THCT307 - Church: Its Nature and Mission

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

THBS100 Introduction to the Bible and THCT100 What Christians Believe

Incompatible

THCT307/THCT205 Church: Communion and Community 

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Many of the issues facing Christians today relate fundamentally to the way the nature and mission of the Church is understood and lived. It is essential to have a sound grasp of ecclesiology in order to understand the role and purpose of the Church, especially for those who intend to work for Church-based organisations. Moreover, one of the key contemporary challenges for the Catholic Church is the reception of Vatican II's ecclesiological vision. This unit explores different ecclesiologies that extend from the early church to the post-conciliar period, with a particular focus on the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council as the theological underpinning for the contemporary Catholic Church. It examines the nature and mission of the Church, especially in reference to the communio approach of Vatican II and key challenges facing the Church in today's context, in light of the continual call to ecclesial renewal. The aim of this unit is to introduce students to the study of ecclesiology, guide them in developing a sound grasp of key ecclesiological models and issues, and help them to articulate the relevance of the Church both today and into the future.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Explain what the Church is, including its biblical basis, early development, key features, and four marks (GA4)

LO2 - Analyse the significance of contemporary ecclesiology, with reference to Vatican II’s ecclesiology (GA4, GA8);

LO3 - Evaluate the relevance, mission, and challenges facing the Church now and into the future, including contemporary ecclesiological issues, in light of the need for ongoing ecclesial renewal (GA8, GA9).

Graduate attributes

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

Content

Topics will include:

•  Scriptural basis and images of the Church;
• Early Christian ecclesiologies and developments;
• Significant ecclesiological visions that have emerged in history;
• Vatican II’s ecclesiological vision of the church as communion and sacrament, with focus on Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes;
• The mission of the Church;
• Ministry in the church;
• The Church, local and universal, visible and invisible;
• The four marks of the Church;
• Post-conciliar debates and developments;
• Pope Francis on a synodal and a missionary Church;
• Contemporary ecclesiological challenges and the future of the Church;
• Implications for church-based organisations and agencies.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, or the equivalent of 10 hours per week for 15 weeks. The total includes formally structured learning activities such as lectures, tutorials and online learning.  The remaining hours typically involve reading, research, and the preparation of tasks for assessment.

The unit is normally offered in attendance mode or multi-mode. Students learn through formally structured and sequenced learning activities that support the achievement of the learning outcomes. Learning activities are structured according to the constructivist developmental sequence, beginning with explaining and defining what the Church is, then shifting to focus on analysing Vatican II’s vision of the Church with reference to key ecclesiological models, and finally focusing on evaluating how the Church might approach the need for ongoing ecclesial renewal and reform, considering the relevance, mission, and challenges facing the Church now and into the future. Learning is designed to be an engaging and supportive student-centred experience, and student participation is essential.

THCT307 emphasises students as active, adult learners, who engage best when what they are learning is relevant to them, classes provide space for them to discuss different perspectives and come to their own conclusions, and they receive the opportunity to be responsible for their own learning. Students are asked to critically comprehend, reflect, analyse, and integrate new information with existing knowledge, draw meaningful new connections, share their knowledge and perspective with others, and apply what they have learned to their own contexts.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are required to attempt all assessment tasks and achieve an overall grade of Pass (50%).

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome. The three assessment tasks align with the constructivist sequence outlined in the learning outcomes and the teaching and learning strategy, which moves in sequence from explanation, to analysis, to evaluation.

Assessment task 1 enables students to display achievement of LO 1 by asking them to create a mind map explaining what the Church is, visually outlining its various dimensions and their interconnections, with a written commentary attached. This is a foundational activity, aimed at enabling students to display their grasp of the nature of the Church. It forms a platform for Assessment tasks 2 and 3.

Assessment task 2 shifts from explanation to analysis, asking students to research and write an essay analysing Vatican II’s ecclesiological vision, with reference to key historical ecclesiological visions or models, as well as analysing their respective strengths and weaknesses. This task is designed to help students understand what the Church is intended to be in the ideal sense and to study how the Church has actually been lived and manifested in different ways in history, with a special focus on Vatican II ecclesiology. It aligns with LO 2.

Assessment task 3 enables students to display achievement of LO 3. The focus of this task is on evaluation. Students are asked to critically evaluate how the Church might approach the need for ongoing ecclesial renewal, now and into the future, considering the relevance, mission, issues and challenges facing the Church. This final task focuses on the meaning and relevance, as well as challenges and issues, of the Church in today’s world and into the future.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Avis, Paul, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Ecclesiology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Dulles, Avery. Models of the Church. New York: Image, 2013.

Faggioli, Massimo. A Council for the Global Church: Receiving Vatican II in History. Minneapolis: Fortress press, 2015.

Gaillardetz, Richard. Ecclesiology for a Global Church: A People Called and Sent. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2008.

Gaillardetz, Richard and Edward P. Hahnenberg, eds. A Church with Open Doors: Catholic Ecclesiology for the Third Millennium. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2015.

Kasper, Walter. The Catholic Church: Nature, Reality and Mission. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015.

Lamb, Matthew and Matthew Levering, eds. The Reception of Vatican II. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Mannion, Gerard, ed. Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism: Evangelii Gaudium and the Papal Agenda. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

McBrien, Richard P. The Church: The Evolution of Catholicism. New York: HarperOne, 2008.

Ormerod, Neil. Re-Visioning the Church: An Experiment in Systematic-Historical Ecclesiology. Lanham: Fortress Press, 2014.