This course focuses on the nature, various forms, and mission of the Christian Church from its New Testament roots to the present. It introduces the main Christian traditions and church families, their organizational structures, and concepts of ministry, authority, and leadership. The course presents the Church as an institution, an organization, and a community of believers. It explains the mission of the Church through martyria (witness), leitourgia (worship), koinonia (communion), and diakonia (service), and discusses baptism and Eucharist / Lord’s Supper as important theological and ecumenical questions. Finally, it introduces the modern ecumenical movement, its institutions, and selected models of Christian unity and cooperation. Students will learn to understand different forms of church life and to reflect respectfully and critically on ecumenical cooperation.
- Učitel/Teacher: Martin Vaňáč