This is the master thesis of Maung John in Missiology. It talks about mission situation in Myanmar vis-a-vis inculturation, Christian-Buddhist Dialogue, and so on.

1. TITLE PAGE
EXPLORING IMAGES OF THE CHURCH: THE BODHI TREE
AS IMAGE OF THE MISSIONARY CHURCH IN MYANMAR
BR. MAUNG JOHN
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts in Theology of Consecrated Life
Major in Missiology
GRADUATE DEPARTMENT
ST. ANTHONY MARY CLARET COLLEGE
April 2008

2. ii
Approval Sheet
The thesis attached hereto, entitled “Exploring Images of the Church: The Bodhi Tree
as Image of the Missionary Church in Myanmar” prepared and submitted by
BRO. MAUNG JOHN in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of
Arts in Missiology is hereby accepted.
(Signature)
Fr. Edgar Javier, SVD
Advisor
(Signature)
Fr. Domingo Moraleda, CMF
Member
(Signature)
Fr. Jose Ma. Ruiz Marquez, CMF
Member
Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts
in Missiology.
(Signature)
Beulah D. Nuval, Ed. D.
Dean

3. iii
DEDICATION
To
Christians of Various Theological Persuasions
And
People of Different Religious Professions
In Myanmar

4. iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Gift of Dharma Excels All Other Gifts.
“To pay homage to God, Dharma, Sangha, Teachers, and Parents” is the fivefold
Burmese socio-religious teaching (annandaw annanda nga pa) which the researcher is
deeply obliged to fulfill for the accomplishment of his thesis.
Fr. Edgar G. Javier, SVD his professor and mentor has fully deserved this homage
in a special way for his great enlightenment. Fr. Daniel F. Pilario, CM his professor in
methodology has equally deserved this homage for teaching him research skills. Dr.
Emmanuel de Guzman, Ph.D. his humble professor has duly deserved this homage for
challenging him to conduct this research.
Fr. Domingo Moraleda, CMF his academic supporter and protector has genuinely
deserved this homage for his various helps for studies. Dr. Beulah D. Nuval, Ed. D. dean
of Dean of St. Anthony Mary Claret College has deserved a big gratitude for her valuable
help for this research. The colleagues and friends of the student are given “a big thanks”
for their criticisms, suggestions, and insights in the process of this thesis writing.
The personnel of Institute for Consecrated Life in Asia (ICLA), St. Vincent
School of Theology (SVST) and Maryhill School of Theology (MST) are fully
acknowledge for the academic support and for all their generous supports throughout this
study. The anonymous supporters are gracefully thanked for their generosity. Again, all
these persons have deserved the greatest gratitude of the researcher for all their noble gift
of Dharma of intellectual support which surpasses all other gifts.

5. v
THESIS ABSTRACT
There were the images of the Church. They change throughout the history. But
some remain. Yet some disappear. Few emerge gradually. Each generation has their own
self-images. The new generation reflects its identity and nature with visual images. One’s
self-understanding changes in an environment and when the circumstances are changed.
There are many images of the Church. The nature and identity of the Church are
discovered by exploring its present images. Images mirror the reality. They become self-
discovery tools. We can envision, project the Church to be in a new way by giving new
images as we turn out to be as we dream. Thus, Christians propose many images for it.
Many images are so intangible in other contexts that the right images are required.
First, this thesis inquires the current images of the Church in Myanmar. It then explores
the historical images of the Church in the Bible, Church documents and theologies.
Thirdly, it proposes “the Bodhi tree” as an appropriate image for the missionary Church.
This research intends to be of help for lessening the foreign face of the Church
and the growth of Christianity. It finds out a new way of being the local Church in a
multi-religious context. In this new way of being Church we also discover the proper way
of doing theology of mission.

6. vi
ABBREVIATIONS
AAS Acta Apostolicae Sedis
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
BEC Basic Ecclesial Community
BHC Basic Human Community
BIC Basic Interfaith/Interreligious Community
CBCM Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar
CRCM Catholic Religious Conference of Myanmar
EA Ecclesia in Asia (1999)
EU The European Union
EN Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975)
ES Ecclesiam Suam (1964)
FABC The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences
FAPA For All the Peoples of Asia (Volumes I-IV)
EAPR East Asian Pastoral Review
GS Gaudium et Spes (1965)
LG Lumen Gentium (1964)
MCC Myanmar Council of Churches
NA Nostra Aetate (1965)
NT-OT New Testament - Old Testament
RM Redemptoris Missio (1990)
SPDC State Peace and Development Council
UK United Kingdom
US United States

7. vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE…. ................................................................................................................ i
APPROVAL SHEET ........................................................................................................ ii
DEDICATION….............................................................................................................. iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ................................................................................................. iv
ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................................... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... vii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1
A. Background of the Study ................................................................... 1
B. Statement of the Problem .................................................................. 3
C. Significance of the Study .................................................................. 3
D. Scope and Limitation of the Study .................................................... 5
E. Review of Literature and Related Studies ......................................... 5
F. Conceptual Framework ...................................................................... 9
G. Definition of Terms ......................................................................... 10
H. Methodology ................................................................................... 13
I. Organization of the Study ............................................................... 13
CHAPTER II IMAGES OF THE CHURCH IN THE BURMESE CONTEXT .. 15
A. Mapping the Genesis of the Catholic Church in Myanmar ............. 15
1. The Spread of Catholicism among the Ethnic Minorities ........... 15
2. The Church amidst Diverse Cultures after the Missionary Era .. 17

8. viii
3. Churches among Pagodas, Temples, Mosques and Spirit Houses
.................................................................................................... 19
B. Analyzing the Foreign Faces of the Church .................................... 20
1. The Cultural Faces of the Jesus-Community .............................. 20
2. The Political Portrait of the Christian Minority .......................... 21
3. Animist and Buddhist Images of the Church .............................. 23
C. Religious Encounters and Mission Challenges ............................... 26
1. Mission and Religious Pluralism................................................. 26
2. Specific Mission Challenges of the Church ................................ 29
CHAPTER III IMAGES OF THE MISSIONARY CHURCH IN BIBLICAL,
TRADITIONAL, MAGiSTERIAL AND EPISCOPAL
STATEMENTS .................................................................................. 32
A. Biblical and Traditional Images of the Church ............................... 33
1. The Church in OT Typology and NT Imagery ........................... 33
2. Images of the Church in the Apostolic Writings ......................... 35
B. Images of the Church in the Magisterial Statements....................... 38
1. Pre-Vatican II Models of the Church .......................................... 38
2. The Ecclesiology of Vatican II.................................................... 39
C. Images of the Church in the Asian Episcopal Texts ....................... 41
1. The FABC Imagery of Asian Ecclesiology................................. 41
2. The CBCM Images of the Church............................................... 44
D. Trends in Contemporary Missiology in relation to Images of the
Church ............................................................................................. 47
1. J.A.B. Jongeneel and J.M. van Engelen ...................................... 47

9. ix
2. David J. Bosch............................................................................. 47
3. Stephen B. Bevans and Roger P. Schroeder................................ 48
4. Edgar G. Javier ............................................................................ 49
5. Felix Wilfred ............................................................................... 50
6. Aloysius Pieris............................................................................. 50
7. Lode L. Wostyn ........................................................................... 51
8. Donal Dorr................................................................................... 52
9. Avery Dulles ............................................................................... 53
10. Arnulf Camps ............................................................................ 54
CHAPTER IV THE BODHI TREE: IMAGE OF THE MISSIONARY CHURCH
IN THE MYANMAR CONTEXT .................................................... 56
A. The Bodhi and the Cross ................................................................. 57
1. Hindu Tree of Immortality .......................................................... 57
2. Buddhist Tree of Enlightenment ................................................. 59
3. Nats’ Residence Tree .................................................................. 60
4. Christian Fig Tree of Knowledge and Salvation ......................... 61
5. The Bodhi and the Cross in Dialogue ......................................... 63
B. Christianity, Church and Mission in the Bodhi Tree Allegory ....... 66
1. Bodhi Tree: Image of the Church in Myanmar ........................... 66
2. Christian Life as the Bodhi Tree ................................................. 68
3. Models of the Church and of Mission ......................................... 71
a. Church as Basic Interfaith Community .................................. 71
b. Church as Community of Disciples in Co-Pilgrimage ........... 72

10. x
c. Church as Sacrament of Universal Salvation ......................... 74
d. Church as Humble Servant ..................................................... 75
C. Mission Spirituality and Methodology ............................................ 76
1. Mission Spirituality under the Bodhi Tree .................................. 76
2. Mission Approaches: The Cross Encounters the Bodhi ............. 79
CHAPTER V SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............. 83
A. Summary ......................................................................................... 83
B. Findings ........................................................................................... 85
C. Recommendations ........................................................................... 88
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 91
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ....................................................................................... 103

11. CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Being brought up in a traditional Catholic family in a predominantly Buddhist
setting, the researcher examines the present images of the Catholic Church in order to
propose a fitting image of the Church which will lessen its seeming alien face in the
contemporary Burmese1 society since, as Christopher O’Donnell says, artists, poets,
preachers and theologians are challenged to present images of the Church suited for
each time and place.2
Reflecting on the Church as the center of its concern, the Second Vatican Council
(1962-65) attempts to bring the Church relevant to the modern times by presenting the
three images of the Church: “society,” “people of God,” and “servant”3 from its Conciliar
documents.
1
In this study, “Burmese” also refers to the citizens and expatriates of Myanmar/Burma and to the
official language of Myanmar/Burma. “Burman” or “Bama” refers to the dominant ethnic group. The
ethnic group that makes up the majority will be identified as “Burmese/Bama Buddhists” and the other
minority ethnic groups as Burmese.
2
Christopher O’Donnell, Ecclesia: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Church (Minnesota: The
Liturgical Press, 1996), 208. [Emphasis mine].
3
Lode Wostyn, Church Images and Pastoral Strategy (Manila: Communication Foundation for
Asia, 1976), 5-30. Here Wostyn classifies the Vatican II images of the Church into three. First, there is the
static, hierarchical and juridical picture of the “perfect society” (Lumen Gentium 20, 22, 23). Second, LG
17 presents the Church as the people of God, the Body of Lord, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Third,
Gaudium et Spes (3, 40, 43, 44, 92, 93) characterizes the Church as a humble servant, a community of
dialogue, being dynamic and eschatological.

