Ecclesia in Africa: Using Acts 1:8 as an Investigation of Intertextuality

Abstract

Ecclesia-In-Africa is an official document of the Roman Catholic Church written and promulgated by the late Pope John Paul II to the Catholics in the view of the Great Jubilee Year of 2000. As a Church document, it is replete with references to the Bible taken mostly from the New Testament. The Book of the Acts of the Apostles is the one mostly used. Acts 1:8, in particular, stands out as the most favourite text throughout the whole document. Intertextuality brings together diverse texts and sees how they merge and dialogue. The paper investigates the import and the new significance resulting from the use of Acts 1:8 in Ecclesia-In-Africa. Intertextuality helps to illustrate the mutual enrichment each text brings to the other. Acts1:8 brings a new self-understanding and new identity to the Catholic Church in Africa. At the same time Acts 1:8 acquires a new significance when read in the context of the Church in Africa.

African Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology and Sport Facilitation Vol. 10 2008: pp. 102-112