Volume 9, 2004
Bevil Bramwell
Pages 173-185
The New Tension Between Individual and Community in Christ
The theology of community in the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar envisages community as one of the four tensions in man's understanding of himself These are respectively: man-world; male-female; body-spirit and individual-community. With the coming of Christ the community dimension is transformed by the presence of the Church and a real theology of the individual develops. The individual becomes a unique "bearer of the Church" irreplaceably part of the mission to the world. The ecclesial existence of the individual derives from the continuing roles of Peter, Mary John, Paul and the "multitude,"in this person.The Church accompanies and converts the world through training strong Christian personalities who are at home in the Church community and who speak and suffer in society