12. 2
Since Vatican II, theologians have proposed different ecclesiological models, and
images. Images and metaphors play a powerful role in how we construct our communal
self-image, which in turn shapes and are shaped by our experiences of the Church.4 Such
ecclesial images and metaphors are informed by historical, social, cultural, as well as
political and economic conditions and agendas.5
Some images for the local Churches of Asia have been pictured by the Federation
of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) since its initiations. Such images touch the
realities of Asia. A product of the "sign of the times" spirit of the Vatican II, the FABC
has been taking seriously the multi-religious context of the milieu in its discernment of
what it means to be Church in Asia.
Being pre-dominantly a Buddhist land, the political structures and socio-cultural
ethos of the people of Myanmar are fundamentally Buddhist.6 Thus, the presence of
pagodas, temples, mosques, spirit houses and Churches proclaim Myanmar as a multi-
religious country. However, the image of the Church is so foreign to other religions.7 Our
challenging problem is to present some fitting images of the Church which are relevant to
our mission among peoples of different religious backgrounds.
4
“Images are language pictures which serve as tools of rhetoric to describe and convey what is
already known.” Barbra B. Zikmund, Discovering the Church (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1983), 37-38.
5
Emmanuel S. de Guzman, “Laity, Theology and Praxis” (Seminar, Quezon City, St. Vincent
School of Theology, Semester 2, SY 2006- 2007): 1-2 as of Power Point presentation and printed paper.
6
Samuel Ngun Ling, Communicating Christ in Myanmar: Issues, Interactions and Perspectives
(Yangon: ATEM, 2005), 74-75.
7
Samuel Ngun Ling, “In the Midst of Golden Stupas: Revitalizing the Christian Presence in
Myanmar,” RAYS MIT Journal of Theology 3 (February 2002): 113-115.

13. 3
B. Statement of the Problem
This research is at the outset an attempt to explore the present popular models of
the Church, to search for contextual images for the Church and to propose that metaphors
for a new way of being Church in Burma. More specially, its aim is doing a contextual
ecclesiology in relation to mission by using the local popular icon as the starting point.
In the exploration of research problem, the following questions will be
investigated.
1. What are the contemporary images of the Church in Myanmar amid
multiethnic, multicultural, multireligious and socio-economic-political
scenarios?
2. What are images of the Church in Bible, Magisterial statements, FABC,
CBCM and Asian theologies and how are these images interdependent?
3. What are the appropriate images for the Church in Myanmar and how are
these contextual images relevant to the mission of the local Church?
The problem of the research is all about the proposed image for the Church as the
Bodhi tree which is drawn from the praxis, stories, lived religious experiences, and daily
life of the Burmese. Such metaphor, which exists side by side in Burmese society and in
the Burmese personality, will be able to, to some extent, eliminate the alien face of the
Church while it will help our mission of dialogue with other faiths improve.
C. Significance of the Study
The foreign face of the Church is a big problem in Burma not because Christianity
is introduced from the outside but because, in Felix Wilfred’s words, the local Church

14. 4
stays aloof from the mainstream of life of the people, their history, struggles and dreams
and they have failed to identify themselves with the people, even though in terms of
charity many praiseworthy services have been rendered.8 Indeed, the Church appears so
alien to the people of other faiths due to its failure to be in solidarity with them.
This study hopes to contribute humbly and yet significantly to the following. To
the science of theology, major in Missiology, this study aims at enriching students in their
theological reflection about the missiological dimension of dialogue in a plural society.
To the Universal Church and the other Christian Churches, this study intends to be a
modest contribution in searching for image of the Church relevant to people of different
beliefs in the multicultural, multiracial and multi-religious context.
To the local Church in Myanmar, this study is an attempt to inspire further this
commitment together with other Christian Churches and other faiths. Our contribution is
to picture the Church imaginatively whose image is strongly connected to the local socio-
cultural and religious symbol. By doing that in a radical yet contextual way, this study
would improve, to some extent, doing the mission of the local Church.
To the researcher, through this study he will be enhanced and enable to be a living
promoter of “missio inter gentes” in collaboration with Christians of different theological
persuasions and people of different faiths. Being a student of theology, this study
significantly equips the researcher with various theological skills, biblical knowledge,
8
Felix Wilfred, “The FABC Orientations, Challenges and Impact” in For All the Peoples of Asia
1, Gaudencio Rosales and C.G. Arevalo, eds. (Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 1992), xxiv.

15. 5
religious attitudes, and academic qualifications particularly in the field of the mission of
the Church. It also prepares him for his near future mission.
D. Scope and Limitation of the Study
The over-all of this research is about exploring the images of the Church and
proposing an appropriate image of the Church. Explicitly, this study plans to search for
some predominant biblical, magisterial and theological images of the Church, and selects
the common significant icons for the Church in Myanmar. It, then, aims to adopt the
Bodhi tree as image for a new way of being local Church in Myanmar.
This study does not attempt to provide all the existing images of the Church. But
it tries to discover some predominant images of the Church, propose the Bodhi tree as the
image for the local Church together with models of the Church and of mission.
E. Review of Literature and Related Studies
In writing this thesis, the researcher consulted the following resources.
Festschrift Committee, ed., Our Theological Journey: Writings in Honor of Dr. Anna
May Say Pa. Yangon: Myanmar Institute of Theology, 2006.
The seventeen essays in this book by Protestant theologians cover the
contemporary situation of the Christian churches. Their concerns regarding the Christian
mission, relationship with other religions like Buddhism and nat worship are presented.
The issue of internal Church problems and the external ones are highlighted. The concern
of some essays are, “Nat Worship: A Theological Locus in Myanmar”, “A Brief Survey
of Mission in Myanmar from a Missiological Perspective” and the like. Ecumenically and

16. 6
interreligiously, this book gives some lights on Christian and non-Christian relation. This
book was consulted in Chapters II, III and IV of this research.
Evers, Georg. The Churches in Asia. Delhi: ISPCK, 2005.
Evers’ study includes the genesis and growth of the Burmese Church. This book
presents the historical account of the Catholic and Protestant travails in pursuing their
mission on Burmese soil under the successive rulers and amidst the majority Buddhists. It
unravels how much or how little the “little flock” has rooted itself in the context and life
of the people. Ever diagnoses the specific issues, such as the problem of Church-State
relations, ecumenical problems, Buddhist-Christian dialogue, the Christians’ struggles for
indigenous and Christian identity. To highlight the crucial challenges that lie ahead and to
identify pastoral and missiological courses of action in the Myanmar context, this book
was consulted in Chapters II and IV.
Thoppil, James. Towards an Asian Ecclesiology: The Understanding of the Church in
the Documents of the FABC (1970-2000). Shillong: Oriens Publications, 2005.
The author summarizes the emerging contextual ecclesiology of the FABC. While
exploring the understanding of the Church in the FABC statements, this book strikes a
balanced note between the ecclesiologies developed by theologians and the ecclesiology
of Vatican II. Then, it also interprets the mission of the Church in Asia followed by the
emerging Asian ecclesiological trends. Finally, a new way of being Church in Asia as
well as a new mode of carrying out its mission in Asia is presented. This book was
consulted in the development of the Chapters III and IV of our research.

17. 7
Ngun Ling, Samuel. Communicating Christ in Myanmar: Issues, Interactions and
Perspectives. Yangon: ATEM, 2005.
This book deals with contextualization. Its whole concern is to give a guiding
traffic light for the emerging Christian-Buddhist dialogue, representing a unique break
with the past Christian missionaries’ ways of communicating Christ. It discusses both the
country’s religious, cultural, social, economic, political scenarios and their impact on
Christian-Buddhist relationship. Here different faces of Christ, some images of the
church and diverse mission models to be found in Myanmar are included. Therefore, this
book was used in the discussion of Chapters II, III and IV of this thesis.
Driver, John. Images of the Church in Mission. Ontario: Herald Press, 1997.
Driver, at first, presents the images of the Church in Christendom with the people
in mission vis-à-vis the Church and mission. Next, he outlines the biblical images of the
Church in mission like pilgrimage images, new-order images, peoplehood images and
images of transformation. Images of the Church are explored from the biblical exegetical
point of view in relation to the mission of the early Christians. Finally, he talks about the
Church in mission of God as a community of transformation with a new image as a sign
of universal salvation. In fact, Driver studies twelve images for understanding of a
Church. In this thesis especially Chapters III and IV, this book was consulted to
investigate the changing images of the Church in mission.
Wostyn, Lode. Doing Ecclesiology: Church and Mission Today. Quezon City:
Claretian Publications, 1990.

