Historical and Missiological
Development of the “Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus”
The
ecclesiology of the contemporary Roman Catholic Church seems to be silent
anymore from the catechetical, doctrinal and papal teaching of “Extra ecclesiam nulla salus” (There is
no salvation outside the Church). Its distinctive prominence has gone into a
natural death that nobody would seem to discuss it anymore especially in the
context of a multi-faceted society with multi-religion and multi-culture.
The church as
instituted by Christ (CCC 763) carries within her the characteristic of a
sacrament. As a sacrament, the Church is Christ's instrument. "She is
taken up by him also as the instrument for the salvation of all,"
"the universal sacrament of salvation," by which Christ is "at
once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God's love for men" (CCC
776). The purpose of the church, then, is to carry on the work of Christ in
proclaiming the gospel and being a light to the world (John 14:13-14; Acts 1:8;
Acts 13:47). She is to proclaim that salvation of the church has already been
fulfilled through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Thus, salvation of souls
is the objective end and purpose of the institution of the Church. Moreover,
Francis Sullivan, SJ’s assertion of the substance of faith is existent in the
church that God has assigned to the Church a necessary role in the
accomplishment of his plan for the salvation of humanity.[1]
This is the distinctive
identity of the church pertaining to her mission as the instrument for the
proclamation of the salvation of humanity. Now let us take a short historical survey
of how this mission was taken responsibly by our forefathers. However, only
selected scholars would be discussed to present their views on the axiom. A
historical survey is needed in order to aid us in understanding how this axiom
had been developed through the centuries and even until now. And, the next
discussion would focus on the implication of this development into the present
missionary model of the church.
Historical
development of “Extra ecclesiam nulla salus”
The
book of Francis Sullivan, SJ entitled “Salvation
outside the Church: Tracing the History of the Catholic Response” is very
much helpful in our historical survey for it made a substantial and detailed study
about the doctrine from the apostolic fathers until the Papal teachings after
Vatican II.
The
fathers of the Church are greatly consistent with the axiom “Extra ecclesiam nulla salus” either
implicitly or explicitly implied on their writings. This is not mere personal
assertions invented by them but rather it has a scriptural foundation both from
the Old and New Testaments. Perhaps an example is Origen, who is the pioneer of
Christian allegorical exegesis of the Scriptures, introduced the warning that
there is no salvation outside the church, in a homily on Joshua, chapter 2,
which tells in the house of Rahab the prostitute. Origen saw in this house a
type of church, since it was the one place of safety in the city that was about
to be destroyed. “All those who are found in your house will be saved. But as
regards those who go out of your house, we shall be free of this oath we have
made to you.”[2]
Another father
of the church in the 2nd century is Cyprian, by which the axiom is
very much associated to him because of its frequent occurrence and urgency in
his writings. Despite this frequency, however, there is no instance of his
addressing this warning to non-Christians who were still the majority of the
people in the Roman empire of his day. In his writings Cyprian usually quotes 1
Corinthians 13:3 and Ephesians 5:32. In a letter dealing with schismatics, Cyprian
invokes St. Paul’s description of the church as the bride of Christ (Eph 5:32),
and asks, “How can a man who is not with the bride of Christ and his church be
with Christ?” Similarly, in a letter dealing with heretics, Cyprian based his argument on the text where Paul
says: “And I deliver my body to be burned and have not love, I gain nothing” (1
Cor 13:3). For Cyprian, the unity of the church was essentially a unity of
love, and hence anyone who violated this unity by heresy or schism was sinning
against the virtue of charity. Then, he concludes: “Neither baptism of public
confession [of the faith under torture], nor of [blood for the faith], can
avail the heretic anything toward salvation, because there is no salvation
outside the church.”[3]
Augustine
seems to have included the Jews and pagans which others didn’t. Augustine
applied Mark 16:15-16, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to
every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does
not believe will be condemened.” Augustine was convinced that those who had
heard the message of the gospel and had not become Christians must be guilty of
sinful rejection of the faith, and of the church which alone salvation could be
found. Augustine then numbered unconverted Jews among those guilty of
contemning the mercy of God by their refusal to accept Christian faith.[4]
This thinking occurred because at this time, Christian has gained freedom from
persecution from the Romans after the edict of Constantine in 313. The context
in Origen and Cyprian’s time was during the persecution, wherein their mission
is basically for the unity of the church.
