The martyrial face of the salvadorean church from the theological biographies of Oscar Romero and Ignacio Ellacuría: a revaluation of the prophetic dimension in the ordained ministry

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to present the relationship established between liberation and martyrdom in the Salvadorean Church. The angle of analysis is the theological biographies of Óscar Romero and Ignacio Ellacuría, both martyrs of El Salvador. The method of biographical theology proceeds through contextual interpretations of lives and works of its characters. To do this, it takes into account his writings, studied with a hermeneutic of comparative analysis with other sources, taken from historical and ethnographic sciences. The method of theological biography, in this case, allows theology not only to verify the announcement of the Kingdom as proposed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but also discovers a new contribution in the way of interpreting these nuclei of Christian revelation. Liberation and martyrdom are fundamental realities for liberation theology, and they endow it with a specific direction and pathos. Their commitment and denunciation of social injustice constitute a prophetic dimension that serves as a model for an entire local church and in particular for the ordained ministry.