18. 8
Wostyn makes use of a See-Judge-Act approach in doing ecclesiology: Church
and mission today. In the See part, the author presents a thorough analysis of the Church
from different points of views and secular sciences. In the Discern part, he critically
draws up a framework in which the historical Jesus and the growth of the Church
including Vatican I and II’s models of the Church. In the final Act part, he emphasizes
pastoral and missionary praxis. This study consulted this book in mapping out the biblical
and theological developments of the Church metaphors, the present images of the Church
in support of the proposed model of the Church in Chapter III.
Dulles, Avery. Models of the Church. 2nd ed. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 1988.
Dulles outlines some of the historical and theological "images" of Church that had
developed in the past two thousand years of its history. In developing some evaluation of
prominent "models" in ecclesiology, he identifies six models of Church (as institution,
mystical communion, sacrament, herald, servant, and community of disciples) and
critiques each. The models are evaluated on their basis in Scripture, their link to Catholic
traditional teaching and their resonance with the modern world. The biblical perspective
to missions is added to each model. Dulles’ critical assessment of the Church in all its
aspects was of great help in writing Chapters III and VI of this research.
Minear, S. Paul. Images of the Church in the New Testament. Philadelphia:
Westminster, 1960.
Minear's classic work identifies and explicates the ninety-six images for the
Church found in the NT, attempting to uncover the true nature of the Church through the
extensive gallery of images. The author considers images as being able to communicate

19. 9
more than language alone. The minor images are investigated through to the people of
God and the body of Christ. The final part assesses the interrelation of the images
analyzed and the strategic inferences to be drawn from their interweaving. Some of these
images helped us explore the Church images in Chapter III of this thesis.
F. Conceptual Framework
The schematic presentation of the conceptual framework on page 10 shows the
main dimensions of the research to be discussed. “Tree” signifies the common religious
symbol in the Myanmar context. It is a fig tree. In different religions, it has various
names- “Bodhi,” “Bo,” “Banyan,” “Sacred Fig,” and many. For the Hindu, it symbolizes
“immortality.” For the Buddhist, it stands for “wisdom.” For the Christian, it is the cross
of “salvation” in Christ. For nat worshipper, it represents “the household” of spirits.
The image of the Church is “the Bodhi tree” in Myanmar. Tree is a symbol for the
growth and fruitfulness of Christianity. The roots of the tree are essential for its existence
and survival but it grows up and bears fruits by being interconnected with outside the
world. “The Bodhi and the Cross dialogue” refers to the interrelations of Christianity to
other faiths. In this sense, mission is dialogue. The missionary is like “a treasure hunter,”
crossing the boundaries in search of “the seeds of the Word” in other cultures. “A
spirituality of dialogue” is compatible with missio inter gentes method.
Image of the missionary Church as the Bo tree is reignocentric. In the Burmese
context, the Bodhi tree is the symbol of “one big network of relationships.” Any
theological trend under the Bodhi tree suggests to be eco-theological- eco-christology,

20. 10
eco-ecclesiology, eco-eschatology, eco-soteriology, eco-anthropology, eco-culture, and
eco-missiology, to mention a few.
Things are seen clearer trough images. Image contains idea. Image dictates
praxis. The image of the missionary Church will not only eliminate the foreign mask of
the Christianity but also prepare the Missio Dei at home in Myanmar.
Schematic Presentation of Conceptual Framework
G. Definition of Terms
Bodhi: “The Bodhi tree” or “the Bo tree” (ficus religiosa) under which Gautama
Buddha got “the Enlightenment” is sometimes identified as “Banyan” or “Banian” (ficus
benghalensis). Its short form ‘Bo’ means 'supreme knowledge' or 'awakening' in the old

21. 11
Indian languages.9 The tree is sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism. It has various names.10
It is called Bodhi Nyaung Bin or Nyaung Bin in Burmese. It is the most sacred tree for the
Theravada Buddhists, nat worshippers and many sects of animists in Myanmar.11
Church comes from the Greek kyriake, ‘belonging to the Lord’. The Hebrew
word qahal (assembly, gathering) is sometimes translated ecclesia and synagogue in
Greek, ecclesia in Latin,12 and Church in English. The Bible offers no a single definition
of the Church or provides no doctrinal basis for understanding it.13 In the NT, ekklesia
signifies a gathering group of believers and this translated as “Church.” The term
‘Church’ (ekklesia) appears about more than one hundred times in the NT.
Image is a mental picture in which something is like or looks like and a word or
phrase that describes something imaginatively.14 Image perceives a reality. It may serve
as tools of rhetoric. It advances our self-understanding. Each image manifests its validity
9
Sal J. Foderaro, ed. Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia (New York: Lexicon Publications, 1993),
s.v. “Banyan” by Hugh M. Raup, 72.
10
Keith Crim, ed. The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions (New York: HarperSanFrancisco,
1989), s.v. “Bodhi” by P. L. Basu, 110-111. Various scholars present the bodhi tree, ficus religiosa, as the
banyan tree, ficus benghalensis, under which the Buddha/s got enlightenment. Therefore, in this research
these various names will be used synonymously.
11
John Zar Ring Thang (a.k.a. Maung John), “Church as a Banyan Tree in the Context of Burma”
A paper submitted during the seminar of Laity: Theology and Praxis on March 16, 2007 at St. Vincent
School of Theology, Quezon City, Philippines. This paper is the very original work of the researcher.
12
Edward Schillebeeckx, Church: The Human Story of God, trans. John Bowden (London: SCM,
1990), 146; O’Donnell, Ecclesia, 92.
13
John Driver, Images of the Church in Mission (Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1997), 9.
14
Sally Wehmeier et al, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 6th ed. (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2000), 646.

22. 12
and exerts its power only within communal imagination. The image is the meaning.15
Images can inflame the imagination and provide us identities.16
Mission etymologically (Latin missio) means “a sending forth with a special
message to bring or with a special task to perform.”17 The Pre-Vatican II notions of the
purposes of mission are threefold: first, the conversion of pagans, and the extension of the
Church; secondly, the transplantation of the church; and thirdly, mission is the growth of
the Mystical Body of Christ; the internal dynamism of mission is the Spirit.18 Vatican II’s
aim of mission is the evangelization of the non-Christians and plantatio ecclesiae
according to God’s will (GS 7). For the FABC, it is the triple dialogue.
Myanmar only refers to “the Burmese ethnic group” and Burma refers to “all the
Burmese ethnic groups.”19 On June 18, 1989 the present junta (SPDC) promoted the
name “Myanmar” instead of “Burma” as a conventional name for their state. The change
was recognized by, the ASEAN, the UN, and by countries such as France and Japan, but
not by the US and the UK. The EU uses Myanmar/Burma. For Burmese minorities,
Myanmar is an illegitimate name created by an illegitimate military government.
However, the two words mean the same thing and one is derived from the other. Due to a
15
Paul S. Minear, Images of the Church in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960),
17, 22-24.
16
Donald E. Messer, Contemporary Images of Christian Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon Press,
1989), 25.
17
Edger G. Javier, “Theology of Mission” (Lecture, Institute for Consecrated Life in Asia, Quezon
City, Semester 2, SY 2006-2007): 1.
18
Ibid, 7.
19
Gustaaf Houtman, Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics: Aung San Suu Kyi and the
National League for Democracy (Tokyo: ILCAA, 1999), 377.

23. 13
number of other reasons, the researcher used “Burma” and “Myanmar” interchangeably
and inclusively in this research while not excluding either the former or the latter.
H. Methodology
This study makes use of the historical method of research which goes through
books, Church documents, handbooks, journals, periodicals, lectures and unpublished
materials from the libraries of Institute for Consecrated Life in Asia (ICLA) and St.
Vincent School of Theology (SVST) and Maryhill School of Theology (MST).
I. Organization of the Study
The structure of this thesis is based on an allegory of the Bodhi Tree: its seed from
the Christ is the praxis of the Christ, the tree itself is the reality of the Church and the
process of the seed becoming the tree is the mission of God. More specifically, the tree
allegory produces the division of this research into five unequal yet interrelated sections
corresponding to the seed, the roots, the trunk and the branches and the fruits.
Chapter I is like the seed which gives birth to the tree by taking roots because
after the table of content, it introduces the motivation, problem and significance of the
study, and presents its scope and limitation from the selected survey of related literature
presented with historical research method and documentary analysis method.
Chapter II, like the roots which drink from the water veins beneath the earth,
discusses briefly the Burmese context in terms of the present socio-cultural-political-
economic realities, and the genesis and contemporary situation of the local Church.

24. 14
Chapter III, like the trunk of the tree which connects the roots and supports the
branches, sketches the images of the Church from the Bible, Church teaching, Asian
Episcopal texts, and it also highlights various theological reflections of the Church with
different images and models.
Chapter IV, like the branches contends with the contextual inspirational and
insightful interpretations of the various texts since it proposes a paradigm for contextual
models of the Church by using the popular image relevant to the people of different
religious persuasions.
Chapter V, among the evergreen heart-shaped leaves, bear fruits by which the tree
is known, in the sense it recaps the research and recommends for further study and
implementations followed by the selected bibliography of the research and the
bibliographical sketch of the researcher.
This thesis presented the background of the study, statement of the problem,
significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, review of literature and
related studies, conceptual framework, definition of terms, methodology, and
organization of the thesis. The next chapter discussed images of the Church in the
Burmese context.

