Aggiornamento ( Italian pronunciation: [addʒornaˈmento] ) is an Italian word meaning "bringing up to date", "updating". It was made famous by Pope John XXIII , and was one of the key words at the Second Vatican Council , used by both bishops and the media.
38-529: In his speech of 25 January 1959, announcing his intention of calling a Council, Pope John used the word aggiornamento , but only in reference to his planned revision of the Code of Canon Law. But he soon began using the term to refer to his vision for the Council. In his first encyclical letter , Ad Petri cathedram , 29 June 1959, speaking of the upcoming Council, he said (§61): "[The bishops] will consider, in particular,
76-434: A messenger who has delivered good news. The term then came to designate the good news itself, and also a religious offering of thanks for good fortune. In Ancient Greek religion the word εὐαγγέλια means a sacrifice offered for good tidings or good news. Like other Greek religious thanks-offerings, offerings took the form of animal sacrifice , offerings of food and drink, and ritual dedications. News of military victory
114-503: A papal brief because of their more personal nature as opposed to the formal papal bull . They are usually written in Latin , and like most papal documents the title of the encyclical is usually taken from its first few words (its incipit ). In the encyclical Humani generis , Pope Pius XII held that papal encyclicals, even when they are of ordinary magisterium , can nonetheless be sufficiently authoritative to end theological debate on
152-763: A god upon receiving good news. The noun and verb forms are used several times in the Hebrew Bible . Christian theology describes the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ not as a new concept, but one that has been foretold throughout the Hebrew scripture (known as the Old Testament in Christian Bibles) and was prophetically preached even at the time of the fall of man as contained in Genesis 3:14–15, which has been called
190-563: A letter sent out by any bishop . The word comes from the Late Latin encyclios (originally from the Latin encyclius , a Latinization of Greek ἐνκύκλιος ( enkyklios ), meaning "circular", "in a circle", or "all-round", also part of the origin of the word encyclopedia ). The term has been used by Catholics , Anglicans and the Eastern Orthodox Church . Catholic social teaching has advanced 19 encyclicals. Although
228-588: A particular question: It is not to be thought that what is set down in Encyclical letters does not demand assent in itself, because in this the popes do not exercise the supreme power of their magisterium. For these matters are taught by the ordinary magisterium, regarding which the following is pertinent: "He who heareth you, heareth Me." (Luke 10:16); and usually what is set forth and inculcated in Encyclical Letters, already pertains to Catholic doctrine. But if
266-430: A short address on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II, Pope Benedict XVI said that, while some people have criticized the choice of the term “aggiornamento”, he believed that the intuition that Blessed John XXIII summarized in that word was and remains exact. Christianity must not be considered as 'something of the past', nor must it be lived with our gaze ever turned back. [...] Christianity
304-463: A speech to a pilgrimage of "ministers of the altar", he said: (translation) "The Ecumenical Council [...] seeks to be a Council of updating, mainly for a deeper knowledge and love of revealed truth, for fervent religious piety, and for holiness of life." It was a term he used when he was patriarch (archbishop) of Venice . In a letter to the people of Venice of 8 October 1957 about an upcoming diocesan synod, he wrote: (translation) "You have already heard
342-466: Is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity , the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits to humankind. In Ancient Greek religion , the word designated a type of sacrifice or ritual dedication intended to thank the gods upon receiving good news. The religious concept
380-453: Is a specific category of papal document, a kind of pastoral letter concerning Catholic doctrine, sent by the pope and usually addressed especially to patriarchs, primates, archbishops and bishops who are in communion with the Holy See . The form of the address can vary widely and may concern bishops in a particular area, or designate a wider audience. Papal encyclicals usually take the form of
418-473: Is always new. We must never look at it as though it were a tree, fully developed from the mustard seed of the Gospel, that grew, gave its fruit, and one fine day grows old as the sun sets on its life force. Christianity is a tree that is, so to speak, ever “timely”, ever young. And this trend, this aggiornamento does not mean a break with tradition, but expresses its ongoing vitality; it does not mean reducing
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#1732847686438456-654: Is found at least as far back as Greece's Classical era and Roman authors are known to have adopted it toward the end of the 1st century BCE . It is a central message of Christianity today, in which written accounts of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ are known as Gospels . Gospel ( / ˈ ɡ ɒ s p ə l / ) is the Old English translation of Greek εὐαγγέλιον , meaning "good news". This may be seen from analysis of euangélion ( εὖ , eû , '"good"' + ἄγγελος , ángelos , '"messenger"' + -ιον , -ion diminutive suffix). The Greek term
