The Idea of the Church in Christian History

It is customary to describe and interpret the history of Christianity as church history. To be sure, most church historians do not emphasize the special importance of the “church” in the Christian life they study and analyse; indeed, they deal with the idea of the church, with ecclesiological doctri...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pauck, Wilhelm 1901-1981 (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge University Press [1952]
In: Church history
Year: 1952, Volume: 21, Issue: 3, Pages: 191-214
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Parallel Edition:Electronic
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Summary:It is customary to describe and interpret the history of Christianity as church history. To be sure, most church historians do not emphasize the special importance of the “church” in the Christian life they study and analyse; indeed, they deal with the idea of the church, with ecclesiological doctrines and with ecclesiastical practices as if they represented special phases of the Christian life. But, nevertheless, the fact that all aspects of Christian history are subsumed under the name and title of the “church” indicates that the character of Christianity is held to be inseparable from that of the “church”; the very custom of regarding Christian history as church history indicates that the Christian mind is marked by a special kind of self-consciousness induced by the awareness that the Christian faith is not fully actualized unless it is expressed in the special social context suggested by the term “church.”
ISSN:0009-6407
Contains:Enthalten in: Church history
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2307/3162170