THE SEARCH FOR A SOUND ECCLESIOLOGY: THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CONGAR’S PNEUMATOLOGY APPLIED IN HIS ECCLESIOLOGY
THE SEARCH FOR A SOUND ECCLESIOLOGY: THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CONGAR’S PNEUMATOLOGY APPLIED IN HIS ECCLESIOLOGY

Summary/Abstract: Yves Congar’s pneumatology contains several basic principles. Two of them are as following: the Holy Spirit is revealed not directly in himself but through his work; and pneumatology has to be Christological. Furthermore, Congar also states that the Holy Spirit makes the Church one. Because Congar’s thought is very organic and many of its interconnections are only implicit, the first aim of this article is to make more explicit these interconnections in order to show that the unity of the Church reflects the inner unity of the Trinity as well as the unity of the economy of salvation. The second aim of this article is to show how Congar’s pneumatology contributes to the understanding of the Church as a mystery in which the Christological and pneumatological aspects have an equal importance. This equilibrium leads to harmony between institution and charisms, and between the memory of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit. This Christological-pneumatological understanding of the Church is useful in ecumenical discussions between Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians.

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