{ "book_metadata": { "book_name": "History of Christianity in India: Source Materials", "book_author": "M. K. Kuriakose", "publisher": "Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge", "published_on": "2011" }, "chunks": [ { "chunk_index": 1, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 429 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00453-8af5b3269daed056346f.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Nasrapur Conference", "chunk_data": "199. NASRAPUR STATEMENT (1972 A.D.)\nFrom 9th to 16th August 1972, representatives of the Roman Catholic, Syrian Orthodox and Protestant Churches met in conference at Nasrapur. This National Faith and Order Study Conference was the first of its kind ever to be held in this country. The Agreed Statements, some of which are reproduced here, represent an important ecumenical development. Christian Unity in India, Report of the National Faith and Order Study Conference, Nasrapur, 1972, pp. 2-16.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": 9, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": 16, "time_display": "9–16 August 1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [ "Nasrapur", "India" ], "event": "Representatives of the Roman Catholic, Syrian Orthodox and Protestant Churches held the National Faith and Order Study Conference at Nasrapur.", "tags": [ "Ecumenism", "Christianity", "India" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 2, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 429 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00453-8af5b3269daed056346f.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Nature of Scripture", "chunk_data": "Scripture, Tradition and Authority\nNature of Scripture\nBy 'Scripture' we today mean the Old Testament (with or without Apocrypha) and the New Testament. The message contained in Scripture is on the one hand a divine message, addressed to us in the power of the Holy Spirit, and on the other a message proclaimed by men. The heart of the scriptural message is the self-giving of God in Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The conference defined Scripture as the Old and New Testaments and described its message as divine revelation proclaimed through human witnesses.", "tags": [ "Scripture", "Theology", "Christianity" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 3, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 429 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00453-8af5b3269daed056346f.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Old and New Testaments", "chunk_data": "The Old Testament which is primarily the history of God's dealings with Israel has come down to us as the Scripture of the first Christians. It is part of our collection of Scripture since it is the presupposition of the New Testament, while the New Testament, in turn, bears witness to the fulfilment of God's plan as attested in the Old Testament.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [ "Israel" ], "event": "The statement explained the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament in Christian Scripture.", "tags": [ "Scripture", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 4, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 429 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00453-8af5b3269daed056346f.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Scripture and Revelation", "chunk_data": "The Old Testament is authoritative for the Church in so far as it illuminates the mystery of Christ and God's eternal plan for the salvation of mankind as definitely revealed in the New Testament. The importance of the New Testament lies in that it is a divinely inspired record and primary witness to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ preached by the Apostles as well as to the life and faith of the Apostolic Church. Hence, Scripture occupies a unique and central place in her life, teaching and worship, being normative for all of the Church's ever-growing understanding, explanation, activation and development of the apostolic preaching.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ", "The Apostles" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement affirmed Scripture's authority and central role in the Church's life, teaching, worship, and interpretation of apostolic preaching.", "tags": [ "Scripture", "Church", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 5, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 429 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00453-8af5b3269daed056346f.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Revelation and Scripture", "chunk_data": "There is a complex dialectic of actual relationship between Scripture and Revelation (or the Word of God or the Gospel). Revelation is a prior reality to Scripture. Scripture is not simply identical with the Revelation which it proclaims and embodies, but precisely because Scripture is the divinely inspired record and witness to Revelation it shares in—though it is distinct from—the revelatory authority and power of the Gospel itself.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [], "event": "The statement distinguished divine Revelation from Scripture while affirming Scripture's participation in the authority of the Gospel.", "tags": [ "Scripture", "Revelation", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 6, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 430 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00454-78fca58b1d74c5978b69.webp" ], "chunk_title": "New Testament Unity", "chunk_data": "We acknowledge the diversity of the message of the New Testament including different presentations of the Church, yet we recognise the task of looking for the underlying unity and of relating the different emphases in Scripture by relying on the common mind of the Church and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [], "event": "The conference acknowledged diversity within the New Testament while seeking its underlying unity through the Church and the Holy Spirit.", "tags": [ "Scripture", "Church", "Ecumenism" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 7, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 430 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00454-78fca58b1d74c5978b69.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Nature of Tradition", "chunk_data": "Nature of Tradition\nGod, through the Christ-event (mission, life, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ) and the gift of the Holy Spirit, gathered together a community of Faith, love and worship, witnessing to and proclaiming the saving act of God in Jesus Christ. This is the beginning of a continuing process of Tradition and its expression and development. This Tradition was the guiding norm of the community in its oral preaching, life and worship. The New Testament is an authentic and authoritative crystallization of this Tradition.