The end of Christendom: time for Church to shift into Apostolic mode

This is the first article in a three-part series on shifting the Church into a mode of intentional evangelization.

The recently published book From Christendom to Apostolic Mission could have been subtitled A Tale of Two Modes as it proposes shifting the Church into a new mode that acknowledges that, “Christendom no longer exists” (Pope Francis).

The actual subtitle, Pastoral Strategies for an Apostolic Age, illustrates why the book should be required reading for all working in the Church today. It is that good and important.

From University of Mary Press and Msgr. James P. Shea, the book draws on the reality that the Church, since its founding by Christ, “has been ever surrounded by conflict and engaged in struggle.”

When Jesus commanded his disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature,” the early Christians responded with generosity and commitment. For 2,000 years the Catholic Church has been endeavouring to build the city of God inside the city of man.

From Christendom to Apostolic Mission identifies two approaches the Church uses to engage the wider society: Apostolic mode and Christendom mode. Put another way, there are two ways to “be Church,” and choosing the right mode depends on the environment in which the Church finds herself.

Christendom Mode

Christendom mode makes sense when the imaginative vision of society is governed by Christian values. Remember when there was no shopping on Sunday because it was the Lord’s day?

In Christendom, the growth of the Church is in no small way a benefit of her prominence. She attracts new members because her presence is positively woven into the social fabric. Catholic institutions grow in number and stature within Christendom. This too is a perk of the elite status of the Church.

In a time of Christendom, the Church aims to maintain the influence she has on the culture, the great advantage being God’s truth is readily available to anyone without obstructions or restrictions. 

In Christendom, Christianity is invited to influence all sectors of society – politics, education, medicine, arts, and sports. The major institutions that drive industry, education, medicine, and the economy might even bear God’s name or refer to him in their constitutions and policies. In a Christendom era, Christians can aspire to leadership in any realm of society.

These positive dimensions of Christendom come with their own temptations. For example, following Christ in a time of Christendom can minimize the true nature of discipleship.

The Church has always taught that being a disciple of Jesus means acknowledging his saving sovereignty, embracing the narrow way, denying oneself for the greater good and committing to a lifestyle of spiritual discipline and prayer to become more like Jesus and share him effectively with others. A true disciple is a person of integrity and singular purpose, not one with divided loyalties. He or she is the same person – with the same convictions, values, and virtues – no matter where he is or who he is with.

In Christendom, one can minimize the nature of discipleship by equating it with mere membership in the Church. The high calling of giving one’s utmost commitment for God’s highest glory may be reduced to being a conventional, somewhat spiritual, contributing member of society.

Martyrdom is more often seen during apostolic times than in Christendom. Martyrs are those heroic individuals who refuse to publicly deny their private faith. In Christendom times, we come to expect that Catholic leaders in politics and business will profess a private faith that contradicts their public persona.

In Christendom times, we may be tempted to simply appear Catholic to receive the societal advantages gained by membership in the Church. We may lose the holy desire to pursue holiness or exert extra effort for fear of  being labeled a religious fanatic. Christendom can foster a mediocre Christian commitment.

In Christendom, committed disciples may feel pressured to keep their faith private and modest. It seems like a reasonable requirement, even virtuous. Unfortunately, it stands in stark contrast to the will of God. Jesus’ last command was to go public with one’s private faith – to make disciples of all nations.

This is the crux of the matter. In Christendom times, the true identity of the Church as an evangelizing institution may get lost in the pursuit of other priorities. “The Church exists to evangelize,” Saint Pope Paul VI wrote in Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975). In Christendom, even Catholic institutional leaders may under-emphasize the unique salvific work accomplished through Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. Under the banner of tolerance, a virus of universalism may seep in that can weaken our commitment to the proclamation of the kerygma.

Apostolic Mode

The Church embraces Apostolic mission when society’s imaginative vision is hostile to Christian values. In this environment, the Church herself and her individual members can be at odds with the prevailing culture. This is not something the Church celebrates, but it is important to clearly recognize it. Otherwise, we may stay engaged in yesterday’s war, using tools, techniques, and tactics that “for whatever reason are outmoded and ineffective,” says From Christendom to Apostolic Mission.

For the first three centuries, the Church lived in an Apostolic mode. She continued to embrace Apostolic mission every time she entered territory that had not been exposed to the Gospel – the mission ad gentes.

Eventually we entered a time of Christendom. Historians might not agree when Christendom began to deteriorate, but most would speculate that it ended in the 1960s in North America.

In Apostolic mode, being Christian requires purity of intention and wholehearted commitment to Christ and his Church. In the absence of societal perks for membership, it is more costly to be Christian. Many are tempted to turn away from the faith out of fear of persecution or in a desire to climb social, political, and corporate ladders.

