Abstract / DOI
Participation: A Pauline Concept for the Church. Participation is the key of the Pauline communio-ecclesiology. It relates to the specific character of the ecclesial community, created by God in Christ. Ancient philosophy marked three places of community by participation: state (polis), house (oikos), and friendship (philia). In comparison with these three concepts the specific character of the ecclesial community results from the theocentric of the Church. St. Paul finds the koinonia of the faithful founded in Baptism and centred in Eucharist. There is no alternative in the exegetic-theological reconstruction of Pauline ecclesiology. However, it is necessary to recognize the dynamic of participation both in the personal ways of faith and in the growing of the Church. In the context of recent debate about role models of Clergy and Layperson the New Testament witness gives a double impulse: (1) to be aware of the differences of ministries, which all are in their own way constitutive for the Church as a whole, and (2) to strengthen the mentality and structure of participation not only in the decision making, but also in the decision taking processes.