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement described the Christ-event and the Holy Spirit as the foundation of the Christian community and its continuing Tradition.", "tags": [ "Tradition", "Holy Spirit", "Church" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 8, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 430 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00454-78fca58b1d74c5978b69.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Christian Tradition", "chunk_data": "Tradition taken in this sense is actualized in the preaching of the Word, in the administration of the Sacraments and worship, in Christian teaching and theology, in mission and witness to Christ in the lives of the members of the Church. We can speak of the Christian Tradition (with a capital T), whose content is God's revelation and self-giving in Christ, present in the life of the Church. But this Tradition which is the work of the Holy Spirit is embodied in traditions (in the two senses of the word, both as referring to diversity in forms of expression, and in the sense of separate communions). The traditions in Christian history are distinct from, and yet connected with, the Tradition. They are the expressions and manifestations of the one truth and reality which is Christ. (The Fourth World Conference on Faith and Order, Montreal, 1963, ed. P. C. Roger and L. Vischer, Association Press, New York, 1964, pp. 51 f.)", "time": { "start_year": 1963, "start_month": null, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1963, "end_month": null, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1963" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [ "Montreal" ], "event": "The statement, quoting the Fourth World Conference on Faith and Order, distinguished Christian Tradition from its diverse historical traditions.", "tags": [ "Tradition", "Ecumenism", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 9, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 430 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00454-78fca58b1d74c5978b69.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Scripture and Tradition", "chunk_data": "To set the slogans 'sola Scriptura' and 'Scripture and Tradition' against each other does not help us to arrive at the truth. Scripture is given to us as part of a continuous living Tradition. On the one hand it is read and understood within the Tradition. On the other hand it exercises a normative function in relation to Tradition.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [], "event": "The statement rejected opposition between Scripture and Tradition and affirmed their reciprocal relationship.", "tags": [ "Scripture", "Tradition", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 10, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 430 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00454-78fca58b1d74c5978b69.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Visible Unity", "chunk_data": "The Structure of Visible Unity\n1. We agree that, while faith is primarily an attitude of the heart towards God, it must find outward expression in word and life. While there may be a variety of forms of expression, there must be some visible structure of fellowship to bring together all who under differing forms express the one faith.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [], "event": "The conference affirmed the need for a visible structure of fellowship expressing the unity of Christian faith.", "tags": [ "Church", "Ecumenism", "Unity" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 11, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 431 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00455-001961755490135d4611.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Elements of Visible Unity", "chunk_data": "2. All forms of visible unity among Christians should include the following elements:\n(a) an element of personal ministerial leadership which takes as its guide the loving care of Jesus the Good Shepherd for all his disciples.\n(b) an element of corporate responsibility in which all the faithful share, which takes as its guide the teaching of St. Paul: 'You are the body of Christ and severally members thereof', and which aims to enable every member to contribute his share to the building up of the whole.\nThese two elements are interdependent and inseparable.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ", "St. Paul" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement identified personal ministerial leadership and corporate responsibility as inseparable elements of visible Christian unity.", "tags": [ "Church", "Leadership", "Unity" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 12, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 431 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00455-001961755490135d4611.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Leadership and Councils", "chunk_data": "Personal pastoral leadership must be exercised in brotherly concord with other leaders (collegiality) and within the corporate responsibility which is shared by the whole body (conciliarity). So also the councils of the Church need for their effective working a wise pastoral leadership.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [], "event": "The statement linked pastoral leadership with collegiality, conciliarity, and effective church councils.", "tags": [ "Church", "Leadership", "Governance" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 13, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 431 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00455-001961755490135d4611.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Church Governance", "chunk_data": "3. We agree that these two principles should be applied to the ordering of the Church's life at all levels, local, regional, national and universal. However at each level there are matters on which we are not agreed and which need further study.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [], "event": "The conference proposed applying leadership and corporate responsibility throughout the Church while acknowledging unresolved matters.", "tags": [ "Church", "Governance", "Ecumenism" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 14, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 431 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00455-001961755490135d4611.