The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

This article discusses the history and content of the concept of the “new evangelization” and its transformation within the teachings of the Catholic Church. The new evangelization has become one of the Catholic Church’s key areas of activity in recent decades; the 2013 General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops devoted a theological discussion to this topic, and a special structure of the Roman Curia was created to carry it out. The emergence of this concept was a response to the ecclesiological shift of the Second Vatican Council. Previously, the word “evangelization” was scarcely used in the Catholic tradition due to its association with Protestantism. However, in the mid-20th century, especially as a result of the Council’s work, views on the nature of the Church were decisively revised: the Church came to be understood not only as an institution and guardian of dogma, but also as the People of God called to proclaim the Good News to the whole world. The term “new evangelization”, which first appeared in 1979 in the sense of “re-evangelization”, gradually expanded in meaning to encompass all of the Church’s missionary efforts, directed not only toward the unbaptized but also toward practicing Catholics and those whose faith had grown “lukewarm”. The agents of this mission — those who carry out the new evangelization — are not professional missionaries but all the faithful members of the Church. On one hand, this transformation reflects the post-conciliar view of the Church and the role of the laity, as well as the search for ways to renew the Church’s life and the faith of its members. On the other hand, it allows for understanding mission as an ontological quality of the Church and a task for all its members. Finally, the new evangelization is one of the Church’s responses to the challenge of secularization.