Ecclesiology in Context: Exploring the Historical, Cultural, and Theological Dimensions of the Church

Dear Colleagues,

The search for scientific knowledge about the Church is almost as old as the Church itself. Theologians and Church historians often chose some aspect of ecclesiology as a field of research, attempting to interpret what the “body of Christ” (Corpus Christi) meant in different historical periods and religious movements. All Christian denominations proclaim the doctrine of the “one/united Church”, but as Christianity has split into different parts, so too have different views on the Church have developed, and all of these views have changed throughout historical periods.

Therefore, through this Special Issue, we aim to address the topic of ecclesiology in a wide-ranging context. We are pleased to invite you to participate, and we seek to include comprehensive and case studies based on original sources and approaches. We would like for this Special Issue to be representative of different Christian (Catholic, Orthodox, Calvinist, etc.) theological interpretations of the Church, but we also consider it important to present the images of the Church as articulated by new Christian denominations and movements.

The aims of this Special Issue can be summarized briefly as follows: who has thought about the interpretation of the Church, when have these thoughts occured, and what do they concern? Additionally, what is important when it comes to which Christian church and in which historical period? The understanding of the Church is closely linked to the different religious interpretations of Christianity, that is, to the various aspects of biblical teachings that were central to the organization and functioning of the Church. How has the self-image of the same Church changed and why? Who were the theologians, pastors, or believers who attempted to define the concept of the Church, and what impact did they have on the spiritual life and thinking of their time? We are interested in the images of all Churches of all historical periods, from biblical times to the present, as long as the subject is representative of the historical period, region, and Church. It is not only the interpretations of priests, theologians, or believers that are important; the interpretations of the Church(es) by outsiders or even by those who are critics of the Church or religion are also interesting.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Ecclesiology in general—past, present, and important authors of this discipline;
• Self-images of different Christian Churches;
• The Church as a spiritual and/or social community in different ages and regions;
• The images of others’ Churches—theological debates between different Christian Churches;
• Impacts of the ecclesiastical schisms on the image of the Church;
• Relation of Church images to biblical patterns (attempts to follow or explain differences);
• “Who” is the Church? Relations between Church leaders and believers in different Churches and ages;
• Reasons for changing Church images—the impacts of historical and political changes on the Church(es);
• Interpretations of the Church from an outsider’s eye—legal and political definitions and images of the Church.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution, preferably by 1 March 2025. Please send it to the Guest Editor, Dr. Csaba Fazekas (csaba.fazekas@uni-miskolc.hu), or to the Assistant Editor, Ms. Violet Li (violet.li@mdpi.com), of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring their proper fit within the scope of this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review and should be between 7,000 and 9,000 words, with some flexibility to allow for slightly shorter or longer submissions.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Csaba Fazekas
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 200–300 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• ecclesiology
• church images
• self-images of christian churches
• images of others’ churches
• schisms
• impact of historical changes on the interpretation of the church
• conflicts of church images