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Priesthood of All Believers", "chunk_data": "Priesthood, Ministry and Ordination\nPoints of Agreement\nA. Priest and People\n1. Christ, the Highpriest of the new Covenant, through the offering of his body once for all, has brought salvation to all (Heb. 10: 12).\n2. Hence our approach to the question of Priest and People has been in the context and framework of the priesthood of the whole people of God: In him all the faithful are made a holy and royal priesthood; they offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ and they proclaim the perfections of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvellous light' (cf. I Pet. 2: 5 & 9). Therefore there is no member who does not have a part in the mission of the whole body but each one ought to hallow Jesus in his heart (cf. I Pet. 3: 15) and in the spirit of prophecy bear witness of Jesus (cf. Apo. 19: 10) (Vatican II Decree on Ministry and the Life of Priest, Ch. 1, 2).", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement affirmed Christ's priesthood and the participation of all believers in the Church's mission.", "tags": [ "Priesthood", "Church", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 15, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 432 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00456-26a1c4313824dbd185da.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Special Priesthood", "chunk_data": "3. Within the priestly people there is a place for a special priesthood usually referred to as priest or minister set apart from the people for the people and charged in the name of Christ publicly authoritatively (i) to preach the good news (ii) to lead public worship (especially the Eucharist/the Lord's Supper) (iii) to guide the people in the way of salvation (iv) to loose and bind: His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the equipment of the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of faith... to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ' (Eph. 4: 11 ff).", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ", "The Apostles" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement described the special priesthood and its responsibilities to preach, lead worship, guide believers, and build up the Church.", "tags": [ "Priesthood", "Ministry", "Church" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 16, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 432 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00456-26a1c4313824dbd185da.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Christian Growth", "chunk_data": "4. By virtue of baptism all Christian people have the privilege and duty to grow into the fulness of Christ; as he himself said 'you therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect' (Mt. 5: 48).", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement declared that baptism gives Christians the duty and privilege of growing into the fullness of Christ.", "tags": [ "Baptism", "Discipleship", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 17, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 432 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00456-26a1c4313824dbd185da.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Priestly Example", "chunk_data": "5. While all who share this priesthood of Christ should witness to His holiness of life, the Priest/Minister is to be a model to the flock (I Pet. 5: 3) setting himself as an example to believers in speech and behaviour, in love, fidelity and purity (I Tim. 4:12). This requires that he does not live a life apart from the life of the world: They cannot be of service to men if they remain strangers to the life and conditions of men. Their ministry requires that they live in this world among men as good shepherds that know their sheep'. (Vatican II, Decree on the Ministry and the Life of Priests, Ch. 1, 3).", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement required priests and ministers to model holiness while remaining engaged with the life and conditions of the people.", "tags": [ "Priesthood", "Ministry", "Church" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 18, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 432 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00456-26a1c4313824dbd185da.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Calling to Priesthood", "chunk_data": "6. The calling of God into the special priesthood is effected by the Holy Spirit through the prayer of the Church with the laying on of hands and its official authorization on the basis of recognized special charisma and training. This is usually called ordination. The authority of the Priest/Minister is derived from this calling and not from the person's worthiness.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [], "event": "The statement defined ordination as the Church's prayerful recognition and authorization of a divine calling to the special priesthood.", "tags": [ "Ordination", "Priesthood", "Holy Spirit" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 19, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 432 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00456-26a1c4313824dbd185da.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Mutual Ministry", "chunk_data": "7. The relationship between the priestly people and the special priesthood is one of mutual help and interdependence. The Priest/Minister has to see to it that the Apostolic Tradition among the people is preserved. He is responsible for the fulness and growth of the faith among the people; he embodies for all the leadership of Christ, the Head of the Church, releasing the gifts of the priestly people and leading them into unity. On the other hand the priestly people uphold the Priest/Minister in his faith and work by prayer, co-operation and corrective love. They also help him to interpret the gospel for the needs of family life, culture, economic affairs, arts and professions, political institutions, international relations and the like.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement described mutual interdependence between ordained ministers and the wider priestly people.", "tags": [ "Ministry", "Church", "Leadership" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 20, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 433 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00457-626538f3edf8f5f071af.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Meaning of Ordination", "chunk_data": "B. Ministerial Order\n1. Ordination is a rite of the Church whereby individuals, who are called of God, are set apart to the ministry of the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands. The Church believes that in answer to this prayer God gives the gifts needed for the ministry, and the Church gives to those ordained commission and authority, together with the stewardship of the mysteries of Christ' viz. the Word and the Sacraments and leadership in the Church for its mission to the world.