25. CHAPTER II
IMAGES OF THE CHURCH IN THE BURMESE CONTEXT
Introduction
Myanmar is a multi-religious country. It is home to primal religious beliefs and
major world religions such as nat worship, animism, Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism,
Islam and Christianity. Chinese temples are built in major cities. A Jewish synagogue and
a Silk temple are found in Yangon.20 However, Christianity is still so foreign.21
“Yes to Christ and no to the Church” mindset exists. So, our challenging problem
is to identify images of the Church and to present a fitting image which is relevant for the
mission. This chapter explores images of the Church in our context of ethnic diversity,
cultural multiplicity, religious plurality and socioeconomic-political upheavals.
A. Mapping the Genesis of the Catholic Church in Myanmar
1. The Spread of Catholicism among the Ethnic Minorities
The hidden presence of Christianity was found as early as 1278 in Pagan, an
ancient Burmese kingdom.22 Catholic missionaries- Portuguese, French and Italian- first
20
Wilhelm Klein et al, Insight Guides, Burma/Myanmar (Singapore: APA Publications, 2003),
141,273.
21
Ngun Ling, “In the Midst of Golden Stupas,”113-115.
22
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, The Official Catholic Directory of Myanmar
2006 (Yangon: CBCM, 2006) 7. (When followed by the year 2005, 2006, 2007…it refers to the year of
publications. For example, CBCM 2006).

26. 16
entered into Burma long before the Protestants, in 1554,23 but organized missionary
activity began only in 1722 through the Banabite missionaries. Missionaries could not
convert the lowland Buddhists and they shifted their mission to the hilly indigenous
people.24 Soon after, Catholicism took its strong root among the ethnic minorities.
Geographically, the location of the ethnic Christians comprises rugged hills, steep
gorges and high mountains, which have made them isolated socio-culturally,
economically and even politically from the rest of the lowland. Demographically, the
country consists of about one hundred and thirty five national races with eight major
national ethnic groups. The religious affiliation of the fifty two million people in 2002 is
Buddhist 89.3%, Christian 5.6%, Muslim 3.8%, Hindu 0.5%, and animist 0.2%.25
Multiethnic reality is one significant identity. The country encounters with “the
most perplexing ethnic problems.”26 Yet, the Church survived for years. During the
nineteenth century three Anglo-Burmese wars were waged (1824-26, 1852-54, and 1885-
86).27 Christian mission got special privileges during the British regime. During the
Pacific War (1942-1945), the Catholics lost their personnel and properties. The British
23
Samuel Hugh Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia, Vol. II: 1500-1900 (Maryknoll, New
York: Orbis Books, 2005), 330-331.
24
Georg Evers, The Churches in Asia (Delhi: ISPCK, 2005), 404-405.
25
Union of Myanmar, Myanmar: Facts and Figures 2002 (Yangon: Ministry of Information,
2002), 4-5, quoted in Ngun Ling, Communicating Christ in Myanmar, 11; Thomas C. Fox, Pentecost in
Asia: A New Way of Being Church (Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 2003), 217, writes that in 2003,
Buddhists are 89.1%, Christians 4.9%, Muslims 3.8%, and others 2.2% out of 44.5 million people.
26
Ngun Ling, Communicating Christ in Myanmar, 53-54, 59.
27
Scott W. Sunquist et al, eds., A Dictionary of Asian Christianity (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Eerdmans, 2001), s.v. “Myanmar-Christian Development Work” by Marip Ja Naw, 575.

27. 17
reentered and resumed British colonial rule in August 1945 and Burma got independence
from the British rule in 1948.28 The Church still got some privileges until U Nu, the
Prime Minister, attempted to make Buddhism the state religion in 1961.29
Christianity in Myanmar was and still is viewed, by the postcolonial regime,
merely as a religion of ethnic minority groups that embody Western political and
religious-cultural ideals. Christianity is a threat spiritually and politically to the regime
because being a Christian is identified with being a Western.30 Foreignness of
Christianity is most problematic in the mission.
2. The Church amidst Diverse Cultures after the Missionary Era
“The Burman people” were formed into a nation by the union of Mongoloid
tribes.31 Burmese civilization with its architecture and other art forms is largely an
outgrowth of Indian influences. But the Burmese shunned such Indian institutions as the
caste system. The numerous temples have led Burma to become widely known as “the
Land of Golden Pagodas.”32 Historically, Burmese culture was mainly composed of
native, (Chinese) Mongolian and Indian elements.
28
Evers, The Churches in Asia, 105.
29
San No Thuan, “Overcoming Oppression of Ethnic Minority Christians,” CTC Bulletin 20, no. 2
(December 2004): 115.
30
Ngun Ling, “In the Midst of Golden Stupas,”113-115.
31
Arthur P. Phayre, History of Burma including Burma Proper, Pegu, Taungu, Tenasserim, and
Arakan (London: Trübner & Company, 1883; Reprint Bangkok: Orchid Press, 1998), 1-2. This book, the
first formal history of Burma by a Westerner, records that Mongoloid tribes formed “Burma” but the
earliest monarchs were Indians.
32
Norma H. Dickey, ed., Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia 5 (New York: Funk and
Wagnalls, 1983), s.v. “Burma,” by J.M.S, 50-51.

28. 18
The Church grew up rapidly among the animistic minority tribes under the British
colony (1886-1848). However, the government closed or confiscated all Catholic schools,
hospitals and social institutions in 1965.33 All the foreign missionaries were expelled
from the country in 1966,34 leaving only seventy seven native Catholic priests to care for
sixteen thousand Catholics. The country then became a closed society for years.
The Church was cut off by this long isolation from important events in the
universal church, such as the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the FABC (until
1982).35 Despite of it, the local Church is “gradually gaining momentum in its work of
evangelization and its activities are more on the pastoral and social basis without getting
involved much in secular education systems.”36
Today, the Church just feels at home in the hierarchical culture of Burma. Thus,
David Morland observes that the Catholic Church in Burma is very hierarchical and
clerical. The renewal and change both of structure and attitudes wrought by Vatican II
have only partially touched the local Church. Bishops and priests are too weak and
vulnerable as individuals for effective witness.37
33
Evers, The Churches in Asia, 411.
34
Louise Pirouet, Christianity Worldwide AD 1800 Onwards 4 (Quezon City: New Day
Publishers, 1990), 84.
35
Evers, Churches in Asia, 410.
36
CBCM 2004: 15; CBCM 2006: 15; CBCM 2007:16.
37
David Morland, “Suu Kyi’s Call to Catholics,” The Tablets 3 (October 1998): 1276-1278.

29. 19
3. Churches among Pagodas, Temples, Mosques and Spirit Houses
Myanmar is home to cosmic and metacosmic religions. But Christianity was and
still is an alien religion to Myanmar people, Pau Khan En writes, due to three significant
factors: (a) identification of Christian mission with colonialism by Burmese people; (b)
negative attitude of missionaries towards the religion and culture of the people; and (c)
conversion en masse of tribal groups to Christianity.38 Besides these, there are more
significant factors for the appearance of the foreign images of the local Church.
Christianity is also considered a foreign religion because of (1) the alien baptismal
names and the Western religious culture of the faithful; (2) baroque style of buildings like
religious convents and seminaries; (3) foreign languages in liturgy, and the ghetto
mentality and the foreign aid of the Church; and (4) insufficient inculturation.
Due to fifty years of ethnic conflict which has caused protracted political, social
and humanitarian crises, the Church is in danger of “burmanization,” in which minority
cultures, histories, religions, and political aspirations have to be eliminated for a
“national” identity.39 Burmanization is nationalization which the tribal Christians are
afraid of. The problem of Burma is not essentially “nationalism” but “tribalism.”
The military’s slogan of “one nation (Myanmar), one language (Burmese) and one
religion (Buddhism)” is against the Christian axioms of “one Lord (Christ), one baptism
(Sacrament), one faith (Christianity),” “no salvation outside the Church,” and “I can do
38
Simon Pau Khan En, “The Quest for Authentic Myanmar Contextual Theology,” RAYS MIT
Journey of Theology 2 (2001): 40.
39
“ “They Came and Destroyed Our Village Again" The Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in
Karen State,” Human Rights Watch 17, no. 4(C) (June 2005): 16-17.

30. 20
everything in Christ’s name.” Axioms of both parties are signs of obstacles for dialogue,
reconciliation and healing, “critical collaboration” and peaceful co-existence.
The statement of the 1st National Pastoral Assembly shows the urgent needs of the
local Church for fruitful evangelization to renew the missionary spirit, strong
commitment, participation, shared-responsibility, new strategy to sow the seeds of faith,
effective efforts at inculturation, dialogue and many more.40 It calls for “self-renewal.”
B. Analyzing the Foreign Faces of the Church
1. The Cultural Faces of the Jesus-Community
In Burma, religious identity is always identified with national identity. Buddhism
is strongly linked with national identity for Bama, Shan, and Rakhine tribes. Christianity
is the national identify of the majority ethnic tribes. Ngun Ling says that the main
problem of Christianity for the Burman Buddhists is not necessarily the Christ of
Christianity but the Western image of Christianity. Christianity brought with it to
Myanmar the alien and different images of culture, civilization, and socio-political
structures.41 For Ngun Ling, the challenge is basically christological.
Colonization made Christianity a culturally alien and socio-politically undesirable
element for the Burmese Buddhist nationalists.42 Indeed, the junta wants to homogenize
40
CBCM, 50th Jubilee of the Establishment of the Local Church & 1st National Pastoral
Assembly: Report of Study Days for Bishops, Priests, Religious & Laity. Yangon, June 1-12, 2005, s.v.
“History of the Catholic Church in Myanmar” by Augustine Ko, 5. Henceforth, reference shall be “1st
Pastoral Assembly”.
41
Ngun Ling Communicating Christ in Myanmar, 33.
42
G.E. Harvey, British Rule in Burma, 1824-1942 (London: Faber & Faber, 1946), 25-26, quoted
in Ngun Ling, Communicating Christ in Myanmar, 14.

