Church membership

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Church membership is an expression of canon law or the theology of the Christian churches based on their self-image. Based on Paul, the church is understood as the body of Christ and (also / in its core / only) a supernatural phenomenon. The term church membership denotes belonging to the "Church of Jesus Christ". The individual Christian denominations set different accents.

Church membership and church membership

From the internal perspective of the Christian churches, the expression church membership must be distinguished from the concept of church membership or church affiliation .

Evangelical perspective

According to the Protestant understanding, church membership is "baptism-based membership of the Church of Jesus Christ in the sense of the one true Church of the third article of faith". As a "spiritual relationship" it is not accessible to legal regulation. The membership was, however, "belonging to a specific, legally organized church system, such as a German Evangelical Church."

Catholic point of view

From a Catholic point of view, too, church membership denotes "incorporation into the Church of Jesus Christ". The term "church membership" is preferred to "church membership" in order to avoid the (Catholic) church being understood in terms of an association.

At the same time, even in Catholic canon law, one simply speaks of church membership .

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church's view of church membership has changed as a result of the Second Vatican Council .

Pre-conciliar ecclesiology

In the pre-conciliar Catholic church doctrine ( ecclesiology ) the "Church of Jesus Christ" was equated with the "Catholic Church" ("est"). As a result, non-Catholic Christians who were baptized did not belong to the Church of Jesus Christ. Bellarmine established three membership criteria (so-called apologetic church concept ):

  • (1) Community in Faith
  • (2) Communion in the seven sacraments
  • (3) Fellowship with the church leadership.

Ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican Council (especially in Lumen Gentium , No. 8) replaced the "est" with a "subsistit in" (the Catholic Church is not identical with the Church of Jesus Christ, but the Church of Jesus Christ is in the Catholic Church " realized ", cf. also c. 204 § 2 CIC). According to the claim of the Catholic Church this means on the one hand that the Roman Catholic Church "institutionally represents the full realization of this one and only Church of Christ", on the other hand that the "members of the other Christian churches and ecclesial communities ... to belong to the one Church of Christ "through baptism. "Thus belonging to the Church of Christ is to be distinguished from that to the Catholic Church".

Church membership in the "Church of Christ" through baptism

According to the central canon 96 1st half-sentence CIC "baptism .. the human being is incorporated into the church of Christ". "Church of Christ" does not only mean the Roman Catholic Church, but also the "Church of Christ".

Since, according to the Catholic point of view, the sacrament of baptism gives a baptized person an indestructible and inalienable supernatural relationship with God, membership in the "Church of Christ" cannot ultimately be removed by leaving the church.

Membership of the Catholic Church

According to the self-understanding of the Catholic Church, full communion ( communio plena ) with the Catholic Church only exists if the Bellarminian criteria are met. In the Canon 205 CIC it says:

"Those baptized who are bound to Christ in their visible union through the bonds of the creed, the sacraments and church leadership stand fully in the community of the Catholic Church in this world"

- c. 205 CIC

.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinrich de Wall , Stefan Muckel : Church law. 5th edition. CH Beck, Munich, 2017, ISBN 978-3-406-66168-6 , § 26 Rn. 1
  2. ^ Heinrich de Wall , Stefan Muckel : Church law. 5th edition. CH Beck, Munich, 2017, ISBN 978-3-406-66168-6 , § 26 Rn. 1
  3. ^ Heinrich JF Reinhardt : Church membership , in: Stephan Haering , Heribert Schmitz : Lexikon des Kirchenrechts. Freiburg i. Br., Herder, 2004, ISBN 3-451-28522-3 , Sp. 508
  4. ^ Ludger Müller , Christoph Ohly : Catholic Church Law. A study book. Paderborn. Schöningh 2018 (UTB; No. 4307), ISBN 978-3-8385-4307-9 , p. 233 fn. 36
  5. ^ Rüdiger Althaus : Belonging to the church. , in: Stephan Haering , Wilhem Rees , Heribert Schmitz (ed.): Handbook of Catholic Church Law. 3. Edition. Pustet, Regensburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-7917-2723-3 , pp. 268–288: "Belonging to the Church"
  6. ^ Rüdiger Althaus : Belonging to the church. , in: Stephan Haering , Wilhem Rees , Heribert Schmitz (ed.): Handbook of Catholic Church Law. 3. Edition. Pustet, Regensburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-7917-2723-3 , p. 269
  7. ↑ See Heinrich JF Reinhardt : Church membership , in: Stephan Haering , Heribert Schmitz (Theologe, 1929) : Lexikon des Kirchenrechts. Freiburg i. Br., Herder, 2004, ISBN 3-451-28522-3 , Sp. 508
  8. ^ Heinrich de Wall , Stefan Muckel : Church law. 5th edition. CH Beck, Munich, 2017, ISBN 978-3-406-66168-6 , § 17 margin no. 6th
  9. ^ Heinrich de Wall , Stefan Muckel : Church law. 5th edition. CH Beck, Munich, 2017, ISBN 978-3-406-66168-6 , § 17 margin no. 7th
  10. ^ Rüdiger Althaus : Belonging to the church. , in: Stephan Haering , Wilhem Rees , Heribert Schmitz (ed.): Handbook of Catholic Church Law. 3. Edition. Pustet, Regensburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-7917-2723-3 , p. 272
  11. ^ Heinrich de Wall , Stefan Muckel : Church law. 5th edition. CH Beck, Munich, 2017, ISBN 978-3-406-66168-6 , § 17 margin no. 6th
  12. ↑ See Heinrich JF Reinhardt : Church membership , in: Stephan Haering , Heribert Schmitz : Lexikon des Kirchenrechts. Freiburg i. Br., Herder, 2004, ISBN 3-451-28522-3 , Sp. 508 (509): "captive"