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement defined ordination as the Church's rite of setting apart ministers for the Holy Spirit's work and granting them authority.", "tags": [ "Ordination", "Ministry", "Church" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 21, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 433 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00457-626538f3edf8f5f071af.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Ordained Ministry", "chunk_data": "2. The ordained ministry, as we find it in the New Testament, is entrusted with the ministry of Word and Sacraments to the flock, and a commission to bring the other sheep' into the fold.\n3. The Church and the ordained ministry are inseparable one from the other, inasmuch as there could be no ministry without the Church and no Church without the ministry.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [], "event": "The statement linked ordained ministry with the Word, Sacraments, mission, and the life of the Church.", "tags": [ "Ministry", "Church", "Mission" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 22, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 433 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00457-626538f3edf8f5f071af.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Development of Ministry", "chunk_data": "4. The New Testament does not offer a clear-cut pattern of the ordained ministry of the Church, but it does provide antecedents for such ministerial offices as the Bishop, the Presbyter and the Deacon, though not in any specific structure. The threefold ministry belongs to the very early tradition of the Church, and while its origins are to be traced in the New Testament, it is attested in a fully developed form at the beginning of the second century. The Church has thus exercised its freedom under the Holy Spirit to develop the forms of its ministry.", "time": { "start_year": 100, "start_month": null, "start_date": null, "end_year": 110, "end_month": null, "end_date": null, "time_display": "Early 2nd century" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [], "event": "The statement described the emergence of the threefold ministry of bishop, presbyter, and deacon in the early second century.", "tags": [ "Church", "Ministry", "History" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 23, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 433 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00457-626538f3edf8f5f071af.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Authority of Ministry", "chunk_data": "5. In the early tradition of the Church the ordained ministry, functioning in a collegial and conciliar manner under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, has the highest authority to make and to implement decisions.\n6. The full life of the Church includes not only the ordained ministry but also the multiplicity of the other charismatic ministries, 'to equip God's people for work in His Service, to the building up of the Body of Christ' (Eph. 4: 11-13).\n7. The proper characteristic of the Christian ministry is not that of lording it over, but of serving the flock and the world after the example of Christ, the Servant Lord.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement presented ordained ministry as collegial service and recognized the wider range of charismatic ministries in the Church.", "tags": [ "Ministry", "Church", "Leadership" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 24, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 433 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00457-626538f3edf8f5f071af.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Apostolic Mission", "chunk_data": "8. The apostolic mission takes its origin from the Blessed Trinity. When the Lord sent forth the apostles, he said. As my Father has sent me, even so send I you' (John 21: 20). This mission has been continued through the centuries in the preaching of the faith and the building up of the fellowship. According to several Churches, the guarantee and the sign of continuity in faith and fellowship is the unbroken succession of episcopal ordination. Others do not accept this view.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Jesus Christ", "The Apostles" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement discussed the origin and continuation of apostolic mission and differing views on episcopal succession.", "tags": [ "Apostolic Succession", "Mission", "Church" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 25, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 434 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00458-26cfac257370625cd2af.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Questions for Further Study", "chunk_data": "Points for Further Study\n1. Is ordination rightly described as a sacrament?\n2. In what way is the special priesthood distinct from and one with the general priesthood of all believers?\n3. There is need for a special study of the doctrine of the Eucharist/Lord's Supper, with particular reference to its sacrificial aspect and its relationship with the ordained ministry.\n4. Is the Apostolic Episcopal Succession of the esse of the full ministry of the Church?\n5. Because of the frequent complaint of lack of time on the part of the Priest/Minister it seems necessary to examine an order of priorities in his occupations.\n6. How far are women called to participate in particular ministries and the special priesthood?", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [], "places": [], "event": "The conference identified questions requiring further study concerning ordination, priesthood, the Eucharist, episcopal succession, ministerial priorities, and women's participation.", "tags": [ "Ordination", "Ministry", "Church" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 26, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 434 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00458-26cfac257370625cd2af.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Mariology Dialogue", "chunk_data": "Mariology\nThis is only the report of an initial and very tentative dialogue. Any study of Mariology in depth, must take into account its connections with the doctrines of Christ, the Church and Man.\nI. Points of Agreement\nThese emerged from the explicit witness of the Bible.