In the
medieval period formidable papal and conciliar statements were declared all
affirming to the necessity of being in the Catholic Church and professing the
Catholic faith for salvation… and that anyone who taught that non-catholics could
be saved must be a heretic.[5] Here
is the list of some of the documents, which made explicit quotation and
emphasis on the axiom. Unam Sanctam (Boniface
VIII – 14th century[6]; Profession of faith against the Waldensians
(Innocent III) – 1208[7]; For Albigensians in Lateran IV (Innocent
III) – 1215[8]; Decree for Jacobites (Council of Florence) - 1442[9]; Inuictum nobis in Trent (Pius IV) - 1564[10]; Singulari quadam (Pius IX) – 1854[11]; Quanto conficiamur moerore (Pius IX) –
1863[12]. From
this context the mission of the salvation of souls changed. It is the time when
of the discovery of the New World and expansion of European rulers to the
world. Now, association to non-Catholics include those not only who have
separated from the church – like the Waldensians and Jacobites - but the
‘pagans’ of the conquered as heretics. According to Sullivan, the medieval
Christians expressed the doctrine of the necessity of the church in so negative
sense. First of all, it is because of the limits of geographical horizon and
second lack of theological speculation that there is a world outside the
Christendom of Europe. Almost all of the documents were addressed to those who
have heard the gospel but had not accepted it must be guilty of sin in
rejecting the salvation that was offered to them. Thus, they failed to
recognize that there is a world outside Christendom that some of them might be
in good faith.[13]
In the modern
times, particularly the Vatican II, a new positive attitude concerning the
salvation of those outside the church is formed. Vatican II called “remembering
that in Catholic teaching there exists an order or ‘hierarchy of truths’[14] This
involves recognizing the primary importance of the truith that God wills the
salvation of every human being. To attribute to the universal salvific will of
God the first place in a hierarchy of truths meaning giving a subordinate place
to the necessity of such means of salvation as baptism and membership in the
church. Such, secondary truths, then have to be understood and formulated in
such a way as to confirm, rather than conflict with, the primary truth. Lumen
Gentium made a positive approach with regard to the significance of other
Christian churches and communities. It is in these churches and communities
that people are brought to Christian faith and receive sacraments of salvation.
That’s why the church had also opened to be ecumenical with other churches.
Missiological
development:
As
we have discussed the historical development of the doctrine “extra ecclesiam nulla
salus”, so also we have seen how the historical context factored the mission of
the church. Although, anachronistic, yet this is the old theology of mission of
the church, wherein the mission is defined by church. Because of this kind of missionary
thinking, the church had suffered a negative connotation among former
Christians and other religions. Saving souls and planting churches seem to be
the only course of missionaries as the goals of mission by which salvation is
both individualized and ecclesiasticized.[15] Moreover,
according to Avery Dulles, this is an institutional ecclesiology because it
raises obstacles to a creative and fruitful theology. The church is like the
school that instructs them (members) regarding the truths they need to know for
the sake of their eternal salvation.[16] And
exaggerated institutionalization leads to many serious theological problems,
this is out of phase with the demands of the times. In an age of dialogue,
ecumenism and interest in world religions, the monopolistic tendencies of this
model are unacceptable.[17]
But
on the other hand, if the church is defined by mission, a different theology of
mission is seen. According to Peter Phan, the element of the ‘reign of God’
must increase since it is the light that shines on all missionaries activities
of the church which is not to be missionary by its nature.[18] Mission
should be exclusively for the Reign of God, or simply God. Anything else that
is made into the goal of mission, even as noble as church growth or salvation
of souls, smack idolatry.
Thus, in the perspective
of the theology of mission, the “extra ecclesiam nulla salus” has been misinterpreted
by the medieval period. It is a contextual appropriation only fitting for the
time of the fathers of the church on how they wanted the reign of God be
proclaimed in that way. What remains in the past should remain in the past. We
have a new goal in mission. However, if the church is in the service to the
Kingdom of God, “saving souls” and “church planting” still remain, but their
meaning and scope have been fundamentally changed.
[1] Francis A. Sullivan, SJ, “Salvation Outside the Church?: Tracing the
History of the Catholic Response,” (New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1992), 12.
[2] Ibid., 19.
[3]
Cyprian, Epist. 73:21; The Fathers of the Church, Washington, Catholic
University of America Press, The 51:282.
[4] Sullivan, 35.
[5] Sullivan, 6.
[6]
The Christian Faith in the
Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church, ed. J. Neuner, SJ and J.
Dupuis, SJ, Revised edition, (India: Theological Publications, 1982), 804. The
preceding citations from this opus shall be quoted as ND referring to the
editors of the book.
[7]
ND, 640.
[8]
ND, 802.
[9]
ND, 810.
[10]
ND, 38.
[11]
ND, 813.
[12]
ND, 814.
[13]
Sullivan, 200 – 203.
[14]
Unitas de Redintegratio, 11.
[15]
Peter C. Phan, Proclamation of the Reign of God as Mission of the Church: What
for, to whom, by whom, with whom, and how?, 2.
[16]
Avery Dulles, Models of Ecclesiology,
(New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1974), 38.
[17]
Ibid., 41.
[18]
Phan, 4.