31. 21
other cultures while using Buddhism as the foundation of and the cement of the society
for their political interests.
While Buddhists associate the culture of Christians with foreign way of life the
Christians themselves feel that Buddhist culture is anti-Christian. Christians are
considered as deserters and traitors of the Burmese culture, local religion and ideology.
Cacayan also notices that a number of Church project interventions in Burma show little
sensitivity to the cultures of the people.43 Hierarchy just fits for the Burmese culture.
2. The Political Portrait of the Christian Minority
The Burmese kings had tolerated the religions of minorities but the post-colonial
regime did not. While Christians are found in significant numbers among some of the hill
tribe groups in rebellion against the central government, Christians in the main centers
enjoy considerable freedom, and valued if limited contracts with outside world.44
The Church carries its foreign images as colonizer and conqueror. Philippe de
Britto, a Portuguese mercenary conquered Syriam (Thanhlyn) and ruled supreme.45
During his thirteen year reign, natives were converted, and worse Buddhist monuments
and relics were destroyed. In 1613, de Britto was killed.46 Since then, in the mind of the
rulers the Church was associated with colonization.
43
Bert Cacayan, “Burma: Rich Country, Poor People- Impressions and Recommendations,” East
Asian Pastoral Review 38, no. 4 (2001): 314.
44
Louise Pirouet, Christianity, Ibid.
45
CBCM 2006: 7; see also Bigandet, An Outline of the History of the Catholic Burmese Mission,
6-7.
46
Klein et al, Insight Guides, Burma/Myanmar, 41.

32. 22
The present regime with anti-colonial sentiments attempts to Buddhistize all
citizens. Churches, crosses, buildings and cemeteries are confiscated and destroyed and
sometimes replaced by the Buddhist pagodas. There is no freedom of press. Military
power remains unchallenged. Georg Evers says that Burmese Catholics adopt the policy:
“To suffer in silence for the best of the Church”47 under “the culture of fear.”48
Buddhism permeates Burmese society and culture. Social life is regulated by a
Buddhist (lunar) calendar of activities, and art, architecture, and most literature have been
inspired by Buddhism. The nationalists looked on the Christians as Western in outlook
and pro-British in political sympathy. The junta becomes suspicious of the Christians to
be conducting rebellious gatherings against them.
Ngun Ling decries that the nationalistic Buddhists cannot overlook the
imperialistic image of missionary Christianity and they think of Christianity as an
imported Western religion being associated with the colonial schemes and movements of
the past.49 Historically, Christians suffer due to the missionaries’ mistakes and their
slowness to adopt the local culture, and their failure to dialogue with the country.
The Roman Catholic hierarchy had not opposed the moves to make Buddhism
Burma’s national religion in 1961 unlike the leaders of Protestant Churches and of the
47
Evers, The Churches in Asia, 412.
48
Cacayan, “Burma: Rich Country, Poor People,” 311.
49
Ngun Ling, Communicating Christ in Myanmar, 14.

33. 23
Burma Christian Council.50 The hierarchy did not also involve in the 1988 student-led
revolution51 and the September 2007 uprising.52 The noninvolvement of the hierarchy
does not seem to lessen the foreign image of the Church life in Myanmar.
If silence is the best policy for the Church in Myanmar because of fear, the
Church leaders of today are challenged to be voice for the voiceless when it comes to the
issues of social justice, protection of human dignity, human rights promotion, democratic
equality, environmental care and many. Some ethnic Christians claim to be freedom
fighters who are branded by the regime as rebellious groups.
3. Animist and Buddhist Images of the Church
The Burmese Christians have to see “the image of the Church in the light of the
other religions”53 especially with the eye-glasses of Bama Buddhists and nat worshipper.
Nat worship and Buddhism serve as the very basic of folk culture and civilizations of
majority Buddhists. For minority especially the Christians primal belief serves as the
spiritual and cultural ground from which the basic ideas of tribal life principles,
worldviews, concepts and customs have been developed.54
50
John C. England et al, eds., Asian Christian Theologies: A Research Guide to Authors,
Movements, Sources 2 (Delhi: ISPCK, 2003), s.v. “Contextual Theology in Burma/Myanmar” by John C.
England et al, 50.
51
Morland, “Suu Kyi’s call to Catholics,”1276.
52
CBCM, “Statement Regarding the Stand of the Catholic Church in the Face of the Present
Situation that the Country is Facing,” CBCM Statement (26 September 2007): no. 3.
53
James H. Kroeger and Peter C. Phan, The Future of the Asian Churches: The Asian Synod &
Ecclesia in Asia (Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 2002), 17. [Original Italics].
54
Ngun Ling, Communicating Christ in Myanmar, 60.

34. 24
The Bama Buddhists and Burman nat worshippers perceive the Church irrelevant
and very often have the anti-Christian sentiments because Christianity does not tolerate
them. Buddhism exists side by side nat worship but indifferent to other faiths.
Christianity is considered as a good neighbor but notably as an antagonistic
outsider. Christian Churches have done many remarkable developmental activities,
charitable works and wonderful services for the country. However, the Church will most
probably be kept distant from the Buddhists, the animists and reality of the country due to
its weakness to implement triple dialogue with the culture (inculturation), with the poor
(liberation), and religions (interreligious dialogue).
There is a set of complex images of the local Church. There are some models of
the Church. We will tackle three of the most popular images of the Roman Catholic
Church in Myanmar.
The first model presents the Church as “a big Ship”55 in which the pope is the
captain who is helped by various seamen for the safety of the people. Amidst the heavy
storms, weaves, great danger and various hardships the pontiff is leading the faithful on
ship to the set destiny. It is “a pilgrimage to heaven”. The outsiders are the enemies of the
church. Satan together with his followers is battling the faithful. “Mama Mary” embraces
and comforts the injured pope. Finally, the church overcomes the outside enemies.
55
This image of the Church as a big ship (oabFm}uD;) is popularized by Charles Maung Bo,
SDB, Archdiocese of Yangon. Being a Salesian in Burma, Bo used to mention this theme frequently on the
feast days of St. Don Bosco and Mary Help of Christians. For instance, in his many speeches and homilies
on Feast of Don Bosco, Jan 31 and Feast of Our Lady of Mary Help of Christian, May 24 in Lashio
Diocese, Pathein Diocese, Mandalay Archdiocese and Yangon Archdiocese particularly recent decade.

35. 25
Another concept of the Church in Burma is presented as “a train.”56 Train for the
Burma is one of the main means of transportation. This undeveloped country has to trust
such transportation for many purposes- travel, economics, pilgrimage and many more.
Most people, particularly the middle class, would take train to go to Yangon from
Mandalay and other cities. Travel by train is often more economical and comfortable than
travel by automobile. Thus, for some Catholics, the Church is like the train.
The third popular image of the Church is “a big bus” which carries the passengers
to the target. It facilitates the need of the people. It transports the goods from one town to
another place. The bus can reach to the places where the train cannot. For the hilly people
this model of the Church is more significant than the locomotive model of the Church
and that of the ship.
Still there are some more contemporary images of the Burmese Church. The
following images of the Church are excerpts from some Burmese Catholic academics in
the Philippines. Theologically, the Church is like “a little flock, people of God, body of
Christ, and the Temple.” Geometrically, the Church is like “a triangle, and sometimes a
square.” Humanly speaking, the Church is like “an old man, a caring mother, a good
teacher, an understanding leader and parents.” It is “a field, a tree, a garden, and a public
park.” Sociologically, the Church is “a home, a family,” a boarding house, a bridge, a
ladder, and the rock.”57 Thus, people have variety of self images as Church.
56
There have been some hymns, poems, religious articles in which the Church is symbolized as a
train (7xm;).
57
Personal interviews and conversations with Martha Aye Tin, Paul Ta San, Benedict Than Lwin,
Stella War War Khaine, Lucas Suan Za Lian, Dominic Jo Du and others, Quezon City: Institute for
Consecrated Life in Asia; Radio Varitas Asia; S.F.X. Convent, August- December 2007.

36. 26
The Church is, an interviewee says, like “a herald” which speaks of the truth.
Another interviewee says: “the Church is like an old man who cannot adjust himself with
the modern development. But I want to see the Church like the boy Jesus who grows and
becomes strong, filled with wisdom in front of God and people” (Luke 2:40). One
religious Sister says: “the Church is like the military regime. Negative aspects of the
Burmese culture are also seen in the Church.58 In general, many of the interviewees’
comments on the Church have been critical of the present situation of the local Church.
C. Religious Encounters and Mission Challenges
1. Mission and Religious Pluralism
In the mind of the nationalistic Bama Buddhists, “the imperialistic image of
missionary Christianity” and “an imported Western religion” are associated with the
colonial schemes and movements of the past.59 The Bama Buddhist ecclesiology of the
church is “a one-way ecclesiology” branded with the alien images. A big number of
politics-minded Buddhists perceive Christ as a foreigner, Church as a college of
colonizers and mission as the weapon of the Western conquerors.
On the other hand, a good number of well-educated non-Christians tolerate
religious pluralism though they acknowledge that Christianity was largely introduced to
the Burmese soil thru the merchants, missionaries and militaries and Buddhism is not the
58
Ibid.
59
Nugn Ling, Communicating Christ in Myanmar, 14.

