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Sacramental Theology of Elochukwu Uzukwu in Light of Vatican II and Its Application in African Contexts Emmanuel Osigwe

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Sacramental Theology of Elochukwu Uzukwu in Light of Vatican II and Its Application in African Contexts Emmanuel Osigwe Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 1-1-2017 Sacramental Theology of Elochukwu Uzukwu in Light of Vatican II and Its Application in African Contexts Emmanuel Osigwe Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Osigwe, E. (2017). Sacramental Theology of Elochukwu Uzukwu in Light of Vatican II and Its Application in African Contexts (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/219 This One-year Embargo is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY OF ELOCHUKWU UZUKWU IN LIGHT OF VATICAN II AND ITS APPLICATION IN AFRICAN CONTEXTS A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Emmanuel Osigwe December 2017 Copyright by Emmanuel Osigwe 2017 SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY OF ELOCHUKWU UZUKWU IN LIGHT OF VATICAN II AND ITS APPLICATION IN AFRICAN CONTEXTS By Emmanuel Osigwe Approved November 14, 2017 ________________________________ ________________________________ George S. Worgul, Jr., S.T.D., Ph.D. Marinus Iwuchukwu, Ph.D. Professor of Theology Associate Professor of Theology (Dissertation Director) (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ Radu Bordeianu, Ph.D. Marinus Iwuchukwu, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Theology Chair, Department of Theology (Committee Member) Associate Professor of Theology ________________________________ James Swindal, Ph.D. Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts iii ABSTRACT SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY OF ELOCHUKWU UZUKWU IN LIGHT OF VATICAN II AND ITS APPLICATION IN AFRICAN CONTEXTS By Emmanuel Osigwe December 2017 Dissertation supervised by Dr. George S. Worgul Recognition of the indispensable intersection of faith and culture has become a major trend in the contemporary theology. This renewed approach emphasizes various anthropologies and cultures as locations of divine activity. Specifically, the Second Vatican Council’s understanding of sacraments as pneumatological, and ecclesiological, beyond the dominant Christological motif, and its call for profound adaptation gives a wide latitude for rethinking the sacraments. This provision overcomes the danger of enforcing a monocultural model of sacramental celebration, which can submerge local voices and separate sacramentality from symbols and values that resonate differently with various peoples and cultures. This dissertation shows how Elochukwu Uzukwu utilizes the provisions of Vatican II, in conjunction with resources from African traditional wisdom and culture, to argue for the emergence of truly local church and true border- crossing of sacramental and liturgical celebrations. To think of sacraments from this perspective iv highlights the African view of the human body, particularly its penchant for expressive worship and community – oriented celebrations, is a reality that seeks to bridge the disconnect between sacraments and ethics, thereby overcoming mere ritualism and making the sacraments more relevant. This approach finds justification in the long history of appropriating anthropological and sociological models to give expression to the reality of the Christian experience. The thesis is that rethinking the sacraments is a practical mission of the church in Africa, with implications in every aspect of Christian life and practice. The centrality and implications of the sacraments, especially in the Roman Catholic tradition, makes this approach a delicate but necessary theological investigation. v DEDICATION To the memory of my father, Sylvester Osigwe (1938-2000), who taught me the virtues of hard work and determination. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 Thesis .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Uzukwu’s Unique Contribution .................................................................................................. 5 African Christian Theology: The Context of Uzukwu’s Theology ............................................ 8 Methodology and Chapter Overview ........................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................. 15 History and Theology of the Christian Sacraments ...................................................................... 15 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 15 1.2 A Brief History of the Concept of Sacrament ................................................................. 16 1.3 Historical Development of the Christian Sacraments ................................................. 20 1.3.1 The Jewish Roots of the Christian Sacraments ........................................................ 21 1.3.2 Sacraments in the Early Church and Patristics ........................................................ 28 1.3.3 Sacraments in the Middle Ages ............................................................................... 34 1.3.4 Sacrament in the Era of Reformation and Counter Reformation: The Council of Trent .................................................................................................................................. 39 1.3.5 Vatican II’s Understanding of Sacraments: Christological, Pneumatological and Ecclesiological .................................................................................................................. 42 1.4 Jesus as the Primordial Sacrament .................................................................................. 45 1.5 The Church as Sacrament ............................................................................................... 48 1.6 Sacrament and Grace ...................................................................................................... 51 1.7 Anthropology and Sociology of Sacraments .................................................................. 54 1.8 Postmodern Sacramental Imagination ............................................................................ 57 1.9 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 61 Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 63 Elochukwu Uzukwu and the Contextuality of Theology .............................................................. 63 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 63 2.2 A Brief Biographical Sketch of Elochukwu Uzukwu ......................................................... 63 2.3 A Brief Sketch of African Worldview: Epistemology and Cosmology ............................. 68 2.4 Vatican II and the Recovery of the Local Church .............................................................. 71 2.4.1 The Idea of the Local Church ...................................................................................... 71 2.4.2 Biblical and Patristic Understanding of the Church .................................................... 72 2.4.3The Loss of the Local Church ....................................................................................... 77 2.4.4 Vatican II and Rediscovery of the Local Church......................................................... 83 vii 2.5 Uzukwu’s Theological Methodology ................................................................................. 95 2.5.1 Lived Experience as a Source of Theology ............................................................... 102 2.5.2Retrieval of Hebraic Foundations for African Theology ............................................ 106 2.5.3 Retrieval of Patristic Foundations of Theology ......................................................... 110 2.5.4 Relational Pneumatology ........................................................................................... 111 2.5.5 Retrieval of Indigenous African Society Organization for Ecclesiology .................. 112 2.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 114 Chapter 3 ..................................................................................................................................... 115 Uzukwu and Reimagining the Sacraments in African Contexts ................................................. 115 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 115 3.2 Vatican II on Profound Adaptation: Reimagining Sacraments......................................... 116 3.3 Sacraments: Rituals and Symbols ....................................................................................
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