Because the Church on earth is by its very nature missionary, its mandate to witness Christ is clear. The question is not only why the Church should proclaim Christ but also how the Church should proclaim Christ, for the context in which the mission is exercised is not the same everywhere. Theological reflection within the Indian context is often complex and challenging. On the one hand, India has a long tradition of deep cultural and religious plurality that seeks integration and ultimate liberation. On the other hand, however, there is the challenging social situation of poverty and oppression which cries out for immediate liberation in the here and now. The three authors under consideration in this work, namely, G.M. Soares Prabhu (1929-1995), M. Amaladoss (1936-) and K. Kunnumpuram (1931-) all believe that an adequate ecclesial response to the aforementioned situation is imperative. At the same time, they are convinced that a relevant ecclesiology within the Indian context will emerge only through the meaningful interaction between the inherited Christian faith commitment and the contemporary situation. All three are strong proponents of the process by which the faith is contextualized, beginning with the genuine concerns of the local context with the ultimate goal of building up an indigenous Church. Because these authors try to nuance the inherited faith within the deep cultural and religious plurality of the Indian context, they have each acknowledged that their works are open ended and tentative in nature. An examination of their works, however, reveals that they limit themselves to investigating some particular theological aspect within the respective works of each of the authors concerned. Although each of the authors manifests his own peculiar emphasis (Soares Prabhu/biblical, Amaladoss/inter-cultural, and Kunnumpuram/conciliar-ecclesial), the present study contends that the concept Kingdom of God, can be discerned as common and foundational to all three authors, and hence is central to the creative synthesis that this thesis hopes to offer. This, in turn, enables the thesis to explore: (a) How the dynamic power of the Kingdom present in the Church explains her essence as mystery in an Indian context. (b) How the Churchs life and mission need to evolve in response to the religious plurality and the challenging life situation of India. (c) How the Kingdom may serve as the Churchs criterion (via empirica) for discerning how the Church is to be a living witness to salvation in Christ.
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