The great German theologian Karl Rahner argued that the Second Vatican Council initiated the third great epoch in church history (ref. “The Birth of the World Church: The epoch initiated by Vatican II”, America, the Jesuit Review, October 15, 2012). The first and shortest was the period of Jewish Christianity. The second was initiated by the Jerusalem Council when the leaders decreed that Gentile males were not required to undergo circumcision to become Christians. This prolonged period saw the church predominantly influenced by European cultures. But, for Rahner, the Second Vatican Council marked the emergence of a world church.
This movement has also had its impact on the world of Christian mission.
While the emergence of a world church is a movement that relates back to the very beginnings of Christianity, the history of research into Christian mission is far shorter. (For this short reflection, I am relying largely upon an article by Brian Stanley entitled “The Changing Face of Mission Studies” which is Chapter 2 of The Oxford Handbook of Mission Studies, Oxford University Press, 2022.)
Early on there were diverse schools of missionary training, these were denominational, such as the College of Propaganda in Rome which was founded in 1627 and the missionary training academy in the faculty of theology in the University of Leiden which was founded around the same time and only lasted for 10 years.
In the late 19th century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the “science of missions” began to emerge in academic circles. This was more of a Protestant phenomenon and found among German scholars. Still, by the early 20th century the Catholics caught up and began using the term Missionswissenschaft (“science of missions”).
After the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910, the International Review of Missions journal was founded. It was intended to be ecumenical and published works by Catholic scholars. Gradually other missionary journals emerged.
However, the impact of the World Mission Conference in 1910 was limited, largely because it was dominated by European participants. Very few Asian Protestant leaders and no African voices were to be heard at this otherwise momentous event.
What is interesting over this period of serious research into mission by universities and seminaries was that some faculties began to view mission as being part of the broader research into the expansion of “world Christianity”. Furthermore, the move towards the study of comparative religions was also gaining momentum. In this field of study, Christianity is viewed as one of many religions.
There has been a struggle over terminology. Rather than the “science of missions” or “mission studies”, the concept of missiology emerged. The American Society of Missiology was founded in 1972. The following year this Society founded a new journal called Missiology.
Beyond these developments there has emerged an even more exciting growth. More and more, the major missiologists or mission scholars are emerging from Asia and Africa.
With the election of our first Asian Society leader, Fr Andrei Paz from the Philippines, St Columbans Mission Society could also be seen as entering this new age of world mission. What that implies has still to be seen. But these are new times that demand bold initiatives.
Columban Fr Tom Rouse lives and works in New Zealand.
Mission Intentions
August - For political leaders: Let us pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and the common good, taking care of those who have lost their jobs and giving priority to the poor.
Listen to "Mission World - Writing about World Mission"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - August 2024