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary" ], "places": [], "event": "The conference introduced an initial dialogue on Mariology and connected it with doctrines of Christ, the Church, and humanity.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Theology", "Ecumenism" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 27, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 434 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00458-26cfac257370625cd2af.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Mary and Redemption", "chunk_data": "1. Like all men and women, Mary is a member of the human race, created by God, and in need of redemption by Christ.\n2. She occupies a unique position within the Body of Christ because through her motherhood of Christ mankind's hope of redemption expressed throughout the Old Testament was fulfilled.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement affirmed Mary's humanity and need for redemption while recognizing her unique role as the mother of Christ.", "tags": [ "Mary", "Redemption", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 28, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 434 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00458-26cfac257370625cd2af.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Mary as Theotokos", "chunk_data": "3. To call Mary Theotokos '—Mother of God or God-bearer—as the Orthodox and the Catholics do, makes clear the fact that Jesus is true God and true Man, ruling out wrong interpretations of the incarnation in the line of Docetism or Adoptionism. Many Churches of the Reformation and the Assyrian Church, however, preferring the title 'Mother of Christ', or the Scriptural 'Mother of Our Lord', equally assert that Jesus Christ is true God and true Man.\n4. For all these reasons, Mary holds a special place of honour in our understanding of the Incarnation and the Redemption.\n5. A full assessment of Mariology would require that we take into account biblical typology, as applied by the Bible itself to Mary, and further development by the Fathers of the Church.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement compared Christian titles for Mary and affirmed her special significance in understanding the Incarnation and Redemption.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Christology", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 29, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 435 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00459-7aa8b84f7169c70f6f0a.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Orthodox Mariology", "chunk_data": "II. Differing Viewpoints and Approaches\nA. The Orthodox Church (the following statement refers to the Syrian Orthodox Church in India):\nThey have a deep veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life, piety and worship of the Church. She is the ever-Virgin Mother of God the Word, the unique witness of the Incarnation. Orthodox Mariology cannot be separated from Christology and Ecclesiology. In the thought and piety of the orthodox, the Blessed Virgin is the symbol par excellence of the Church, which is the bearer of Christ to the world.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [ "India" ], "event": "The Syrian Orthodox Church in India described Mary as the ever-Virgin Mother of God and a symbol of the Church.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Syrian Orthodox", "Church" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 30, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 435 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00459-7aa8b84f7169c70f6f0a.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Orthodox Marian Beliefs", "chunk_data": "They do not believe in the Immaculate Conception; they hold that the Blessed Virgin Mary was sanctified by the Annunciation, and that the redemptive action of our Lord Jesus Christ applies to her as to any other member of the Church. The Orthodox pray for the Blessed Virgin as well as invoke her intercession, which is very specially valued. The belief in the bodily assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is common in the life, piety and prayers of the faithful, but it is not held by the Church as a dogma necessary for salvation.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The Syrian Orthodox position rejected the Immaculate Conception, affirmed Mary's sanctification at the Annunciation, and described Orthodox practices concerning her intercession and Assumption.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Syrian Orthodox", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 31, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 435 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00459-7aa8b84f7169c70f6f0a.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Lutheran View of Mary", "chunk_data": "B. The Lutheran Church:\nIt does not have any official doctrine on Mary. However, its confessional books are not silent on our Lord's mother. Statements on her appear either in the Articles on the person of Christ or in contexts of Christ's redemptive work. She is 'most worthy of the most ample honours' as Mother of God', 'most blessed Virgin' (in one place ever-Virgin'), and our example of faith and humility in accepting her unique vocation. All this finds an increasing place in Lutheran devotion, especially connected with the celebration of Advent and Christmas.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement described Lutheran respect for Mary, her role as Christ's mother, and her example of faith and humility.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Lutheranism", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 32, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 435 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00459-7aa8b84f7169c70f6f0a.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Lutheran Rejection of Marian Redemption", "chunk_data": "On the other hand, the Lutheran Confessions firmly deny any redemptive power of Mary, which is believed to obscure Christ as the only Mediator between God and man. For this reason the Lutheran faith also denies Mary's sinlessness at any time of her life. She is reckoned as one of the justified sinners, though an outstanding believer, and in this sense may be called the 'Mother of the Church'. Christ's own sinlessness and full obedience would be obscured, if his manhood had already inherited sinlessness, as it were.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The Lutheran position rejected any redemptive power or sinlessness attributed to Mary in order to preserve Christ's unique mediation and sinlessness.