The Six Ages of

the Church: An
Introduction.
(TOPIC NO. 2 THEOLOGY 3)
THEOLOGY IN THREE HISTORICAL AND
CULTURAL CONTEXTS 2

Karl Rahner, SJ - Fundamental Theological Interpretation of Vatican II

WORLD or
GLOBAL
GRAECO-ROMAN / CHURCH
MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN
CULTURE
HEBREW-JEWISH
CULTURE
The Jewish period
It started with their experience of Jesus in the actual
sense (before the resurrection), and the confession
of faith after the experience (post-Resurrection). It
didnt last as many were added to their number.
They understood their mission as apostles (being
sent) proclaiming the coming of Gods reign to the
lost house of Israel.
Paul became the archetype of the apostle who
didnt encounter Jesus, and had the calling to
proclaim their faith in Jesus and the message of
the Kingdom.
With the council of Jerusalem (50 AD/CE), came the
gradual break from the Jewish understanding of
Jesus and his message to a Gentile (later Greco-
Roman) understanding of him and of it.
The Greco-Roman (later
Latin/Euro-Centric Period)
Starting gradually from St. Paul who journeyed beyond the boundaries
of Israel, the understanding of Jesus and His message shifted from His
original Spirit to a Gentile (Greco-Roman) understanding.
Later, after many centuries of struggle, the Church came into the world
as a powerbroker from the last centuries of Roman rule to the rise of
the European medieval and post-medieval civilizations, and unto the
ages until the age of modernity.
Paul a Diaspora Jewish Pharisee whose knowledge of the Greco-
Roman language and culture enabled him to communicate the
Gospel to many communities beyond the boundaries of Israel. He
inculturated the Gospel for the Gentiles to understand, and used
their language to verbalize and make it understandable for them
(as seen from the letters of Paul).
Church Fathers 2nd generation followers of Jesus who enriched and
made the Gospel more understandable to people by their writings,
and for some, the witness of their lives unto death. Later, with the
legitimation of Christianity, they served as advisers and experts of
the Empire creating the structure of doctrine, morals and worship of
the Church.
The Greco-Roman (later
Latin/Euro-Centric Period)
Theologians and popes mostly maintained and interpreted the
teachings of the Church according to the worldview, language and
trends of their time.
Development of doctrinal formulations and Scholastic theology
The Council of Trent and Vatican I development of catechism and
papal pronouncements
Gave rise to the Church as a hierarchical society (institutional
model)
Mystics gave enrichment to the doctrines and morals of the Church
through the spirituality they practiced in living the Gospel. These were
the people who despite using the language of their time are very much
in touch with the Source (i.e., God)
Jesus praying at his rest moments (withdrawing to the desert, or to
a secluded place in the mountains)
Ps. 46: 11 Be still and know that I am God! I am exalted among the
nations, exalted on the earth.
Immersed in this experience, the mystics often became prophets and
critics of the seeming excesses of the hierarchy in the Church, and
somehow made a difference in the living vocation of the Church.
The World Church (Rahner)
The world Church period (Vatican II) the latest break in the life of the
Church as she re-examined herself and her place in the world especially in
the proclamation of the Gospel. This was heralded by three principles:
Scriptures, Tradition and Experience (signs of the times).
Recognized the fact that there were other continents and nations with
different and diverse cultures.
There are different local churches that are diverse in character among
these nations. With this came the formation of episcopal conferences both
in the regional (eg., FABC in Asia, CCEE in Europe, CELAM in Latin
America) and in the national (eg., CBCP in the Philippines, USCCB in the
US) to address the faith and morals of the universal church in the local
areas.
The rise of the BECs also became a factor as a return to the spirit of the
Gospel was espoused as seen in the early Christian community (koinonia).
Dialogue, not condemnation became the norm, in most Churches.
There is still a struggle though to come up with a unified sense for all the
faithful especially in keeping with the task of evangelization vis--vis the
changing trends of the world today especially with the emergence of
globalization.
Dawson: The Six Ages of the
Church From his monumental work, The Historic Reality of

Christian Culture (1960), Christopher Dawson, a
Catholic sociologist makes an initial attempt of a
historical survey of the missionary response of the
Church in each age based on what he calls apostolic
creativity
Apostolic creativity the initial creativity of the
apostolic Church in responding to the missionary
impetus of each age.
In using this methods he asks this question for his
inquiry How well/How badly the Church is doing its
real task of:
1. spreading the message of the Kingdom?
2. of giving people a participation in divine life
through Word and sacrament?
Dawson: The Six Ages of the
Church According to Dawson, there are six stages which

follow a similar course:
Dawson: The Six Ages of the
Church
Your Task: A
Survey of the
Six Ages