494-533: Is recorded in the Calendar Inscription of Priene . In it, the Koine Greek word for "good news" appears in celebrating the birth of the god and savior Augustus, sent by Providence to bring peace. It announces the intention of the city of Priene to change their calendar so that it begins on the birthday of Augustus, the first day of the good news. The Priene inscription is the most famous pre-Christian use of
532-497: Is through the good news of Jesus that the nations of humanity are restored to relationship with God and that the destiny of the nations is related to this process. Missiology professor Howard A. Snyder writes, "God has chosen to place the Church with Christ at the very center of His plan to reconcile the world to himself". Another perspective described in the Pauline epistles is that it
570-410: Is through the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection, and the resulting worship of people from all nations, that evil is defeated on a cosmic scale. Reflecting on the third chapter of Ephesians 3, theologian Howard A. Snyder writes: God's plan for the church extends to the fullest extent of the cosmos. By God's 'manifold wisdom' the Church displays an early fullness of what Christ will accomplish at
608-785: The Christian Bible . Paul the Apostle gave the following summary, one of the earliest Christian Creeds , (translated into English) of this good news (gospel) in the First Epistle to the Corinthians : Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to
646-609: The Soviet invasion of Hungary which suppressed the Hungarian Revolution in 1956: Datis nuperrime , Laetamur admodum and Luctuosissimi eventus . Pope Paul VI published an encyclical Humanae vitae on the topic of birth control . Amongst Anglicans the term encyclical was revived in the late 19th century. It is applied to circular letters issued by the English primates . The gospel The gospel or good news
684-598: The " Proto-Evangelion " or "Proto-Gospel". A genre of ancient biographies of Jesus took on the name Gospel because they tell good news of Jesus as the Christian savior, bringing peace and acting as a sacrifice who has redeemed mankind from sin . The first four books of the Christian New Testament are the canonical gospels : Matthew , Mark , Luke , and John . In addition, a number of non-canonical gospels exist or existed but are not officially included in
722-661: The Bible, the good news is described in other terms, but it still describes God's saving acts. For example, the Apostle Paul taught that the good news was announced to the patriarch Abraham in the words, "All nations will be blessed through you." (Galatians 3:6–9; c.f. Genesis 12:1–3). Liberation theology , articulated in the teachings of Latin American Catholic theologians Leonardo Boff and Gustavo Gutiérrez , emphasizes that Jesus came not only to save humanity, but also to liberate
760-571: The Christian good news as taught by the apostle Peter in the Acts of the Apostles : The good news is described in many different ways in the Bible. Each one reflects different emphases, and describes part or all of the biblical narrative. Christian teaching of the good news—including the preaching of the Apostles in the Book of Acts—generally focuses upon the resurrection of Jesus and its implications. Sometimes in
798-464: The Council, Butler explained, recognized that great changes in the human environment and world required serious adaptation of the church to respond to this new environment. Otherwise, the church was moving toward "monumental irrelevance". Proclamation of the gospel is the first task of the church, and so it must make this gospel intelligible and relevant to the people of each age, and now to the whole world of diverse peoples represented by their bishops at
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#1732847686438836-416: The Council, because "modernization" would have suggested modernism , and "reform" would have sounded Protestant . In his first encyclical, Ecclesiam suam , Paul VI recalled the term's association with his predecessor (§50): We cannot forget Pope John XXIII's word aggiornamento which We have adopted as expressing the aim and object of Our own pontificate. Besides ratifying it and confirming it as
874-473: The Council. For this the Council, in a spirit of aggiornamento , reached back "behind St Thomas himself and the Fathers, to the biblical theology which governs the first two chapters of the ''Constitution on the Church''." Encyclical letter An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church . At that time, the word could be used for
912-648: The Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures Paul describes the gospel as being powerful and salvific : For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16 The good news can be summarized in many ways, reflecting various emphases. C. H. Dodd has summarized
950-641: The Supreme Pontiffs in their acts, after due consideration, express an opinion on a hitherto controversial matter, it is clear to all that this matter, according to the mind and will of the same Pontiffs, cannot any longer be considered a question of free discussion among theologians. On social issues, Pope Leo XIII promulgated the encyclical Rerum novarum (1891), which was followed by Quadragesimo anno (1931) of Pius XI and Centesimus annus (1991) of John Paul II . Pope Pius XII issued ten encyclicals , mostly after 1945, three of them protesting against
