Magisterium-theologian Relationship: a Historical & Systematic Study

In this study of magisterium-theologian relationship two important perspectives were considered namely the historical and the systematic perspectives. The historical study spanned across the two millennia of Christianity starting from the New Testament period to Vatican II. The problematic of this study is how to understand the participation of theologians and magisterium in the Church’s teaching authority. In other words how is the Church’s teaching authority shared between the magisterium on one hand and the theologians on the other hand? Our study discovered that different understandings and praxis of participation in this authority have marked the historical development of the Church. We observed that although in the New Testament teaching authority was not the object of reflection it was however recognized as an integral element of the life of the Church from the very moment of its birth. Although a distinct ministry of ‘teacher’ existed it is not easy to determine the exact relationship between these ‘doctors’ of the New Testament and those who exercised the ministry of direction/oversight or responsibility of pastors in the Christian communities.