Review article

https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.95.3.2

The Hope of Christians and the Church throughout History – Through the Prism of Some Issues from the Middle Ages and the Modern Era

Marko Medved orcid.org/0000-0002-2221-9121 ; Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia

Abstract

For historians, including Church historians, it is difficult to precisely reconstruct such an intimate realm as hope in the life of believers throughout history, as it is challenging to obtain historical sources on which precise conclusions can be based. The author, drawing on the conclusions of the French historian Jean Delumeau, presents certain aspects of Christian hope throughout history, particularly in the context of believers’ fears. It is important to note the fundamental fact that, even in moments of strict pastoral severity, the last word of the Church has always been hope. Different models of churchness and the position of Christians and the Church in society have, through historical changes, resulted in various, and sometimes erroneous, hopes. It can be concluded that the hope of Christians and the Church arises neither from the security of Christianized social structures nor from the position of the Church and believers in the societas christiana. It does not stem from the earthly victories of Christians over their enemies, nor from contempt for the earthly reality and its problems. Christian hope arises from faith in the Crucified and Risen Lord. It is an expression of the personal and freely chosen acceptance of the offer of belief by the individual. With reference to the theologian Severino Dianich, the author considers hope in relation to various understandings of the Church as a missionary community throughout history. He emphasizes that hope is primarily the fruit of an individual’s faith, of either accepting or rejecting the offer of faith in the Risen One, and not the result of the success or failure of the Christianization of social structures. From a historical perspective, it is ungrateful to associate hope, or its crisis, to entire historical periods, given that historical science, including Church history, finds holy examples even in times when we otherwise see only decadence and sin. Conversely, in periods we consider successful examples of the realization of Christian ideals, dark pages of sin and wrongdoing can also be observed. Accordingly, the modern era in itself is not contrary to Christian hope. Since the end of the eighteenth century and up to the present, new circumstances following the French Revolution have led Christians to terrifying nihilistic judgments, because only losses have been perceived in relation to previous centuries of Christian society, while new possibilities opened by modernity have been neglected. The fulfilment of Christian hope does not signify a return to old social orders, nor a mere return to tradition. Drawing on the views of theologian Jürgen Moltmann, who authored one of the most renowned theological works on Christian hope in the twentieth century, the author emphasizes that even modernity should not be understood as a historical period opposed to Christian hope. The unfolding of Christian hope does not imply a return to old social orders, nor a mere revival of tradition, as Christian tradition should not be seen as an effort of preservation, but rather as a mission directed forward and outward, an event that brings the dead and the godless to life, grounded in faith in the Risen One.

Keywords

hope; missionary Church; Church history; Benedict XVI; Jean Delumeau; Severino Dianich; Jürgen Moltmann

Hrčak ID:

336784

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/336784

Publication date:

29.10.2025.

Article data in other languages: croatian

Visits: 130 *