37. 27
native religion either. They accept Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and native
religions as equally good as well as defective.60
Pau Khan En observes:
The gospel and Nat worship have not yet encountered each other
because Nat Worship was regarded as anti-Christian by the
Christians, and to uproot this primal religion therefore had become
the sine qua non of planting the churches in the country. As Nat
worship is the substance of the culture, and the culture is the form
and expression of Nat Worship among the Primal Society, Nat
Worship and the culture are two inseparable factors in Myanmar.61
Nat worship and Buddhism serve as the very basic of folk culture and
civilizations of majority Buddhists. For minority especially the Christians primal belief
serves as the spiritual and cultural ground from which the basic ideas of tribal life
principles, worldviews, concepts and customs have been developed.62 The Bama
Buddhists and Burman nat worshippers often have anti-Christian sentiments because
Christianity does not tolerate Buddhism and animism.
The predominantly Western-oriented Church life especially in theology, liturgy,
ecclesiology and missiology came not only through missionaries’ teachings but also
60
Al-Haj U Aye Lwin, “Interfaith Dialogue: An Islamic Perspective,” Engagement: Judson
Research Center Bulletin 2 (August 2004): 23-33; Thet Lwin, “Interfaith Dialogue: A Hindu Perspective,”
Engagement: Judson Research Center Bulletin 2 (August 2004): 34-37; Daw Khin Nweh Han Kyi,
“Interfaith Dialogue: A Buddhist Perspective,” Engagement: Judson Research Center Bulletin 2 (August
2004): 38-51.
61
Pau Khan En, “Nat Worship: A Theological Locus in Myanmar,” in Our Theological Journey,
30.
62
Ngun Ling, Communicating Christ in Myanmar, 60.

38. 28
through their colonial rulers, administrators, and civil educators. So the Church took its
shape in the image of those who established it and administered its people.63
For many native theologians and Christians, “a Burmese theology which is
incarnational and indigenous, confessing, transformative and people-centered”64 appears
the greatest challenge. Many Christian leaders now become aware of the Western-
oriented theological trends unfit for the Burmese context to address religious pluralism,
cultural diversity, oppression, civil wars, injustice, and poverty.
Religious pluralism, and also interreligious dialogue, is a re-awakening challenge
for the mission of the local Church. The Symposium on Interfaith Dialogue held in
Yangon in 2004 shows that nat worshippers, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians
have a positive view on other religions.65 However, among the Catholics as it is said
“there is no shared mission in the Church.” Interreligious contacts and ecumenical
collaboration are at infancy stage in Myanmar.66 “Shared mission” among the Catholics
is a challenge.
Cacayan lists some challenging “realities facing the Catholic Church in Burma.”
Catholic minority Church is identified with a foreign and rebellious group. Catholics are
discriminated in various fields. Ecumenically, Catholic-Protestant relationship is often in
63
Ngun Ling, Communicating Christ in Myanmar, 15; Ngun Ling, “Communicating Christ Cross-
Culturally: A Dialogue Approach to Mission and Theology in 21st Century Myanmar” in Our Theological
Journey, 36.
64
England et al, “Contextual Theology in Burma/Myanmar,” 53.
65
Aye Lwin, “Interfaith Dialogue: An Islamic Perspective,” 23-33; Thet Lwin, “Interfaith
Dialogue: A Hindu Perspective,” 34-37; Khin Nweh Han Kyi, “Interfaith Dialogue: A Buddhist
Perspective,” 38-51.
66
Evers, The Churches in Asia, 413-414.

39. 29
a “fighting mood.” The patriarchal and hierarchical Church structures exclude laity,
women and the religious in decision making.67
2. Specific Mission Challenges of the Church
Ngun Ling highlights, at least, five major challenges of the present Myanmar
context such as: (1) challenge of ethnicity, religion and contextual theology; (2) challenge
of religious co-existence: revitalizing the Christian presence; (3) challenge of violence,
poverty and peacemaking; (4) challenge of globalization and doing theology; and (5)
challenge of theological education.68 Mission challenge of the Christian Churches
according to Ngun Ling is mainly contextual theological problem especially the
Buddhist-Christian dialogue.
But for Pau Khan En, another Baptist theologian:
The fundamental challenge of Christian mission for the churches in
Myanmar today is how to inculturate the Christian gospel to
remove this alienation of Christianity in the country. In other
words, the two centuries with little success, and the challenging
mission of the Christians in Myanmar today is to Burmanise
Christianity so that the gospel may be seen as authentic and
relevant for the people.69 God is no longer depicted in one
particular religion alone. Christ is discovered in all religions. The
current theological challenge, then, is not to Christianize the
people, but rather to Myanmarize the gospel.70
67
Cacayan, “Burma: Rich Country, Poor People,” 312-313.
68
Ngun Ling, Communicating Christ in Myanmar, 53-129.
69
Pau Khan En, “Nat Worship,” 19.
70
Fabella Virginia and R. S. Sugirtharajah, eds., Dictionary of Third World Theologies
(Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2000), s.v. “Myanmar Theology” by Simon Pau Khan En, 151.

40. 30
Pau Khan En uses the word: “inculturate the Christian gospel” or “Burmanise
Christianity” to describe the contemporary challenging mission of the Christians. He uses
another word: “Myanmarize the gospel” to highlights the current theological challenge.
He believes that inculturation will remove the foreignness of Christianity.
Mark Tin Win, a Catholic theologian observes inculturation as one big
missiological problem in Myanmar. He remarks:
Because of what the country had gone through under the Christian
colonizers and because of inadequate inculturation, or almost no
inculturation, some misunderstandings and misconceptions grew
up. And naturally, as the result, some were under the impression
that the Christians are strangers in Myanmar. The people,
especially in the upper Burma, put the foreigners and the religion
(Christianity) together and call the Christian as Kala and their
religion Kala Barthar. Inculturation, therefore, is that movement
which aims at making Christianity permanently be felt at home in
Myanmar by making it a people's religion and a way of life which
can cancel all the misunderstandings or hostility and gain more
appreciation and acceptance.71
Tin Win is very critical of the kala (Western) images of Christianity in Myanmar.
For him, “the importance of inculturation is for the inter-religious dialogue.”72 He seems
to suggest that incluturation and dialogue will eliminate the Western faces of the Church.
1st National Pastoral Assembly of CBCM, for the first time, clearly underscores
some noteworthy internal and external challenges of the local Church. Some significant
mission challenges to be mentioned are interreligious dialogue, globalization,
71
Mark Tin Win, “Inculturation today in the Myanmar Context,” (Lecture, CRCM, Yangon, 21-31
July 2006): 3. [Italics in original].
72
Ibid., 4. [Original italics].

41. 31
incluturation, education, social justice, healthcare, option for the poor, prophetic voice,
reconciliation,73 promotion of social development, migration, and so on.
Conclusion
We have analyzed, examined and argued that different images of the Church and
various images for the Church are found, formed and emerged from the Church-State
relations, Church’s involvement in the socio-economic and political scenarios, the mutual
attitudes between the Christians and non-believers, the encounter of the Church to the
local cultures and from our experiences as Christians as well as disciples.
We explored contemporary images of the Church not just for the sake of
exploring our self-identity and nature but also for the benefit of our relation toward
outside world. In the next chapter, we will trace back the biblical, magisterial, and
theological images of the Church in relation to mission.
73
1st Pastoral Assembly s.v. “History of the Catholic Church in Myanmar” by A. Ko, 4-5; Ibid.,
s.v. “The Challenges of the Church in Myanmar” by Eikhlein, 9- 13; “Eucharistic Spirituality: A Renewed
Eucharistic People towards A New Way of Being Church in Myanmar” by J. Soe Tint, 20; and Ibid., s.v.
“First National Assembly and Jubilee of the Local Church Myanmar, 2005” by C. Bertille, 29.

42. CHAPTER III
IMAGES OF THE CHURCH IN BIBLICAL, TRADITIONAL, MAGISTERIAL
AND EPISCOPAL STATEMENTS
Introduction
Metaphors are excellent tools for pedagogy. To use the old saying, metaphors
“paint a thousand words.” Hence, we understand why metaphors are important. And in
Asia, metaphors speak well to the people. In theology, metaphors are also used.
According to McFague:
Images “feed” concepts; concepts “discipline” images. Images
without concepts are blind ; concepts without images are sterile
there is no suggestion of hierarchy among metaphors, models, and
concepts ; concepts are not higher, better, or more necessary than
images, or vice versa. The task of conceptual thought is to
generalize to criticize images, to raise questions of their meaning
and truth in explicit ways.74
In correlating images of the Church and the images of mission, Senior has
this to say:
Images of church and images of mission are closely linked and
have profound mutual influence. The foundations of this
correlation can be found in the Scriptures. Three domain images of
church in the NT are correlated with images of mission in a variety
of biblical traditions: the church as a community of disciples sent
74
Sallie McFague, Metaphorical Theology (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982), 26; George Lakoff
and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980) quoted by Messer,
Contemporary Images of Christian Ministry, 21.

