Abstract

Jürgen Moltmann is a strong critic of the close connection between the Church and the state, and of Christianity in the role of public religion, because in such a case the Church exists as a defender of the status quo, that is, the existing order of things, and thus gives us its role as the spokesperson of victims and the excluded. The alternative is not to reduce Christianity to the role of private religion and to personal piety. For the Church as a community of believers is born of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and the Gospel is a promise of liberation from all kinds of slavery and a promise of vindication of victims. This means that the mission of the Church is public and eschatological, and is focused on the transformation of existing social relations, it cannot therefore give up its prophetic role. The Church is also a community that through baptism gives its members a new identity which transcends ethnic, economic and political borders. The understanding of the Church as communion implies that all its members participate in its mission, and they do it both through participation in public worship and communion, and through daily activities, which aim is to work for the benefit of neighbors and of society.