The Primacy of the Bishop of Rome and the Ecumenical Dialogue
The Primacy of the Bishop of Rome and the Ecumenical Dialogue

Author: Adriano Garuti

Publisher: Ignatius Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 9780898708790

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The mixed results of the ecumenical dialogue since the Second Vatican Council have made it clear that the primacy of the Bishop of Rome remains the single most serious obstacle on the path of ecumenism. In his landmark 1995 encyclical Ut unum sint, Pope John Paul II reiterated the constant teaching that the Catholic Church "has preserved the ministry of the Successor of the Apostle Peter, the Bishop of Rome." He also invited leaders and theologians of other Christian communities to engage in a "patient and fraternal dialogue on this subject...to find a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation." This book explores in depth the discussion of papal primacy in the Catholic-Orthodox, Catholic-Lutheran and Catholic Anglican dialogues, along with an appendix on the concept of "Sister Churches." Each chapter describes how the primacy is viewed in the respective churches or ecclesial communities, then it analyzes the documents of the official ecumenical dialogue and realistically evaluates the results achieved thus far.

Primacy in the Church from Vatican I to Vatican II
Primacy in the Church from Vatican I to Vatican II

Author: Maximos Vgenopoulos

Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 150175128X

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The primacy of the bishop of Rome, the pope, as it was finally shaped in the Middle Ages and later defined by Vatican I and II has been one of the thorniest issues in the history of the Western and Eastern Churches. This issue was a primary cause of the division between the two Churches and the events that followed the schism of 1054: the sack of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204, the appointment by Pope Innocent III of a Latin patriarch of Constantinople, and the establishment of Uniatism as a method and model of union. Always a topic in ecumenical dialogue, the issue of primacy has appeared to be an insurmountable obstacle to the realization of full unity between Roman Catholicism and the Orthodox Christianity. In this timely and comprehensive work, Maximos Vgenopoulos analyzes the response of major Orthodox thinkers to the Catholic understanding of the primary of the pope over the last two centuries, showing the strengths and weaknesses of these positions. Covering a broad range of primary and secondary sources and thinkers, Vgenopoulos approaches the issue of primacy with an open and ecumenical manner that looks forward to a way of resolving this most divisive issue between the two Churches. For the first time here the thought of Greek and Russian Orthodox theologians regarding primacy is brought together systematically and compared to demonstrate the emergence of a coherent view of primacy in accordance with the canonical principles of the Orthodox Church. In looking at crucial Greek-language sources Vgenopoulos makes a unique contribution by providing an account of the debate on primacy within the Greek Orthodox Church. Primacy in the Church from Vatican I to Vatican II is an invaluable resource on the official dialogue taking place between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church today. This important book will be of broad interest to historians, theologians, seminarians, and all those interested in Orthodox-Catholic relations.

Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification

Author: Lutheran World Federation

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 9780802847744

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This volume presents in English the official Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, confirmed by the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church in Augsburg, Germany, in October 1999. The result of decades of Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue, this primary document represents an ecumenical event of historical significance. Included in the volume are the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and the Official Common Statement with its Annex. These texts are recommended for careful study in seminaries and parishes and for reading by individual Christians. It is hoped that the Joint Declaration will deepen understanding of the biblical message of justification and also serve to further reflection within the wider ecumenical movement.

Building Unity
Building Unity

Author: Joseph A. Burgess

Publisher: Paulist Press

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 520

ISBN-13: 9780809130405

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The most complete compendium of ecumenical documents produced in the United States including conciliar and bilateral dialogues in which Roman Catholics have participated.

The Early Papacy
The Early Papacy

Author: Adrian Fortescue

Publisher: Ignatius Press

Published: 2010-09-15

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 168149485X

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Edited by Alcuin Reid Adrian Fortescue, a British apologist for the Catholic faith in the early part of the 20th century, wrote this classic of clear exposition on the faith of the early Church in the papacy based upon the writings of the Church fathers until 451. No ultramontanist, Fortescue can be a keen critic of personal failings of various Popes, but he shows through his brilliant assessment of the writings of the Church fathers that the early Church had a clear understanding of the primacy of Peter and a belief in the divinely given authority of the Pope in matters of faith and morals. Referring to the famous passage in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus confers his authority upon Peter as the head of the Apostles, and the first Pope, Fortescue says that, while Christians can continue to argue about the exact meaning of that passage from Scripture, and the various standards that are used for judgments about correct Christian teaching and belief, ""the only possible real standard is a living authority, an authority alive in the world at this moment, that can answer your difficulties, reject a false theory as it arises and say who is right in disputed interpretations of ancient documents."" Fortescue shows that the papacy actually seems to be one of the clearest and easiest dogmas to prove from the early Church. And it is his hope through this work that it will contribute to a ressourcement with regard to the office of the papacy among those in communion with the Bishop of Rome, and that it will assist those outside this communion to seek it out, confident that it is willed by Christ for all who would be joined to him in this life and in the next.

The Petrine Ministry
The Petrine Ministry

Author: Walter Kasper

Publisher: Paulist Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 0809143348

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This collection of papers has its origin in the encyclical letter "Ut unum sint (no. 95) and the request of Pope John Paul II to study the question of the Petrine ministry with other Christians with a view to "seeking--"together, of course--"the forms in which this ministry may accomplish a service of love recognized by all concerned." After the promulgation of the encyclical in 1995, the theme of the Petrine ministry in its implications for dialogue with the other churches and ecclesial communities resonated throughout the ecumenical community and in studies, conferences and courses at institutes and research centers, focusing on the theological and historical aspects of the issue. The symposium presented here, organized by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, is aimed at furthering study of the role of the Bishop of Rome in the perspective of the search for Christian unity. Catholic experts and delegates representing a range of Orthodox churches took part in the closed-door symposium at which eight speakers presented papers, dealing with each theme from the Catholic and Orthodox points of view.