The Church: A Clarification of Its Meaning
Understanding the mission and charism of the Congregation of Holy Cross requires, first and foremost, a return to its deepest roots: the mystery of the Church, the centrality of Jesus Christ, and the commitment of baptism. These elements are not merely theoretical assumptions but constitute the vital framework from which both Catholic education and the very charism of the Congregation of Holy Cross are understood. Although these three elements must be considered in their unity, this text will focus specifically on explaining the identity of the Church, leaving the discussion of the other elements for future editions.
The Congregation of the Holy Cross belongs to the Catholic Church. This statement, though seemingly obvious, conceals a historical and interpretive complexity that cannot be ignored. Over the centuries, the Church has been interpreted through multiple lenses—some idealizing, others critical. In certain contexts, it has been understood as an instrument of power or as an ideological expression of the ruling class’s superstructure. In others, it has been exalted as the ultimate historical realization of a totalizing political-social project. Both perspectives disregard its genuine meaning, distorting it into an absurd caricature. To regain an essential understanding of it, it is helpful to return to the origin of the term “Church” itself.
Derived from the Greek ἐκκλησία, the term “church” (ecclesia) referred to the assembly of citizens gathered to deliberate on the life of the polis. When appropriated by early Christianity, this concept took on a new meaning: it came to denote not, first and foremost, an institution, but a community of people united by faith. It is, therefore, a reality constituted by the union of people, and not, primarily, by the organization of structures.
In the apostolic tradition, this understanding was given a definitive formulation. Saint Paul drew on the image of the body to describe the unity in diversity of those who were called by Christ. It is through this metaphor that the nature of the Church as a living, organic, and interdependent communion of people is illuminated. As the apostle writes:
“Just as the body, though one, has many members, and the members, though many, form one body, so it is with Christ. All of us—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—have been baptized into one Spirit to form one body and to share in one Spirit. The body does not consist of a single member, but of many (…). You are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
(I Cor 12, 12-14; 27)
Paul’s insight is clear: the reality of the Church is the unity of individuals united to Christ. This conception was extensively developed by the patristic tradition. St. John Chrysostom, for example, in commenting on the passage, states that the Apostle goes so far as to call the entire body “Christ,” highlighting the intimate and inseparable union between the head and the members. “Just as,” he says, “our body is one, though it is composed of many members, so too in the Church we are all one. For although the Church is composed of many members, yet these many form one body” (St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on the First Letter to the Corinthians. Homily 30).
Thus, the Church is essentially defined as a living body, formed by men and women who, throughout history, have gathered around one person—Jesus Christ—and his way of life. “It is in this body that the life of Christ spreads among those who believe” (Lumen Gentium, 7). It is not limited to its institutional dimension, even though it includes it; its deepest identity is relational, historical, dynamic, and mystical. Belonging to the Church, therefore, does not merely mean being part of an organizational structure, but participating in a human and spiritual movement that spans the centuries, rooted in an experience: the foundational encounter with Christ.
