The priest as a Vir Ecclesiasticus. Between the Theologies of Henri de Lubac and Ioannis Zizioulas in the Context of Pope Fancis’s Call for Renewal of the Church

Vrijeme u kojem se nalazimo papa Franjo naziva promjenom epohe. Svaka je epoha, a posebno promjena epohe, poziv Crkvi da iznova promisli o svom identitetu i o identitetu svećenika radi boljeg svjedočanstva vjere u povijesti. U tom kontekstu papa Franjo podsjeća Crkvu da je majka jer rađa novog čovjeka po riječi Božjoj i sakramentima. Crkva je znak i sredstvo jedinstva jer omogućuje čovjeku da živi u zajedništvu Oca, Sina i Duha Svetoga – a to je zajedništvo u različitosti – i ambijent u kojem različitim pozivima i službama u Crkvi prethodi jednakost u dostojanstvu svih krštenika. Na temelju takvih eklezijalnih naglasaka svećenički identitet i poslanje otkrivaju se u svojoj relacijskoj i mistagoškoj dimenziji. Naime, svećenik postoji zato što postoji svećenički narod i on ima zadaću uvoditi Gospodinove učenike u Božji, tj. crkveni način života, gdje vlada jedinstvo u različitosti. Drevni naziv za čovjeka koji živi takvim životom je vir ecclesiasticus, tj. crkveni čovjek. Crkva je majka koja rađa i odgaja čovjeka za Božji život, a majčinstvo Crkve očituje se na poseban način u očinstvu pastira, koji služe rađanju i razvoju novih ljudi Crkve. U vremenu koje je posebno obilježeno jačanjem gradskih i visoko digitaliziranih kultura, žuran postaje poziv koji svećenicima upućuje ovo vrijeme promjene epohe na vraćanje svojem izvornom poslanju koje se sastoji u uvođenju ljudi u komunitarni, tj. osobni način života.The times in which we find ourselves has been called an epoch of change by Pope Francis. Every epoch, and especially an epoch of change, summons the Church to rethink its identity and the identity of the priest for the purpose of a better testimony of faith in history. In that context, Pope Francis reminds the Church that it is a mother because it gives birth to a new human being through the word of God and sacraments. The Church is a sign and instrument of unity because it makes possible for human beings to live in communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – and this is a communion in diversity – and is an ambient in which the equality in dignity of all baptised precedes various vocations and offices in the Church. On the basis of such ecclesial determinants, the priestly identity and mission are revealed in their relational and mistagogical dimension. Namely, the priest exists because the priestly people exist and his task is to introduce disciples of the Lord into the Divine, i.e., ecclesiastical way of life, where the unity in diversity rules. The ancient name for a person who lived that kind of life was vir ecclesiasticus, i.e., the man of the Church. The Church is a mother who gives birth and educates human being for the Divine life, while the motherhood of the Church is manifested in a special way in the fatherhood of shepherds, who are in service to the birth and development of new people of the Church. In the times that are especially marked by strengthening of urban and highly digitalised cultures, the call of this epoch of change to priests becomes urgent. That call consists in urging them to return to their original mission of leading people to communitarian, i.e., personal way of life