century A.D. The Sadducees rejected any belief in the immortality of the soul and life after death, or the notion of fate; did not believe in angels, spirits, or the resurrection. They were mostly wealthy people and priests from powerful families, greatly influenced by Hellenism at the expense of what other first-century Jewish groups would hold as authentic religion. CCC 535, 993 Samaritan: Inhabitant of Samaria CCC 728 Sanhedrin: The highest court and governing council of the ancient Jewish nation, composed of 71 members presided over by the high priest of the Temple in Jerusalem, operating from the second century B.C. until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. CCC 443, 591, 596-97 Synagogue: The assembly place for the Jews, dating from the time of Ezra. The synagogue provided a place for readings from the Torah, hymns, and prayers; it was viewed as a study home. CCC 442, 1338, 2586, 2599, 2701; “He learns to pray in the words and rhythms of the prayer of his people, in the synagogue” Synoptic Gospel: The first three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) have been called the synoptic Gospels because they provide a ˜synoptic view of the life and teachings of Christ. A comparison reveals a notable concordance in form and content but a surprising divergence in details. CCC 1338, 2053; “The three synoptic Gospels and St. Paul have handed on to us the account of the institution of the Eucharist” Theological Movements: Defining various developments and/or approaches of theological themes/studies over time. Theological Reflection: The discipline of exploring individual and corporate experience in conversation with the wisdom of a religious heritage. The conversation is a genuine dialogue that seeks to hear from our own beliefs, actions, and perspectives, as well as those of the Tradition. It respects the integrity of both. Theological reflection therefore may confirm, challenge, clarify, and expand how we understand our own experience and how we understand the religious Tradition. The outcome is new truth and meaning for living. CCC 392, 1439, 1611, 1779, 1957, 1959, 2186, 2423, 2588 Theology: (Greek – science of God) Disciplined reflection, carried on in the light of faith, concerning the whole body of revealed and human knowledge. Theology has been called faith seeking understanding. CCC 132, 236, 685, 2515; “Therefore, the study of the sacred page should be the very soul of sacred theology” Torah: From the Hebrew root meaning to instruct, the term came to be used for the written collection of the Law, i.e., the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Tradition: The word tradition derives from the Latin, tradition. It means transmission. The basic meaning refers to the transmission in the Church, of beliefs, doctrines, rituals, and entities such as Scriptures; in the religious sense, the teachings and practices handed down, whether in oral or written from, separately from but not independent of Scripture. Tradition is divided into two areas: (1) Scripture, the essential doctrines of the Church, the major writings and teachings of the Fathers, the liturgical life of the Church, and the living and lived faith of the whole Church down through the centuries; (2) customs, institutions, and practices that express the Christian Faith. The Council of Trent (1546) affirmed both the Bible and Tradition as divine sources of Christian doctrine. CCC 73, 75-9, 80-83, 2650-51 Trent, Council of: (1546) The challenges offered by the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformers prompted many in the Church to call for a general council. Disputes arose not only about whether to have the Council, but also about its location, membership, and purpose. CCC 9, 192, 406, 419, 617, 1031, 1376, 1413, 1661, 2068; “this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood”
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 03:17:47 +0000
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