43. 33
into the world: as a community of visible witness: and as a
community of healing and reconciliation.75
Mission and Church are interlinked and interdependent in essence. Their
appearances have similarities. Images of mission, as it is believed, cannot be properly
understood without a thorough examination of images of the Church. Paradigm shifts in
mission models and Church models will be briefly expounded in this chapter. In other
words, the correlation of images of Church and images mission will be explored.
A. Biblical and Traditional Images of the Church
1. The Church in OT Typology and NT Imagery
The Bible gives us the plural images of the Church. Le Guillou writes that “the
word of God helps us to understand the Church through a multiplicity of concepts and
images.”76 Indeed, images explore the realities of the Church. Such realities, in return,
explain, reflect, and portray “what the Church is” through metaphors, images, and
models. Paul S. Minear lists some ninety-six images of the Church in the NT.77 These
ninety six images of the Church have connection with images of mission.
75
Donald Senior, “Correlating Images of Church and Images of Mission in the New Testament,”
Missiology: An International Review 23, no. 1 (January 1995): 3. [Original italics]. Senior notes, “the term
used here is “image”, understood as something short of a full-blown, systematic ecclesiology or missiology.
Image evokes those fundamental lead ideas, symbols, and metaphors that capture the driving force of one’s
understanding and experience.” Ibid., 3-4.
76
Karl Rahner, ed., Encyclopedia of Theology: A Concise Sacramentum Mundi (Wellwood: Burns
and Oates, 1993), s.v. “Church: History of Ecclesiology,” by Marie-Joseph le Guillou, 210.
77
Some of Minear’s images seem to reflect the “big Church” concept: “The People of God,” “The
New Creation,” “The Body of Christ.” However, the minor images of the Church are also presented: “A
Letter from Christ,” “The Boat,” “Unleavened Bread,” “One Loaf,” “The Table of the Lord,” “Branches of
the Vine,” “Vineyard,” “The Fig Tree,” “The Olive Tree,” “God’s Planting,” as well as others. Minear,
Images of the Church in the New Testament, 28-65.

44. 34
John Driver writes that the Bible relies on images and narrative to disclose the
meaning of the Church. Biblical symbolic language of images introduces richness and
variety.78 T. H. Sanks claims that “there are many images and symbols that refer to the
community in the NT. Some images are the familiar ones, e.g., Body of Christ, People of
God, Temple of the Spirit, the New Creation, and the Community of Saints.”79
Indeed, there is no articulated ecclesiology in the Bible though it offers “various
images for the Church.”80 The most important “images” of the NT Church are: “People of
God, Body of Christ, and Temple of the Holy Spirit”81 though the earliest communities
were preoccupied with “with christology, not with ecclesiology.”82
Brown explains that “the beginnings of Christianity and the diversities in the
missionary movements brought the local Church into being.”83 Brown remarks that there
were many varied models of Church already in the first decades of the Christian era. His
investigations find no evidence of any consistent or uniform ecclesiology, but rather the
different NT Churches with distinct and different emphases.84
78
Wilbert R. Shenk, foreword to Images of the Church in Mission, by John Driver (Scottdale,
Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1997), 9.
79
T. H. Sanks, Salt, Leaven and Light: The Community Called Church (New York: Crossroad,
1992), 44.
80
Gerald O’Collins and Edward G. Farrugia, A Concise Dictionary of Theology, rev. and exp. ed.
(Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 2001), 71.
81
Richard P. McBrien, Catholicism, rev. ed. (New York: Harper-Collins, 1994), 597-602, 604.
82
Sanks, Salt, Leaven and Light, 52.
83
R. E. Brown, Biblical Exegesis and Church Doctrine (New York: Paulist Press, 1985), 129-134.
84
Brown, The Churches the Apostles left Behind, 146.

45. 35
Senior likewise asserts that “mission is at the heart of the NT but there is no
uniform notion of mission in the Bible. Mission is exercised in function of a people.”85
Senior argues that “the biblical images or models of Church, mission and dominant
theology/christology are interconnected because… these three images are not mutually
exclusive.”86 Brown and Senior’s writings suggest that mission is understood through the
Church. The Church, in return, is perceived through mission.
Christianity is primarily a way of life. The Church continues to be missionary
today.87 Biblically speaking, images of the Church and images of mission are correlated.
“We do not so much see images as see through images”88 and we see the missionary
Church through images. These images of the missionary Church are neither institutional
nor dogmatic. Rather, they are anthropological, communitarian, and movement-centered
or evangelical images.
2. Images of the Church in the Apostolic Writings
Patristic writings provide us models, images and figures of the Church. “For the
Fathers,” Guillou remarks, “the whole of Scripture spoke of Christ and the Church: they
saw it through the imagery of the Bible and the typological interpretation of the Old
85
Senior, “Correlating Images of Church and Images of Mission,” 3-5.
86
Ibid., 5-7.
87
Knox, Theology for Teacher, 184.
88
Stephen Bevans, “Seeing Mission Through Images,” Missiology: An International Review 19,
no. 1 (January 1991): 45. [ Original italics].

46. 36
Testament.”89 In Ecclesia, O’Donnell includes several of the common patristic images of
the Church.90
The images of the Church, for Ambrose, are “the moon, the sea, mystical vine,
mystical flock, boat, people of God, the reign of Christ, temple, body and spouse of
Christ.”91 In Augustine’s mind, the Church is “Mother, a virgin, nest, queen, love, new
Eve, mother hen, widow, dove, God’s house, the moon, a ship, and the ark of Noah.”92
Bernard’s image of church is “Spouse.”93 The Church, for Ephrem, is “the bride and
mother, a spouse, people, the ark, the Body, Eucharist, vineyard, temple, rock, way,
voyage, a re-creation and paradise, the house of God, a tower, eschatological kingdom.”94
The Church, for the Shepherd of Hermas, is “an elderly woman” who becomes “a
young and beautiful woman.” The Church is “a spouse, God’s house, God’s vine, God’s
people, eschatological kingdom, and a tower built on the rock.” 95 For Hilary of Poitiers,
“it is God’s tent, the ark, a ship, the calm, light, mother, Jerusalem, and God’s house.”96
For Origen, they are “bride, spouse, city of God, people, believers, and Jerusalem.”97
89
Le Guillou, “Church: History of Ecclesiology,” 206.
90
O’Donnell, Ecclesia, 5, 33, 51, 157, 194, 197, 338.
91
Ibid., 5.
92
Ibid., 33.
93
Ibid., 51.
94
Ibid., 157.
95
Ibid., 194.
96
Ibid., 197.
97
Ibid.,338.

47. 37
Images of the Church reflect the self-understanding of the Christian community.
Sinks remarks that this self-understanding was frequently influenced by world events: the
fall of Jerusalem, expulsion from the synagogues, Constantine’s conversion, and the fall
of Rome.98 Some images of the church are flexible, contextual and culture-bound.
The image of the Church in the first three centuries was determined by the
opposition between a hostile State and a docile Church.99 In this era, the Church was seen
as “the local communities, or regional Churches, or missionary Churches”100 and to some
extent “a spiritual movement with minimal hierarchical, liturgical and canonical
structures.”101
In the following centuries, however, the image was determined by the harmony
between an established church and the Christian empire.102 Henceforth, she became the
hierarchical church.103 Mission now became “internal and rural.”104 The missional image
of the Church has shifted to the “institutional model”105 of the Church.
98
Sanks, Salt, Leaven and Light, 60, 61, 63-64.
99
Küng, The Church, 6-7.
100
Joseph Komonchak, Mary Collins and Dermot A. Lane, eds., The New Dictionary of Theology
(Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1987), s.v. “Church” by Edmund Hill, 190-191.
101
Edgar G. Javier, “General Mission History” (Lecture, Institute for Consecrated Life in Asia,
Quezon City, 19 February - 4 March 2008): 21.
102
Küng, The Church, 6-7.
103
Hill, “Church”, 194.
104
Javier, “General Mission History,” 21.
105
Stephen B. Bevans and Roger P. Schroeder, Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for
Today (Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 2005), 37,130,165. This work will henceforth be abbreviated
“Bevans-Schroeder.”

48. 38
B. Images of the Church in the Magisterial Statements
1. Pre-Vatican II Models of the Church
“The metaphor of the Church,” until Vatican I era, was “a plank of salvation for a
shipwrecked humanity.”106 The Church was compared to “the boat of Peter” which
carried the faithful to the farther of heaven, provided they remained on board.107 And it is
“the eikon (image) of the Holy Trinity, the spotless virgin and bride of the spotless lamb”
and “a perfect society.”108
The Church is a prefect society in the prominent sociological image, i.e., self-
sufficient and independent; unequal, i.e., organized hierarchically, and supernatural, by
reason of its efficient and final cause.109 Being identified with the Kingdom, it is superior
to any other societies. Thus, Wostyn explains:
The three key words to characterize the pre-Vatican II ecclesiology
are legalism, clericalism, and triumphalism. The church is seen as
a perfect society, supernatural institution, entrusted to the
hierarchy, in possession of the gifts of salvation. The
understanding of mission follows this church vision. Mission is
planting of this perfect institution in territory where she was not
yet present. This task is accomplished by specialists, the
missionaries. Pagans have to enter the institution in order to obtain
salvation for their souls.110
106
Eugene Hillman, Many Paths: A Catholic Approach to Religious Pluralism (Maryknoll, New
York: Orbis Books, 1989), 43.
107
Avery Dulles, Models of the Church, 2nd ed. (Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1988), 41.
108
Wostyn, Church: Pilgrim Community of Disciples, viii, 12. See also Driver, Images of the
Church in Mission, 14.
109
Le Guillou, “Church: History of Ecclesiology,” 215.
110
Lode L. Wostyn, Doing Ecclesiology: Church and Mission Today (Quezon City: Claretian
Publications, 1990), 122.

