Symboliczne wyobrażenia Kościoła w perykopach biblijnych proklamowanych w liturgii Obrzędów poświęcenia kościoła

Abstract

The article presents and elaborates on the theology underlying the symbolic images of the Church in the biblical readings foreseen for the liturgical rite of the dedication of a new church. Each of these images and metaphors possesses its own particular content which needs to be properly understood in order to discover the mystery of Christ’s Church signified by every church built by men on earth. The biblical pericopes assigned to the day of the dedication of the church are the main point of departure for this article. The Old Testament which foretells the “fullness of time” as realized in Christ depicts the Israelites as a people gathered before God. They stand before the Lord in a cultic gathering in order to listen to the word of God. They foreshadow the new people of God whom Jesus Christ gathered around Himself. All of Christ’s followers and those baptized in His name are grafted onto the new People of God and become part of the Mystical Body of Christ. These two terms refer to the community of the Church in the New Testament. Thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit the Church is a spiritual temple called to offer spiritual gifts to God through Jesus in the Holy Spirit. The Church is an enduring reality, because it is founded upon the Apostles and prophets, among whom Saint Peter and his successors have a pride of place. The richness of the biblical readings’ theological content becomes an opportunity for a deepened catechesis about the Church’s nature. This, in turn, should lead the faithful to a more active participation in the life of a concrete parish community which is an image of the Universal Church.