`Christ Existing as Community': Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Notion of Church

Abstract

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the great theologians, churchmen, and martyrs of the twentieth century. His ecclesiology is still relevant at a time when the ecclesiology of communion is very much to the fore. This article revisits his school of ecclesiology, reflecting on his seminal works, Santorum Communio and Act and Being, as well as later works such as Life Together, Ethics, and Letters and Papers from Prison. A concern throughout is to highlight the various dimensions of what he means by saying the Church is Christ existing as community. It aims to encourage also reflection on how far this image of the Church as the community of the Risen Christ has been developed in theological reflection, something which is vitally important for the Church as it sets out on its third millennium.