Trinitarian Images of the Church according to Bruno Forte

Abstract

The Vatican II Council was very much concerned about presenting us an idea of the Church which could serve as a reference point concerning her identity and mission in the world today. It wanted to express a vision of the Church which could elicit new enthusiasm among the faithful and offer a new alternative to the way the world perceived reality. In concretizing this vision, the Council chose trinitarian images and symbols of the Church, regarding them as basic for our time: the Church as the New People of God; the Church as the Body of Christ; and the Church as the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The article elucidates these images in the light of the thoughts of the Italian theologian Bruno Forte. For him, the Church can best be understood from a trinitarian point of view. The Church is an icon of the Holy Trinity, and her communion is structured in the image and likeness of the trinitarian communion.