Osoba ludzka jako „byt relacyjny” – antropologiczne fundamenty eklezjologii Soboru Watykańskiego II

In this article the Author proves existence of an intrinsic and inseparable connection between anthropology and ecclesiology. The necessity of the Church as a community of believers can be demonstrated not only by the will of God explicitly expressed in the Holy Scriptures, but also by an anthropological analyses of the very nature of man, who is a social being opened towards God and towards other human beings. In the first part of the article, referring to a long philosophical tradition dating back to pre-Christian times and ending in the modern era, the Author illustrates by many examples the social dimension of human nature deliberately ignoring the biblical data and the teaching of the Magisterium. In the second part, he shows how the Conciliar teaching on the human person based on the Revelation remains in harmony with philosophical, anthropological and scientific arguments depicting human person as a relational (social) being. In the third part of the article, the Author demonstrates the correlation of the Conciliar teaching on the Church as community with anthropological data. The necessity of the Church can be justified not only by the authority of God (Revelation), but also by reflecting on the man’s nature (anthropology). Individualistic conception of faith, to which the Second Vatican Council wanted to react by its ecclesiology of communion, not only does not correspond to the biblical teaching, but also runs counter to the rational thinking on the human person who, in the light of diff erent sciences, is a relational being.