REVIEWER FOR FCL 4 3RD QUARTERLY EXAM

I. ECUMENISM: MEANINGS
1. By Definition: Is the beliefs, principles or practices of those who desire and work for world-wide
unity and cooperation among all Christian churches.
1.1Purpose of ecumenism: Church unity, preventing: (1) division, (2) religious wars, & (3)
Discrimination

Major causes of division in church history:

1. Heresy: A baptized person’s denial of a certain church doctrine/belief (“I doubt or reject this
teaching or article of faith in the Church”)
(ex. Arianism: belief that Jesus was only human adopted by God and was given the power
to save; he is a lesser being than God – against the doctrine of Jesus two natures: 100%
divine and 100% human)
2. Schism: none submission to Pope’s Authority (“I deny the pope’s authority over me”)
(ex. The Great Schism, also known as the East-West Schism, was a major split in the history
of Christianity that occurred in 1054. It separated the Orthodox Church in the East from the
Roman Catholic Church in the West. Prior to this, all of Christendom existed under one
body, but the churches in the East were developing distinct cultural and theological
differences from those in the West)
3. Apostacy: total repudiation of the Christian Faith (“I reject my faith in Jesus and in his
Church”)
Differences between causes of division:
-Heresy is an act against a Church doctrine
-Schism is against the Papal Authority
-Apostocy is against the Christian Faith
Though having differences, they are connected to one another at some point.
2. Early Meaning: ONE WORLD; ONE COMMON HOME/DWELLING
(Etymology) From Greek words:
2.1Oikos (Noun) House of Dwelling
2.2Oikeo (verb) to dwell/live
2.3transliteration oikoumene: “The whole inhabited World” (the whole world is common/ is
for all of us not just for anyone.

3. Contemporary Meaning: ONE CHURCH WITH ONE MISSION: Witnessing to Christ in the
World
3.1Protestant history (Protestantism caused by chuch corruptions: the call to go back to God’s Word.
3.2Here ecumenism means unity among Christians through ONE MISSION: To witness to the
faith in Christ in the World: this involves Evangelization(spreading the Faith) throuh
preaching the Word of God not just by word but through one’s life: being true Disciples of Christ
in words and deeds.

4. New Testament Meaning: ONENESS IN GOD

Biblical Foundations that tells about the unity of the church:
4.1 John 17:21: Unity in God’s unity. Jesus’ prayer for unity: he prays that all may be one
with God, just as He is one with the Father, so that all may be one in God.
4.2Galatians 2:27-28: Unity in spite differences. St. Paul resolves corrects St. Peter and
resolves the dispute between Jews and Gentile who were converted to Christianism through this
letter: everyone who is baptized clothes himself with Christ; no status, no gender, no kind of sect
matters. What matters is we are unified in the one Baptism in Christ’s name. Differences may
be a usual cause of division, but it might be an opportunity for acceptance and
respects that leads to unity.
4.3Corinthians 12:12: One Body (Christ’s body) and Spirit (the Holy Spirit): St. Paul makes
a brilliant analogy of the Church to a body: just as one Body has different members, we, different
though we are from one another, are one body of Christ having the Paraclete as its guiding Spirit
into which we were baptized.
4.4Ephesians 4: 4-5: Unity through similarities. Just as there are many causes for division,
there are more reasons to be unified, just as we have one hope, one Faith, one Lord, one
Baptism.
Ecumenical Works according to CCC 821:
1. Renewal of the Church: Being more faithful to God’s call
2. Conversion of the Heart: trying to live a holier life
3. Common Prayer (though having different practices, we invite each one to pray together
4. Fraternal(fililial/brotherly) Knowledge, (knowing not just your faith but those christians with
different beliefs in the level of siblings, for we are siblings having Christ as our “kuya”
5. Ecumenical formation (especially for priests to have a sense of unity with other Christians
6. Dialogue; conversation that lead to mutual understanding and respect
7. Collaboration: cooperation and participation towards a certain goal: common good, human
rights, social justice

II. VARIOUS FORMS OF LOCAL ECUMENISM

A. Exclusive Biblical Ecumenism
1 Sharing in Prayer and Worship: Spiritual ecumenism wherein prayer groups where
formed by different Chrisitian Confessions
2 Common Bible Work: programs of cooperation among Christians in Scripture distribution
and promotion of Bible reading. This involves cooperation in Bible translations
B. Service Oriented life and Action Ecumenism
3 Joint Pastoral Care: Pastoral care refers to emotional, social and spiritual support.
4 Shared Premises: Christians share owned infrastractures; The Catholic reserves its
Churches solely for its liturgical activities but it can be shared to other Christian sects at their
request if they don’t have any available place to hold their religious activities.
5 Collaboration in Education (refer to slide) (integrating ecumenical mindset in education)
people of different religions study together.
6 Joint Use of Communication Media ( The rest see slides if no notes given; self-
explanatory)
7 Cooperation in the Health Field
8 National and International Emergencies having religious differences don’t matter
during emergencies that concern nations; everyone should help one another in times of great
calamaties and wars
9 Relief of Human Need: collaboration to satisfy human needs of food, security and safety.
10 Social Problems: Promote human rights against social injustices
11 Sodepax Groups: (Sodepax (Society, Development and Peace (Pax))
C. Governmental Faith and order
12 Bilateral Dialogues (cooperative Conversation between two (bi) persons/groups having
different religious and/or political beliefs and principles
13 Meetings of Heads of Communions: meetings between church and/or nation leaders
14 Joint Working Group: Church Programs held by to or more religious groups
15 Councils of Churches and Christian Councils: Meetings between church leaders to resolve
a certain issue or give a response to a certain problem.

