Katolickość Kościoła w doktrynie metodystycznej i dialogu rzymskokatolicko-metodystycznym

Abstract

John Wesley considered the Methodist Church as a God’s willed Church “within One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church” Contemporary Methodism understands the catholicity of the Church to be derived from the “universality of God Himself” and from the universal call of the Church to embrace the fullness of Christian teaching. In our recent bilateral dialogue both Methodists and Catholics profess the Creed of Niceae-Constantinople where the Church is defined as “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic” Catholics and Methodists recognize the Catholic (universal) dimension of the Church “across the time and space”, but differ in the understanding of means given by God to sustain this dimension. For Methodists the most important note of the Church is holiness. The presence of holiness decides of the belonging to the catholicity of the Church. Catholics and Methodists agree that openness of each Christian Community to the unity of the Church is a sign of the Church’s catholicity. However, our Churches in different ways define conditions and structures necessary for realization of füll communion. The catholicity of the Church is also expressed by legitimate diversity of liturgy, theology and Church law. How near the Catholic and the Methodist understanding of the catholicity of the Church could finally be depends on resolving the questions of authority in the Church, i.e. the participation of laity in the decision-making process in the Church and the question of authoritative doctrinal teaching. This last issue contains the question of infallible papal teaching towards the whole Church.