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Lutheranism", "Christology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 33, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 435 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00459-7aa8b84f7169c70f6f0a.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Lutheran Assumption Belief", "chunk_data": "Regarding her bodily Assumption into heaven, Lutherans miss evidence in the early Apostolic tradition, which for them has found normative crystallization in the N.T. for all beliefs necessary for salvation. They would, therefore, hold that her body sleeps with all the deceased faithful, awaiting with the whole Church the resurrection of the dead. They also do not find any ground in Scripture that departed souls may be implored for intercession with Christ, while they believe that all Christian believers may be asked for intercessory prayer to the Triune God.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement explained the Lutheran rejection of Mary's bodily Assumption and invocation while affirming prayer among living Christians.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Lutheranism", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 34, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 436 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00460-c21be3280a3ff7a839e3.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Reformation Churches", "chunk_data": "C. Other Churches of the Reformation:\nThe Churches of the Reformation have no official doctrine concerning Mary and are at liberty to hold a variety of opinions. Among Anglicans, and therefore within the C.S.I. and C.N.I., there are some whose Mariology is similar to that of the Catholics or Orthodox Churches, though they do not hold any Marian dogma as necessary to salvation and, in any case, remain in communion with those whose views differ widely from their own.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary" ], "places": [ "India" ], "event": "The statement described the diversity of Marian views among Reformation Churches and Anglicans, including the C.S.I. and C.N.I.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Reformation", "Anglicanism" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 35, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 436 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00460-c21be3280a3ff7a839e3.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Reformed View of Mary", "chunk_data": "In general, the Reformed approach to Mary is governed by such historical evidence as we have concerning her in the New Testament. Though the N. T. records no sin committed by her, and stresses her devotion and obedience, the prevailing view rejects any dogma of her sinlessness, either from conception or birth, and affirms that she was a member of sinful humanity needing redemption. Her justification by divine grace may have begun anticipatorily at the Annunciation, but in view of evidences of possible tension between her and Jesus in a few passages of the Gospel narrative, the supposition is that her salvation was only complete when she believed in her crucified and risen Son as Lord and Saviour.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement presented the prevailing Reformed view that Mary was devoted and obedient but remained part of sinful humanity in need of redemption.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Reformation", "Redemption" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 36, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 436 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00460-c21be3280a3ff7a839e3.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Mary's Virginity", "chunk_data": "Thus Reformed Churches adhere to the credal assertion that Mary was a virgin at Jesus' conception and birth, but many, probably the majority, of their members would reject the doctrine of her perpetual virginity, and interpret the scriptural text as implying that she consummated her marriage with Joseph in the normal way after the birth of Jesus and bore him several children. In view of the sanctity of marriage they would not regard this as in any way compromising her conformity to God's will.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ", "Joseph" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement distinguished belief in Mary's virginal conception and birth of Jesus from rejection of her perpetual virginity among many Reformed Christians.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Reformation", "Theology" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 37, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 436 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00460-c21be3280a3ff7a839e3.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Reformed Views of Assumption", "chunk_data": "With regard to belief in her bodily 'Assumption' at the end of her life on earth, they would assert that there is no historical evidence for this, the legend of the 'Assumption' having originated about the 5th century A.D. Some believe that she is already forever with her son and Lord in heaven; others that she awaits the general resurrection at the last day; they cannot accept any belief concerning her human body which is not anchored in history.", "time": { "start_year": 400, "start_month": null, "start_date": null, "end_year": 499, "end_month": null, "end_date": null, "time_display": "5th century AD" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement attributed the origin of the Assumption legend to about the fifth century and described differing Reformed beliefs about Mary's final destiny.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "History", "Reformation" ] } }, { "chunk_index": 38, "chapter_name": "199. Nasrapur Statement", "page_numbers": [ 436 ], "image_paths": [ "raw\\pages\\00460-c21be3280a3ff7a839e3.webp" ], "chunk_title": "Reformed Marian Devotion", "chunk_data": "The majority of the members of these Churches do not invoke the virgin Mary in prayer, though most would regard her as a saint with a unique vocation. Many, particularly those of the Anglican tradition, observe the presentation of Christ in the Temple and the Annunciation as holy days, commemorating her with thanksgiving. Few call her by the title 'Mother of God', the majority regarding this title with some suspicion as failing to do justice to the humanity of Jesus.", "time": { "start_year": 1972, "start_month": 8, "start_date": null, "end_year": 1972, "end_month": 8, "end_date": null, "time_display": "1972" }, "meta": { "people": [ "Mary", "Jesus Christ" ], "places": [], "event": "The statement described Reformation Churches' limited Marian invocation and Anglican observance of the Presentation and Annunciation.", "tags": [ "Mariology", "Reformation", "Anglicanism" ] } } ] }