VanSteenhuyse Erica VanSteenhuyse Father Rausch THST 630 Systematic Theology 24 March 2013 Catholicism and Pentecostalism: A Comparative Analysis of the Ecclesial Nature of Two of Christianity’s Largest Denominations Introduction Catholic and Pentecostal relations, although both Christian denominations, have had a somewhat conflicting history, especially in regards to ecclesial and theological issues. This paper is just as the title suggests, a comparative analysis of the different ecclesial natures of both Catholicism and Pentecostalism. This is a fruitful endeavor, seeing as these two denominations together comprise seventy-five percent of the world’s practicing Christians. 1 Because of the extremely large number of Catholics and ever- growing Protestants, a comparative understanding of their ecclesial beliefs is necessary for a proper understanding of the two denominations. A complete comparison of Catholic and Pentecostal ecclesiology includes enough material to write several books, therefore specific parameters for analysis must be set for this paper. To attempt to achieve this reduced comparison, this paper will discuss the following: ecclesial definition, Catholic ecclesiology: Catholic origin, Catholic soteriology, Catholic missiology, Catholic authority; Pentecostal Ecclesiology: Pentecostal origin, Pentecostal missiology, Pentecostal soteriology, Pentecostal authority, and finally a comparative analysis of Catholic and Pentecostal ecclesiology. 2 Additionally, a presupposition is in order. This 1 Thomas Rausch. Catholics and Pentecostals: Troubled History, New Initiatives, (Theological Studies, 2010), 926. 2 It should be noted that, because of the scope and limitations of this paper, the following analysis is done on a general, exploratory basis. The ecclesial nature of both of these denominations is far more complex than this paper could ever begin to describe. Therefore, this paper will serve as a starting point for a comparative analysis. There are obviously many more aspects to ecclesiology than what is discussed in this paper, but for the purposes of an introductory analysis, only these ecclesial topics will be included for comparison in this paper. 1