If hypocrisy is the temptation in Christendom times, apostasy is the temptation during Apostolic times. It is hard to remain steadfast and true to the faith when one’s livelihood and well-being is on the line. During Apostolic times, “The joy of the Gospel may be obscured by the exhaustion of the constant fight, giving rise to defeatism or angry isolationism,” we read in From Christendom to Apostolic Mission.

Why is it important today that we can distinguish between these two modes?

Why is it even more important to understand which mode is required for engaging with contemporary society today?

Because we are living during a “sea change”, a transformation within the Church that is so significant that we have not experienced it for hundreds of years. This radical change in mind and heart is the essence of what Saint John Paul II was calling for in his exhortation to embrace the New Evangelization – new ardour, new methods, and new enthusiasm.

Our Choice in 2021

Everything is shifting under our feet. We have been galloping away from a state of Christendom and toward Apostolic mission for a few decades. Each year the pace quickens.

The evidence is clear in Canada.

• Recent legislation expanded the opportunity for nearly anyone for any reason to seek medical assistance in dying.
• Gender dysphoria is rising to epidemic levels particularly for teenage girls, but we can’t talk about it because gender is now defined as a social construct.
• 2021 could be the year that Canada legalizes prostitution if Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, is repealed.
• The pandemic has made it clear that government no longer considers Sunday services as essential as shopping, going for a workout, or attending a strip club.

In 1974 Bishop Fulton Sheen declared, “We are at the end of Christendom.” He further explained, “Not Christianity, not the Church. Christendom is the economic, political, and social life as inspired by Christian principles. That is what is ending and, because we live in it from day to day, we do not see the decline.”

More recently, Pope Francis said to the Roman Curia, “Brothers and sisters, Christendom no longer exists.”

The Church is no longer a trusted lighthouse for society. In fact, most people believe the further society flees from the influence of the Church, the better off society will be.

We live in the information age and yet people have never been so confused. What makes this more tragic than ironic is that we are confused about the things that matter most – marriage, family, the dignity of the human person, and divine revelation.

Developments in technology, communication, transportation, medicine, entertainment, and manufacturing have so influenced our lives that “a person who lived a hundred years ago was closer both in modes of consciousness and in the daily rhythms of life to the time of Christ than to our own,” From Christendom to Apostolic Mission says.

We are not living in an era of change but in a change of era. This is undeniable and therefore cannot be ignored. As Father James Mallon once pointed out, “We were trained in seminary for ministry in Jerusalem, but we are now living in Babylon.”

As such, the Church has a duty, indeed a moral obligation, to consider the times in which we live and to prayerfully discern appropriate strategies to engage with society. Not what society once was or what we wish it to be, but as it is here and now.

If we continue to operate in Christendom mode, we will be using irrelevant tactics, which will be disastrous. Outreach strategies that worked generations ago, if implemented now, will likely fail and the Church will suffer because of it.

We are standing on the shoulders of giants. For hundreds of years, during the first Apostolic age, Christians gave witness and often their lives to spread the faith. Those Christians were so fruitful in their missionary zeal and had such a positive influence on the culture, that society allowed the Church to establish broader institutions of education, medicine, social support, and justice. I grew up in Saskatchewan and attended Catholic school from grade 1-12 funded by the provincial government!  So, this article is not a critique of Christendom, rather, a celebration of it.  

But, we must acknowledge that Christendom no longer exists. Society’s imaginative vision is becoming more and more hostile to Christianity. The path forward is to embrace a new mode, the Apostolic mode. It is critical to make this shift, to sound the alarm, to gather the troops, to radically edit the way we view the world and the Church’s relationship with it. Only when we define current reality in an accurate way can we begin to talk about methods, programs, and initiatives for the mission.

In my next two articles I will write about five shifts we may consider – and quickly – to embrace the Apostolic mode desperately needed today. This is our missionary moment. We can do this; we must do this. 

I will close with this quote:

“2,000 years ago, 11 apostles were sent to win the entire world for Christ. They had only a few hundred followers and meagre resources. They were without the means and institutions by which to develop a Christian culture. The odds were against them, and they had every reason to despair. But instead, equipped with only the promise of Christ and the conquering spirit of the Gospel, they accepted their great commission, and they overcame the world. They provide for us a bright image of an Apostolic mode of engagement. Let us ask how we both individually and as the Church can make the shift. How can we move from a Christendom mode to an Apostolic mode? A lot is riding on the answer” — From Christendom to Apostolic Mission: Pastoral Strategies for an Apostolic Age.

Brett Powell is the Archbishop’s Delegate for Development and Ministries in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. A previous version of this article appeared on his website Leadership Where it Matters Most.