subject: Ecclesia in Asia [print this page] Ecclesia in Asia Ecclesia in Asia
The Church in Asia sings the praises of the "God of salvation" (Ps 68 [67], 20) for choosing to initiate his saving plan on Asian soil, by men and women of that continent. It was in Asia, in fact, from the beginning that God revealed and brought to fruition his plan of salvation. He guided the patriarchs (cf. Gen 12) and called for Moses to lead his people to freedom (cf. Ex 3, 10). To the people who had chosen He spoke through many prophets, judges, kings and valiant women of faith. In the "fullness of time" (Gal 4, 4), he sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ the Savior, who took flesh as an Asian! Rejoicing in the goodness of the continent's peoples, cultures and religious vitality, and conscious at the same time, uniqueness of the gift of faith received for the good of all, the Church in Asia can not cease to proclaim: "Celebrate the Lord, he is good, His mercy endures forever "(Ps 118 [117], 1).Since Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again in the Holy Land, this small portion of Western Asia has become the land of promise and hope for all mankind. Jesus knew and loved the land, making its history, the suffering and hopes of the people, it was dear people, embracing the Jewish traditions and heritage. In fact, God chose this people since ancient times and it turned out in preparation for the coming of the Savior.
From this land, through the preaching of the Gospel, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church went everywhere to "make disciples of all nations" (cf. Mt 28, 19). Together with the ecclesial community spread throughout the world, the Church in Asia will cross the threshold of the third Christian millennium, gazing with wonder what God has done from the beginning until now and safe in the knowledge that 'as in the first millennium the Cross was planted on European soil in the second millennium on the American and African, in the third millennium we can hope to gather a great harvest of faith on this continent so vast and alive, ".1The preparation of the Special Assembly2. In the Apostolic Letter Tertio adveniente millennium, I have outlined for the Church in view of the third millennium of Christianity, a program focused on the challenges of the new evangelization. An important element of this plan was the celebration of continental Synods, so that the Bishops could address the question of evangelization according to local circumstances and needs of each continent.
This series of synods, linked by the common theme of the new evangelization, was an important contribution to preparing the Church for the Great Jubilee Year 2000.In the same letter, referring the Special Assembly for Asia of the Synod of Bishops, I observed that in that part of the world "more pronounced is the issue of the encounter of Christianity with ancient local cultures and religions. A great challenge for evangelization, since religious systems such as Buddhism or Hinduism have a clearly soteriological character "2 It is indeed a mystery why the Savior of the world, born in Asia, has remained the now largely unknown to the peoples of the continent. The Synod has offered a providential opportunity for the Church in Asia to reflect on this mystery and to affirm a new commitment in the mission to raise awareness of Jesus Christ to all.
Two months after the publication of the millennium, Tertio adveniente, addressing the Sixth Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, in Manila, Philippines, during the memorable celebration of the Tenth World Youth Day, I reminded the bishops: "If the Church in Asia must do its providential destiny, evangelization, as joyful, patient and progressive preaching of the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ must be your priority '.3Along the preparatory phase has highlighted the positive response of the Bishops of the Churches and the proposed Special Assembly for Asia of the Synod of Bishops. At each stop, they have communicated their wishes and opinions with honesty and penetrating knowledge of the continent, fully aware of the bond of communion which binds them to the universal Church. In line with the original idea of ??the millennium, Tertio adveniente and following the proposals in the Pre-Synodal Council which examined the opinions of the bishops and of the particular Churches in Asia, I chose the theme of the Synod: Jesus Christ, the Saviour and His Mission love and service in Asia, "they may have life and have it abundantly" (Jn 10, 10). Through this particular formulation of the issue, it was my hope that the Synod "to explain and approfondisse the truth about Christ as the only Mediator between God and man and the sole Redeemer of the world, clearly distinguished from the founders of other major religions' .4 As we approach the Great Jubilee, the Church in Asia needs to be able to proclaim with renewed vigor: Ecce natus est nobis Salvator mundi, "Behold, the Saviour is born for us in the world" ... was born in Asia!
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