49. 39
David Bosch states that this understanding of mission and the Church has its roots
in Cyprian’s famous dictum, extra ecclesiam nullas salus (“there is no salvation outside
the [Catholic] church”).111 In this era, mission means saving souls and expanding of the
church. Thus, the Church is imaged as “sphere of salvation on earth.”112
The Fathers of Vatican I saw the danger of a metaphorical expression- too vague
and imprecise- in the idea of the Body of Christ.113 However, the Pauline image of the
Mystical Body of Christ was popularized to soften the hierarchical imagery,
institutionalized by the Council of Trent.114
2. The Ecclesiology of Vatican II
The Vatican II’s focus was ecclesiology because it was the Council on the
aggiornamento or renewal of the Church.115 Its two pillars are Lumen Gentium and
Gaudium et Spes.116 LG treats of the inner nature of the Church. GS treats the Church in
relation to the modern world. Ad Gentes states that “the whole Church is missionary”
(AG 2). LG and GS without AG seem incomplete to inquire the images of the missionary
111
Bosch, Transforming Mission, 218.
112
Bruno Forte, The Church: Icon of the Trinity- An Introduction to Ecclesiology (Makati: St. Paul
Publications, 1990), 127.
113
Le Guillou, “Church: History of Ecclesiology,” 212-213.
114
Patrick J. Brennan, Re-imaging, 7.
115
Sanks, Salt, Leaven and Light, 122.
116
Forte, The Church: Icon of the Trinity, 24.

50. 40
Church. Thus, “the new ecclesiology worked out by Vatican II in AG opens new horizons
for missiology today. Mission is central to the Church, since Christ is central to it.”117
The Council, which reaffirms the nature and image of the Church as “missionary
Church” (AG 2), “restored the biblical imagery through which the mystery of the Church
was first revealed: body, spouse, temple, city, vineyard, house, flock; all theses words
express collective realities whose gradual realization is part of a great design.”118 Vatican
II has abundant images to explain the mystery of the missionary Church.
Lumen Gentium, chap. 2, proposed an image of the Church as the People of God.
It is a strongly community-oriented image. The notion of community is basic to any
understanding of the Church.119 One single image of greatest importance in the revelation
of the mystery is the Church as the body of Christ (LG 7).120 As with the Body of Christ
image, the People of God image is community-oriented, focusing on the interrelationship
and mutual helpfulness of the members.121 Vatican shows that the Church has a
multifaceted reality, mystery and nature.
Vatican II, in trying to come to grips with the mystery of the Church in this
century, referred to the various images drawn from pastoral life, agriculture, building
117
René Latourelle and Rino Fisichella, eds., Dictionary of Fundamental Theology (New York:
Crossroad, 1995), s.v. “Mission” by Gianfranco Coffele, 714.
118
Le Guillou, “Church: History of Ecclesiology,” 210.
119
Knox, Theology for Teachers, 171.
120
Pedro Rodriguez, “Theological Method for Ecclesiology” in The Gift of the Church: A
Textbook on Ecclesiology in Honor of Patrick Granfield, O.S.B., Peter C. Phan, ed. (Collegeville,
Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2000), 141-143.
121
Knox, Theology for Teachers, 171.

51. 41
construction, and even from family and married life…in the wirings of the biblical
authors’, listing the sheepfold, the flock, the tract of land, the vine, the building, the
temple, the bride (LG 6).122 Driver remarks that “the images which the Church uses for
its self-understanding will largely determine what the Church will actually become.”123
“The Trinitarian origin of the Church has been revealed in various names, images,
metaphors, figures.”124 The Church’s self-understanding of her nature, her master Jesus
and her role in the mission have been intertwined with each other and illumine each
other. Regardless of abundance of images, the Church is firmly portrayed as a pilgrim in
mission toward the Kingdom (LG 7, 8, 41; DV 7).
C. Images of the Church in the Asian Episcopal Texts
1. The FABC Imagery of Asian Ecclesiology
The FABC and its documents, being rooted in and drawing inspiration from the
Vatican II, attempt to live the vision of Vatican II and other Church documents
contextually. The idea of the Church as a universal sacrament of salvation, as the new
people of God, a communion, Church’s collegiality, and the like played an important role
in the development of the FABC’s theological vision.125
122
Charles Hill, Mystery of Life: A Theology of Church (Melbourne: Collins Dove, 1990), 67.
123
Driver, Images of the Church in Mission, 16.
124
Rodriguez, “Theological Method for Ecclesiology,” 141-143.
125
James Thoppil, Towards an Asian Ecclesiology: The Understanding of the Church in the
Documents of the FABC (1970-2000) (Shillong, India: Oriens Publications, 2005), 84-85.

52. 42
The Asian Churches defined the central and most urgent mission duty incumbent
upon them: “the primary focus of the task of evangelization is the building up of a truly
local Church.”126 One prominent quality of the changing faces in Asia is its moment of
reawakening, characterized by “a new consciousness” and “a renewed self-image”.127
The FABC images of the Church are Kingdom-centered or reignocentric. In Asia,
the Church shifts its focus from building up the local Church to building up the Reign.
The Reign of God is the very reason for the being of the Church. “The Church exists in
and for the Kingdom.”128 The challenge is to make the Kingdom a reality.129 The very
existence of the Church in Asia is oriented towards God’s Kingdom.130 The Church has
attempted to be the image of the coming of the Reign in Asia.
126
FABC, Evangelization in Modern-Day Asia: The First Plenary Assembly of the Federation of
Asian Bishops’ Conferences (Hong Kong: FABC Secretariat, 1974), nos. 9-10. Henceforth, “FABC-1”.
127
See Edwin E. Mercado, “Emerging Images of the Asian Church,” Philippiniana Sacra 26, no.
76 (January – April 1991): 77-94. Reprinted as “Emerging Images of the Asian Church,” Theology Digest
39, no. 2 (Summer 1992): 143-146. We will quote Mercado’s work both form Philippiniana Sacra and
Theology Digest because the writer presents the same theme somehow differently.
128
Forth Bishops’ Institute for Interreligious Affairs on the Theology of Dialogue in For All the
Peoples of Asia 1, Gaudencio Rosales and Catalino G. Arevalo, eds. (Quezon City: Claretian Publications,
1997), 125. Henceforth, reference shall be “FAPA-1.”
129
FABC V 1.7, in FAPA 1: 230.
130
Jeffery G.L. Chang, “Ordained Ministry in the Mission and Ministry of the Church in Asia in
the Light of the Documents of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, 1970-2005” ( Doctoral
dissertation, Taipei: Fu Jen Catholic University, 2007): 79.

53. 43
“The FABC’s reignocentric approach to the task of Christian mission”131 gives
reignocentric Church images. Yun-Ka Tan delves into the FABC official papers to reveal
a uniquely Asian ecclesiology.
This new way of being church is rooted in six predominant
propositions: (1) the Asian church is called to be a “communion of
communities” that is (2) shaped by, and responds to the immense
diversity and pluralism of Asia, (3) under guided by a commitment
and service to life, (4) inspired by an overarching vision of
harmony, (5) oriented a threefold dialogue with Asian cultures,
religions and the poor, and (6) seeking to build the Kingdom of
God in Asia.132
Mercado highlights the various images of the Asian Church as contained in the
FABC documents, reflecting its pastoral practices and concerns: Church as evangelizer,
disciple, sacrament, and community.133 He explains: “In the face of poverty, oppression
and pain, the Asian Church is called to evangelization, discipleship, servanthood and
community. In its quest to be an agent of true liberation it becomes a sign and instrument
of God’s salvific presence in the world.”134 The Spirit urges the Asian bishops to renew
their self-understanding and to project a new image.135
131
Jonathan Yun-Ka Tan, “A New Way of Being Church in Asia: The Federation of Asian
Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) at the Service of Life in Pluralistic Asia,” Missiology: International Review
23, no. 1 (January 2005): 87.
132
Ibid., 73. [Original italics].
133
Mercado, “Emerging Images of the Asian Church,” 77-94. Reprinted as “Emerging Images of
the Asian Church,” Theology Digest 39, no. 2 (Summer 1992): 143-146. Henceforth, references shall be as
“Mercado-Theology Digest” and “Mercado- Philippiniana Sacra.”
134
Mercado-Theology Digest, 143. [Original italics].
135
Mercado- Philippiniana Sacra, 81 and footnote 18.

54. 44
George Evers remarks that becoming truly local Churches is the challenge to
develop from so-called "Bonsai-churches," replicas of Western Church models, to truly
Asian local Churches. Asian Churches are challenged to shed their image of being
"foreign implants" and to become communities which feel at home, and which are
accepted by the other communities.136 Becoming local Churches is a mission challenge.
Today, “too many Asian Catholics see other religions not only as bearers of truth,
but as alternate pathways to salvation or spiritual insights.”137 “The (Vatican II) Council
did not directly discuss,” Dulles notices, “the presence of the Church in the non-Christian
world.”138 Therefore, it is the duty of Catholics in Myanmar to discuss the presence of the
Church in the Burmese Buddhist context.
2. The CBCM Images of the Church
The local Church in Myanmar has adopted images of the Church from the (pre-)
Vatican II, and the succeeding papal and curial documents. Most significant images can
be seen from the Burmese bishops’ meetings with John Paul II. The pontiff states:
Catholics in Burma are like the leaven and the salt of the Gospel.
The Church remains a mystery. She is described as the Body of
Christ, the family of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit. She is the
community. She is the pilgrim People of God entrusted with the
Good News of salvation. She is a servant and teacher, a mother,
136
See George Evers, “Challenges to the Churches in Asia Today,” East Asian Pastoral Review
43, no. 2 (2006): 152-172.
137
David Gibson, “The Vatican’s Asian Vexation,” Newsweek (3 December 2007): 40.
138
Avery Dulles, The Dimensions of the Church (Westminster, Maryland: Newman Press, 1967),
12.