THE PHENOMENON OF EXISTENTIAL BELONGING IN THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION: BETWEEN SOCIAL MEMBERSHIP AND LIVED PARTICIPATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31392/cult.alm.2026.3.8Keywords:
existential belonging, Church, ecclesiology, koinonia, ecclesial identity, belonging, participation, community, personhood, ontology, Christian anthropology, theology of communion, communion ecclesiology, existential phenomenology, ecclesial beingAbstract
The article explores the phenomenon of existential belonging to the Church as one of the promising directions of contemporary ecclesiological thought. The aim of the study is to identify the theological foundations for understanding existential belonging and to determine its principal dimensions within the context of the Christian tradition. The methodology combines biblical-theological, historical-theological, and hermeneutical approaches with selected insights from existential phenomenology. Particular attention is devoted to the New Testament concept of koinonia as a foundation for understanding belonging within the ecclesial community. The study demonstrates that existential belonging cannot be reduced to formal membership or social identification but should be understood as an inwardly experienced participation in Christ and in the life of the Church. It is argued that this phenomenon encompasses anthropological, spiritual, and philosophical-theological dimensions, whose interaction allows belonging to be interpreted as an integral mode of human existence within the ecclesial community. The findings indicate that the concept of existential belonging offers new perspectives for contemporary ecclesiological reflection by overcoming the reduction of ecclesial belonging to exclusively institutional or sociological categories.
References
Augustine. (1998). The city of God against the pagans (R.W. Dyson, Trans.). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published, 413–426).
Bell C. J. M. (2021). Witness-in-communion: A theology of existence to essence during the pandemic. Theology, 124 (4), 244–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040571X211028948.
Clifford C. (2009). Review of Koinonia and the quest for an ecumenical ecclesiology: From foundations through dialogue to symbolic competence for communionality, by L.F. Fuchs. The Ecumenical Review, 61 (3), 357–359. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-6623.2009.00032_4.x.
da Silva R. A. (2016). Comunhão: breve estudo da utilização do termo koinonia na cultura helênica e sua incorporação no âmbito cristão do Novo Testamento e Patrístico. Revista Eletrônica Espaço Teológico, 10 (17), 321–328. https://doi.org/10.23925/2177-952X.2016v10i17p321-328.
de Lubac H. (1988). Catholicism: Christ and the common destiny of man (L. C. Sheppard & E. Englund, Trans.). Ignatius Press. (Original work published 1938).
Doyle D. M. (1997). Journet, Congar, and the roots of communion ecclesiology. Theological Studies, 58 (3), 461–479. https://doi.org/10.1177/004056399705800304.
Flanagan B. P. (2013). Communion ecclesiologies as contextual theologies. Horizons, 40 (1), 53–70. https://doi.org/10.1017/hor.2013.38.
Hahnenberg E. P. (2005). The mystical body of Christ and communion ecclesiology: Historical parallels. Irish Theological Quarterly, 70 (1), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/002114000507000101.
Heidegger M. (2008). Being and time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.). Harper Perennial Modern Classics. (Original work published 1927).
Hoover B. C. (2017). A place for communion: Reflections on an ecclesiology of parish life. Theological Studies, 78 (4), 825–849. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040563917731746.
Karttunen T. (2024). Participation in the Triune God and communion ecclesiology. Religions, 15 (8), Article 921. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080921.
Lennan R. (2007). Communion ecclesiology: Foundations, critiques, and affirmations. Pacifica: Australasian Theological Studies, 20 (1), 24–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X0702000102.
Lubardić B. (2011). Orthodox theology of personhood: A critical overview (Part 1). The Expository Times, 122 (11), 521–530. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014524611410281.
McDonnell K. (1988). Communion ecclesiology and baptism in the Spirit: Tertullian and the early Church. Theological Studies, 49 (4), 671–693. https://doi.org/10.1177/004056398804900404.
Pius XII. (1943, June 29). Mystici Corporis Christi: Encyclical on the Mystical Body of Christ. The Holy See. https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_29061943_mystici-corporis-christi.html.
Rahner K. (1978). Foundations of Christian faith: An introduction to the idea of Christianity (W.V. Dych, Trans.). Crossroad.
Rahner K. (1994). Hearers of the word (M. Richards, Trans.). Continuum. (Original work published 1941).
Rosenius M., & Lundmark M. (2026). The Church as mystical communion: An interdisciplinary analysis of three ecclesiological cases. Studia Theologica – Nordic Journal of Theology, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/0039338X.2026.2642652.
Sartre J.-P. (1956). Being and nothingness: An essay on phenomenological ontology (H. E. Barnes, Trans.). Philosophical Library. (Original work published 1943).
Zizioulas J. D. (1985). Being as communion: Studies in personhood and the Church. Darton, Longman & Todd.
