Church militant and church triumphant: Encyclopedia - Church militant and church triumphant

Church militant and church triumphant

The Christian Church is traditionally divided into the Church Militant (Ecclesia Militans), comprising Christians who are living, and the Church Triumphant (Ecclesia Triumphans), comprising those who are in Heaven. Roman Catholic theology adds a third category: the Church Suffering (ecclesia penitens) or Church Expectant (ecclesia expectans), comprising those Christians presently in Purgatory.

Latin militans has a primary meaning "serving as a soldier, military", but it acquired a secondary meaning of "to struggle, to make an effort", which is the intended sense here, the highest priorities of the church militant being the conversion and baptism of infidels.

A fresco named Church militant and church triumphant covers the Southern wall of the Spaniards' Chapel of the Dominican Cloister connected to the Gothic church.

See also

• List of religious topics
• Ecclesia (Church)

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