Existing for Others: The Church as Sanctuary in Bonhoefferian Framework

Imprisoned for his involvement in the resistance against the Nazi regime, specifically for aiding fourteen Jews in their escape from Germany with funds from the Abwehr,¹ Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote “the Church is only the Church when it exists for others.”² Bonhoeffer’s ecclesiology presents the Church as a living organism whose very existence is oriented toward the benefit of those united to Christ. Yet his vision extends beyond the boundaries of the faithful; he envisions the Church existing also for those who are not yet united to Christ, for the world itself.

A Bonhofferian Framework

Bonhoeffer was deeply attentive to the concerns of the people around him. He wrote that “the Church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving.”³ His vision of the Church and of the communal life of believers was profoundly Christological. In his doctoral dissertation, Sanctorum Communio, Bonhoeffer asserts that the Church is “Christ existing as community.”⁴ Christ, the Word, is truly present within the community he has constituted. 

This understanding is also soteriological, for Bonhoeffer maintains that “Christ’s presence consists in the Word of justification.”⁵ Justification, then, gives reality to the Church.⁶ In this sense, the sanctorum communio are the people of Jesus, a redeemed people, a justified people—who are called to act with justice in a world marked by injustice.

Because the Church’s very being is grounded in justification, God’s act of declaring sinners righteous through Christ, it cannot remain indifferent to the realities of human suffering and exclusion. The justified community becomes, by its nature, a reconciling and restorative presence in the world. To live as a justified people is to embody the grace that has been freely received, extending mercy and refuge to others. As Scripture reminds us, “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”⁷ In this way, justification shapes the Church’s vocation as sanctuary: a community where the alienated find belonging, the oppressed find defense, and the guilty encounter forgiveness. The same grace that forms the Church inwardly propels it outwardly toward the marginalized, so that the Church’s existence “for others” is not merely an ethical duty, but the lived expression of its own redeemed identity in Christ.

The Community of Self-Giving Love 

From this Christological perspective, it follows logically that if the Church exists by the self-giving act of God, who, through the cross, redeems and unites believers to himself, then the Church must also exist for others in a self-giving manner. Grounded in this divine self-giving, the Church’s life becomes a visible witness to God’s reconciling love in the world. It is within this shared life that believers learn to bear one another’s burdens, to extend grace, and to create spaces of belonging—signs of the sanctuary that the Church is called to be. 

Why should the Church serve as a sanctuary for migrants? Because in doing so, it manifests its identity as the community through which Christ’s presence is made visible in the world. As a self-giving community, the Church is called to seek the benefit and well-being of others. United to Christ, the Church cannot act contrary to its own nature, for its identity is inseparable from the self-giving love of the One to whom it is joined. This self-giving love within the Church is made possible through the work of the Spirit. Consistent with traditional Christian teaching, Bonhoeffer affirms that the Church, as the body of Christ, is gathered and united by the work of the Holy Spirit, who binds believers together in a community shaped by Christ’s self-giving love.⁸ The work of the Spirit enables the self-giving love of the Church by acting upon the hearts of believers, pouring into them the love of God (cf. Rom. 5:5).

Sanctuary: Existing for Others 

Daniel Montañez insightfully explains that while “sanctuary” typically refers to a sacred place of worship, in the Christian tradition it also denotes a place of refuge.⁹ For the Church, this means being a place of refuge for the vulnerable, regardless of social or immigrant status.¹⁰ The Church identifies with those in need not only through compassion grounded in the love of God in Christ by the Spirit, but also as a reflection of its identity as a pilgrim—a migrant Church. As a pilgrim people, the Church loves God above all else and yearns for the coming of the new creation. This longing is manifested in its role as a sanctuary, a place of redemptive refuge for migrants, refugees, and asylees who are disadvantaged or vulnerable. As a pilgrim people, the Church recognizes that its journey through the world is not aimless but directed by its love for God. Its wandering is shaped by God’s call, orienting the community toward the coming of the new creation.¹¹ This love gives purpose to its pilgrimage and is concretely expressed in the Church’s role as a sanctuary—a place of redemptive refuge for those who are disadvantaged, vulnerable, or displaced.

This understanding aligns with the Bonhoefferian framework of the Church existing as Christ for others. As Jesus declares in Matthew 25:35–36:

“For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”¹²

Christ, existing in the Church as a community, not only guides us toward lives of self-giving love for others, but also radically transforms our perception of the other, enabling us to see Christ in them. Christ is the stranger whom we welcome and offer refuge. The Church, therefore, is truly a community of Spirit and love.¹³ We love the other because we love Christ. United with Christ by the Spirit, it is impossible for the Church not to serve as a sanctuary for others, seeing Christ in each person. This vision of Christ in the other naturally leads the Church to live informed by the cross,¹⁴ embodying Christ’s love and presence for the sake and glory of God through its care for the vulnerable.

Conclusion

In summary, Bonhoeffer’s vision reminds us that the Church exists fundamentally for others, rooted in the self-giving love of God revealed in Christ and actualized through the Spirit. As a pilgrim, Spirit-led community, the Church embodies Christ’s presence in the world, offering sanctuary, compassion, and justice to those who are marginalized, displaced, or in need. This Trinitarian grounding not only shapes the Church’s internal life but also its outward vocation: to live as a tangible expression of God’s reconciling and redeeming love.