III. INTERFAITH DIALOGUE

1. term 'Interfaith Dialogue' refers to the positive and cooperative interaction between people
of different religions, faiths or spiritual beliefs, with the aim of promoting understanding
between different religions to increase acceptance and tolerance.
2. Catholic Church’s view of Interfaith Dialogue: It is the promotion of mutual
understanding, respect and collaboration between Catholics and the followers of other
religious traditions.
Catholic Church's tasks is to foster closer bonds of love among people and nations.
3. Rules of Interfaith Dialogue (see other rules from slides)
3.1Common devotion to truth: every should speak the truth and trust that everybody speaks
in good faith. Conversations made from lies are meaningless.
3.2 Each party must have a clear understanding of his own faith
3.3 Each partner must strive for the clear understanding of the faith of the other
3.4 Each must accept responsibility in humility and penitence for what the group
has done/is doing to foster division
3.5 Each must face issues that cause separation, and that which create unity
3.6 Each must seek to make the dialogue a source of renewal in his own church
3.7 Each must respect one another
3.8 Hope in God that he is always at work for our unity.
4. Risk in dialogue: Misunderstanding: the other party may not understand you; identifying
risks is for constructing ways to prevent them: how do we avoid misunderstanding? Respect,
acceptance, flexibility, etc.
IV. Beauty of God’s Creation (read GENESIS Chapters 1-3 God’s story of Creation upto the fall
of Adam and Eve)
1. The Creation of God: God’s creation involves a narration of how our worlds was formed (see
Gen 1-2) and it is seen as fruit of God’s unconditional for us all: God Created everything
including us because He loves us
2. St. Thomas: Nothing comes from nothing; only God had the power to bring everything out
of nothing. Every being owes its existence to Him

3. The result of God’s Creation: The result of God’s Creation implies that everything that
was created is good and beautiful as it Reflects God’s beauty, goodness, power and
love. 3 reflections
3.1Interconnectedness: God has willed in the design of the universe that everything is
connected to one other: examples: “No man is an island”. Family-society-nations,
global relations; ecosystem, the different cycles in nature (carbon/oxygen cycle; water)
God wills the interdependence of creatures
3.2 The Beauty of the Universe: the beauty of the Universe seen in its natural laws,
in its diversity and unity, its order and magnificence, reflects the magnificence and
beauty and power of its Creator. Appreciating everything, it brings inspiration and
respect towards the One who created everything.
3.3Hierarchy of Creatures: We cannot deny the fact that there are beings lesser of more
perfect than another. This brings about the hierarchy of beings in God’s creation.
4. Man Created in the Image of God: Man was created in God’s image and likeness to be his
representative here on earth. That’s why our first mission was to become stewards of His
Creation. Man is the only creature who has the ability to know and love the Creator.

V. Man’s Fall to Sin:

1. Definitions: What is sin?
- An immoral act considered to be transgression against divine law
- An act regarded as a serious or regrettable fault, offense, or omission
- a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God
Sin breaks our bonds/relationships with our true selves, with God, and with the Church
2. Conditions: What makes man Sin (see slide # 21)
-giving into temptation (by the devil)
- lack of Trust in God
-abuse of Freedom
- disobedience against God
3. The Reality of Sin: We can only know and understand sin if we put it in the context of our
relation with God. It Is only in God’s revelation that we come to know sin. To understand
what sin is, one must first recognize the profound relation of man to God, for only in this
relationship is the evil of sin unmasked in its true identity.
Without the knowledge Revelation of God we cannot recognize sin clearly and are tempted to
explain it as merely a developmental flaw, a psychological weakness, a mistake, or the
necessary consequence of an inadequate social structure, etc.
4. Effects of Sin
4.1 Sin breaks our bonds with our true selves, with God, and with the Church
4.2Human suffering in labor Every man should work hard in order to support their family
(Work is part of God’s plan for man, but it didn’t necessarily have to be this difficult; the
misery of work is a result of man’s fall to sin)
4.3Every female should bear a child in pain.
4.4Through sin, death enter humanity (since we break our ties with God, the source of
God, sin would only cause us death in the long run, if not immediately)
5. God’s Forgiveness:
To Be Forgiven by God…
5.1Confess to God that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness and ask Him to
cleanse you.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.”—1 John 1:9
5.2Understand that Jesus is the source of your forgiveness.
“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the
forgiveness of sins…”—Acts 13:38
5.3Trust in God’s love and mercy through faith in Jesus that His work on the cross
saves, frees, and forgives you.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of
God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”—Ephesians 2:8-9
5.4Receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who will guide and teach you.
“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”—
Acts 2:38
This entails changing your old ways and entering a renewed life in God through
the guidance of the Holy Spirit.