UNITY AND DIVISION

WITHIN THE CHURCH

LESSON 5
Presentation by:
John Edwin T. Canales
Shaina Calapardo
Ferjan Chavez
Ken Cañete
What is UNITY?
 What is UNITY?
• From the bundle of sticks story:
“ My sons, if you are of one mind, and unite to
assist each other, you will be as this bundle,
uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies;
but if you are divided among yourselves, you
will be broken as easily as these sticks.”

UNITY IS STRENGTH!
 What is UNITY?
• From the dictionary it means “the state of being united
or joined as a whole”
• One accord – Acts 2:1
• To be in agreement and work within that agreement
Unity is NOT:
• Simply agreeing to disagree
• Peace through compromise
• Ignoring that which you differ about
• Simply tolerating one another
• Always getting your way
 Explanation of Acts 15: 7-12 In the
context of the unity and division in the
early Church
• After much discussion, Peter took the floor and said to
7

them:”Brothers, you know well enough that from the

early days God selected me from your number to be the
one from whose lips the Gentiles would hear the
message of the gospel and believe.

• This was a reference to the conversion of Cornelius and

his baptism by Peter that manifested God’s design of
salvation for the Gentiles. Peter was used by God as
God’s instrument to spread the message of salvation to
the Gentiles.
 Explanation of Acts 15: 7-12In the
context of the unity and division in the
early Church
8God, who reads the hearts of men, showed his
approval by granting the Holy Spirit to them just as
he did to us.

The universalist view of the Church in the Gospel of

Luke is stressed. All barriers and discriminations
have been removed. The Church is for all of
humanity, for the Spirit is present in the hearts of
all.
 Explanation of Acts 15: 7-12 In the
context of the unity and division in the
early Church
9 He made no distinctions between them and us, but
purified their hearts by means of faith also.

Christ had removed the distinction imposed by law

between clean and unclean people. In the Council of
Jerusalem, an important issue was whether a pagan was
saved only by believing in Jesus or whether he must first
be justified by his obedience to the Jewish Law. Peter
proclaimed that the same faith in Christ had saved both
Jewish and Gentile Christians. Faith knows no distinction.
 Explanation of Acts 15: 7-12 In the
context of the unity and division in the
early Church
•10 Why, then, do you put God to the test by trying to
place on the shoulders of these converts a yoke which
neither we nor our fathers were able to bear?

Peter supported Paul’s refusal to impose the Mosaic Law

on the Gentile Christians, for God had bestowed the Holy
Spirit upon Cornelius and his household without the
preconditions of the observance of the Mosaic Law. Peter
appealed for the freedom of the Gentiles from the “yoke”
or burden imposed by the Torah. There should be no
imposition that would burden the converts.
 Explanation of Acts 15: 7-12 In the
context of the unity and division in the
early Church
• 11 Ourbelief is rather that we are saved by the
favor of the Lord Jesus and so are they.

Peter formulated the fundamental message of

the Gospel: All of humanity is called to the
saving faith in Christ.
 Explanation of Acts 15: 7-12 In the
context of the unity and division in the
early Church
12At that, the whole assembly fell silent. They
listened to Barnabas and Paul as the two
described all the signs and wonders God had
worked among the Gentiles through them.
The whole assembly fell silent. Peter’s words
brought the discussion to a close and the
controversy was settled.
 Church Teaching
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), 8
The Church, constituted and organized in the world as a
society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed
by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in union
with that successor of Peter and the bishops in union
with that successor, although many elements of
sanctification and of truth can be found outside of her
visible structure. These elements, however, as gifts
properly belonging to the Church of Christ, posses an
inner dynamism toward Catholic unity.
Constantine and the Christian Church
• Under Constantine, the coalition
of the Church and state paved the
road to the union of Church and
state in the Medieval Ages. It
proved to be one of the turning
points in the history of the
Church and of the world.

• He also intervened in Church

affairs and used the power of his
office to ensure unity in the
Church. He summoned 220
bishops in the first ecumenical
council at Nicaea in 325 AD to
settle the Arian controversy
regarding God the Son’s relation
to the Father.
 Religious Controversies: Dogma and
Council
Time Place Main Theme
325 Nicaea The divinity of Christ (identity of
divine essence between God the
father and God the Son) as
opposed to the teaching of Arius
381 Constantinople The divinity of the Holy Spirit as
opposed to the teaching of the
Macedonians
431 Ephesus The divine motherhood of Mary
as opposed to the teaching of
Nestorius
451 Chalcedon Two natures (divine and human)
in the one person of Jesus

The controversies caused a crisis of belief. The councils

sought the universal and normative understanding of
the truths of the faith, hoping to find security for the
Christian belief.
 Luther Split Christendom
The protest and assaults of Luther
and other reformers damaged the
Roman Church but they also
began her age of renewal. An
interior and a spiritual renewal
occurred within the Catholic
Church during the 16th century
and made it once again a vital
center of moral-spiritual energy
in the world. The seeds of
spiritual and interior reform were
already present prior to the
Lutheran revolt but doubtlessly
the Lutheran Reformation Martin Luther, 10 November 1483 – 18
intensified the movement of the February 1546) was a German
Church renewal. professor of theology, composer, priest,
monk, and a seminal figure in
the Protestant Reformation.
 SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
• The Antiochean Dissension and the
Council of Jerusalem inaugurated a
new era in the history of the Church,
fulfilling the universal character of
the Church. Peter and Paul played
key roles in moving the Church
towards the future.
 SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
• The Catholic Church possess all the
institutional means of saving grace in
their fullness, which bring greater
and fuller unity in Christ. These
institutional elements may be found,
but only partially, in other churches.
 SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
• The conversion of Constantine to
Christianity, the religious
controversies, and Luther’s revolt
were key events in the Church that
showed the tension of unity and
division, which shaped the Church of
the future.