988-404: The concept of the gospel. Dated to 9 BCE, a few years before the birth of Jesus, the inscription demonstrates that the gospel was used as a political term before it was applied to Christianity. The ancient Hebrew noun בְּשׂוֹרָה ( besorah ) appears to carry the same double meaning as the equivalent Greek word for gospel, used for both a messenger delivering good news and a thanks-offering to
1026-468: The condition and modernization ( aggiornamento ) of the Church after 20 centuries of life. May it be that, side by side with this, God will add also, through whatever edification we may offer, but above all by merit of the omnipotence of the Most High who can draw new chosen sons from the very stones, one other result: a movement toward recomposition of the whole Mystical Flock of Our Lord. On 1 August 1962, in
1064-413: The condition of the Church before the Council and explained the need for aggiornamento . Butler said that the new "pastoral aim, the instinct of a charity that goes beyond all boundaries, the sense of mission not so much to human nature or the abstract human species, but to human persons and the actually existing human family, demanded that our aggiornamento should be conceived of in depth." The bishops at
1102-536: The faith, debasing it to the fashion of the times, measured by what pleases us, by what pleases public opinion. [...] The Council was a time of grace in which the Holy Spirit taught us that the Church, in her journey through history, must always speak to the people of today. In an essay on aggiornamento , Bishop Christopher Butler , a participant in the Second Vatican Council as a Benedictine abbot, described
1140-544: The gospel of the August One or Divus Augustus, a mythologized version of the first Roman emperor Octavian, also known as Augustus Caesar. Augustus was both a man and a god, "a savior who has made war to cease and who shall put everything in peaceful order." This period of peace is called the Pax Romana . To celebrate the good tidings of peace with an unusually grand gospel offering, governor Paullus Fabius Maximus suggested
1178-594: The growth of the Catholic faith, the restoration of sound morals among the Christian flock, and appropriate adaptation ( aggiornamento ) of Church discipline to the needs and conditions of our times." On 28 June 1961, in an address to a group of Blessed Sacrament Fathers , John XXIII said: The ecumenical council will reach out and embrace under the widespread wings of the Catholic Church the entire heritage of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Its principal task will be concerned with
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1216-475: The guiding principle of the Ecumenical Council, We want to bring it to the notice of the whole Church. It should prove a stimulus to the Church to increase its ever growing vitality and its ability to take stock of itself and give careful consideration to the signs of the times, always and everywhere "proving all things and holding fast that which is good" with the enthusiasm of youth. On 12 October 2012, in
1254-466: The poor and oppressed. A similar movement among the Latin American evangelical movement is the integral mission , in which the Church is seen as an agent for positively transforming the wider world, in response to the good news. The Christian missions movement believes the Christian good news to be a message for all peoples, of all nations, tribes, cultures and languages. This movement teaches that it
1292-573: The ritual dedication of the calendar to Augustus, starting the new year on Augustus's birthday. This dedication to the August One served to synchronize diverse local calendars across the Empire, and is the origin of the name of the month August . The idea of dedication to a divine king's birthday later formed the basis of the Julian and Gregorian calendars . One implementation of this gospel calendar dedication
1330-404: The term "encyclical" originally simply meant a circulating letter, it acquired a more specific meaning within the context of the Catholic Church. In 1740, Pope Benedict XIV wrote a letter titled Ubi primum , which is generally regarded as the first encyclical. The term is now used almost exclusively for a kind of letter sent out by the pope. For the modern Catholic Church , a papal encyclical
1368-491: The word "aggiornamento" repeated so many times. You see, our Holy Church, forever young, takes the attitude of following the various twists and turns of the circumstances of life, in order to adapt, to correct, to improve and to become more fervent. That is the nature of the synod, that is its purpose." In a French encyclopedia article on aggiornamento , Émile Poulat , sociologist of religion and Church historian, claims that John XXIII chose that word to characterize his vision of
1406-585: Was Latinized as evangelium in the Vulgate , and translated into Latin as bona annuntiatio . In Old English, it was translated as gōdspel ( gōd , "good" + spel , "news"). The Old English term was retained as gospel in Middle English Bible translations and hence remains in use also in Modern English . In Greek the term originally designated a reward or tip customarily paid to
1444-504: Was frequently celebrated with an offering. In the play The Knights by Aristophanes of 424 BCE, the comic character Paphlagon proposes an excessive sacrifice of a hundred heifers to Athena to celebrate good news. This word in Greek has a double meaning: the singular form means a reward paid to a human messenger who brings good news, and the plural form means a thanks-offering to the gods for good news. The Roman Imperial cult celebrated
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