For most of my adult life, I have tried to immerse myself in continual study of the history of the church. I am convinced that knowledge of the history of the church can give us a perspective on the identity and mission of the church today.

One of the lessons learned from a study of church history is that the church is always engaged in change. There has never been a period in 2,000 years of the existence of the church when the church was settled. Even the notion of the establishment of the church in Europe during the Middle Ages is somewhat an illusion: the medieval church’s internal theological disputes about the use of Aristotle’s philosophy, its dialogues with Judaism and Islam, and its struggle to reform monastic life created a sense of unsettledness in the life of the church. For example, the fact that Thomas Aquinas, the great theologian of the 13th century, never lived more than two or three years in one place because of the dynamic conditions in the church illustrates how life in the medieval church was far from being settled.

It is to be expected that the church can never be settled, not only because the world in which the church exists is always changing, but also because the church itself is a community that lives by faith in the living God who calls the church toward “the city that has foundations” (Hebrews 11:10), the eschatological city of God. Some historical perspective and theological reflection can enable us to better deal with change today. The church would not be the church if it were a static entity; it is always a community on the edge of a new era.

Another lesson learned from a study of church history is that, paradoxically, there is always continuity in the life of the church that is changing. Anyone can look at the history of the church and see the vast diversity of thought and practice. Such diversity is to be expected in any community since all human beings are different and all cultures are different. What is astounding is to perceive the same continuity in the church’s life down through the centuries in many cultures. What provides the continuity in the life of the church is Jesus Christ himself, the Christ to whom the apostles bore witness and the Christ who presents himself to us as a contemporary presence through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The task of the church in any time or place is to follow Jesus Christ faithfully by relating to our culture without conforming to it.