Dear Oly,

The Celebration of the Eucharist
requires an ordained person.

Oliver askes Richie10

"Do you or I have the commission to commence a church or a denomination of a church?"

Interesting question Oly.
If not, then the mission was limited to those who heard our Lords words usually called 'The great commission'.

Given the treatment of the issue in Luke 24:44-49 in particular and the totality of Paul writings, it seems clear to me that the issue is not the forming of 'a' Church or denomination, but the proclaiming of the Gospel of Salvation to all mankind.

It does not take any greater qualification than the memorization of John 3:16 to do that.

Let's remember it is the Lords work... not depending just on our human skills or oratory. His Spirit moves in the hearts of those who hear the word and they will be drawn nearer or further depending on their response.

There is only ONE Church ..and it does not have any other name than that. "The Body of Christ".. the body of people who name the name of Jesus as Savior, and honour him with their hearts as well as their lips...'That' ...is 'The Church' :)

Polycarp, I think you got to the heart of the matter in that last comment.Brought up as a Catholic, I remember the comfort of believing I was in the right religion as a child.The ritual and the belonging to a social group: and back then we were not permitted to visit another church or touch the host at communion with our hands.It was not the bible that gave us direction but the priest and the teachers at catholic schools.We still have a lot of the values taught then, but experience in the world has taught us to be tolerant and have no opposition to other christian or different world religions.I am now what I once called a lapsed catholic but I am still a christian in my opinion, in that I have the values and attitudes to life and death that were basic in the faith I was born into.But I agree with Polycarp,-The Church is not a building or an Organisation with rules and a heirachy of people who make the rules, it is a Body of human beings who in various ways have heard of a Jew called Jesus Christ who in his short life taught a more gentle and loving way of living than the old Jewish Religion of an Angry God and rules written in Stone.

Dear Foxy,

If I read correctly, the Cardinal Prefect’s letter, on behalf of the Pope, one issue is that the early Christians did not use the Tetragrammaton; instead the Greeks used the word Kyrios which means, “Lord”. In the second century the Vetus Lina and the Vulgate used the substitute the word “Dominus”, corresponding to the Hebrew, Adonai, and the Greek, Kyrios.

Herein, the Tetragrammaton was never pronounced “by those faithful to the Church’s tradition, even in later translations.

Further, n. 41 of the Liturgiam authenticam, states "the divine tragragrammation is to be rendered by the the equivalent of Adonai/Kyrios: 'Lord' ".

The other issue is Christology. The Cardinal Prefect cites the following sources, with regards to Christology, as well:

- Phil 2.9; Phil 2.11; Acts 2.20; Joel 3:4; 1 Peter 1.25; Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 12:3.

Significantly, The “Lord is exalted above any other name”. The Catholic Church now takes these words to be a proclaimation of divinity.

Not on the Internet yet, as far as I can see. The full text is too comprehensive for our OLO site. Moreover, if the direction is still in the pipe-line,it would be improper to say to quote verbatum.

Peace,

Oly

Dear Oly,

Thank you for clearing things up for me.

I can't help but wonder though, what was
the real name of Jesus Christ?

Will the Vatican ever change that according
to the Scriptures?

DIPLOMAN,

When a teacher our local priest flew at me fow attending the neibouring parish. I used prefer the other church, because it had a yout group where I had friends there. That priest's main sermon was on (not) making nominal donations to the church. The local priest threw me out of a confession once too, for not rememberng if/if not, I had eaten meat on a Friday.