" a function for a community and not a status" [Quote p74]
Schillebeeckx discerned a change of attitude between the first and second Christian millennia exemplified by proceedings of the Councils of Chalcedon (451) and Lateran III (1179). Chalcedon asserted the right of a Christian community to have its own leadership recognised by the Church and specifically denied any possibility of 'absolute' ordination; Lateran III - and later Trent - affirmed absolute ordination by the Church."With regard to the prieshood Schillebeeckx distinguishes three different understandings of it: patristic feudal and modern. He concludes that it was only in modern times after the sixteenth century that a completely clerical and hierarchical view of priesthood developed ... his conviction [was] that the Church does not exist for itself. Nor is it the kingdom of God. It anticipates that kingdom when it joins the world so to speak to bring about justice where injustice prevails." [Quote p74]