Volume 2 (1948-1968) first appeared in 1970. It covers the history of the World Council of Churches from its first assembly at Amsterdam to its fourth assembly at Uppsala, Sweden; analyzes the development of regional ecumenical organizations; and recounts the impact of the Second Vatican Council on the ecumenical witness of the Roman Catholic Church.
What is Ecumenism? How and when did it start? What are its goals and how will they affect the future of the Christian churches? This book answers these questions and examines the remarkable story of new encounters between Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Old Catholic, and most Protestant churches. Most of these churches have been divided for centuries over issues of theology, faith, and practice. Ecumenism seeks to reconcile these differences and to bring the churches together into a new unity based on their commonalities and their understanding of Christian faith. Here, FitzGerald traces the history of the churches and their divisions and focuses on the ways in which the Ecumenical movement began and the efforts that have been made to assist the churches in overcoming age-old strife, animosity, and misunderstanding. For centuries, Christian churches have remained divided over their doctrinal differences, but beginning in the late nineteenth century, churches and their members slowly began to emerge from their isolation. They began to abandon competition, mistrust, and misunderstanding in an effort to seek out their common interests and faith through meetings and organizations meant to bring them together. The encounters between the churches led to proposals for common prayers for unity, and for common witness in society. While not without difficulty, these encounters have fostered a renewal in Christian theology, worship, and witness, affecting all levels of church life. The process has touched Christians all over the world in various ways. FitzGerald carefully traces the history of the movement and its impact on the churches themselves, as well as the believers who attend them, making this important reading for all Christians and anyone interested in learning more about church division and efforts to restore unity.
This historical dictionary covers the major trends in the 20th century ecumenical movement until today. It deals with developments in the realms of church unity, mission and evangelism, laity, women in church and society, and many other ecumenical subjects. It also covers many programs and activities of the World Council of Churches since its inception in 1948. The longer articles survey important theological themes while short articles provide quick reference on a precise question. The bibliography is not exhaustive-some 50,000 titles have been published since the beginning of this century-but very helpful for major bibliographical information. The dictionary is particularly strong in American subjects and includes a great number of ecuminical personalities which cannot be found in other reference works. This publication is not only an indispensible tool of research for university and seminary libraries but also for individual persons belonging to whatever Christian church who are interested in knowing more about reflections, relations, and activities in the several regions of the ecumenical world. A helpful description of the most important ecumenical assemblies and conferences is provided. To take stock of the past, to interpret the present, and to look forward into the third millenium of Christian existence are exciting and challenging enterprises.
No less than two decades were needed for the composition of the ecumenical convergence document The Church: Towards a Common Vision (TCTCV) which was published by the World Council of Churches in 2013. The document was intended to reflect a common vision of churches and ecumenical stakeholders on a myriad of ecclesiological themes. The book investigates whether the convergence document TCTCV delivers on its promises. The book focuses on the formation and the reception of TCTCV along with the two draft versions, The Nature and Purpose of the Church (1998) and The Nature and Mission of the Church (2005) and uncovers whether the responses by the churches to TCTCV hold an affirmation of the convergences registered in the document. Furthermore, it seeks to establish whether the responses point towards a "common vision" concerning various ecclesiological themes that are still contested by the churches today. The book also explores whether the responses to TCTCV reveal an advancement in the conversation surrounding several debated issues, and examines to what extent the churches are willing to creatively engage with the ecclesial other.
"Black theology and its relationship to other Christian theologies (especially liberation theology) and secular ideologies is addressed in this collection of essays first published in 1986"--
Ecumenism in postwar Asia, institutionalized in the Christian Conference of Asia, displayed a remarkable this-worldliness from its inception in the 1940s. This tendency was in contrast to the tension between the church-centric and world-centric approaches to Christian mission that marked conciliar mission thinking in the West. This work examines the development of such this-worldly holiness in Asian ecumenism, focusing on M. M. Thomas of India and C. S. Song from Taiwan. Special attention is drawn to the idea of "God's this-worldly presence" that considers God as redemptively at work in world history apart from the church. The study first compares the development of this-worldly holiness in the West and Asia and then examines the thinking of Thomas and Song. The chapters on these two theologians discuss their backgrounds, the basic concerns motivating their intellectual searches, and responses to the questions arising from such concerns. These chapters also try to understand how these theologians view the relationship between God and the world. In so doing, the study highlights the significance of the idea of God's this-worldly presence shared by Thomas and Song in spite of differences in their backgrounds, approaches, and theological formulations. Having compared Thomas and Song, the study concludes that the idea of God's this-worldly presence became central to Asian ecumenism because it offered a common unifying vision to Asian Christians who come from a region characterized by tremendous diversity. The idea helped them to see the diverse peoples, cultures, and religions in Asia under one God who transcends the diversity and still takes it seriously.
This book explores the nature of grassroots unity in the British charismatic renewal in the 1970s and its significance to ecumenism. The study is based on the five international conferences of the Fountain Trust and focuses on two grassroots activities: worship in general and the celebration of the Eucharist in particular. Worship in this setting nurtured unity through charisms, but the Eucharist exposed the inadequacy of this grassroots unity because of doctrinal and ecclesiological differences. This book aims to suggest a way forward by searching for the complementarity of institution and charisms, and Christology and Pneumatology in a charismatic context. It argues that the two emphases of the charismatic renewal, charisms, and the Holy Spirit, complement the institutional commitments of the church and ecumenism. The concepts of Christus praesens and Spiriti praesens are considered intrinsic to the charisms, and thus Christology and Pneumatology should both be considered significant for ecumenism. The study finally discusses the complementarity of ecumenical institutions and the charismatic renewal, the convergence of ecumenical streams, and continuity in modern ecumenical history.
Apostolic, ecumenical and radical: these are the ecclesial characteristics highlighted by Gesa E. Thiessen while explaining her vision of the church. The author focuses on the meaning of each of these marks as well as on their intrinsic connections,an approach that leads her to delve deep into the history of the church, and to draw a wide span between the apostolic past and a radical perspective on the present and future ecumenical church. Apostolic and Prophetic studies the concept of apostolicity emerging in patristic theology and examines this concept as it has been developed in select Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and Anglican ecumenical documents.
This books maps out the territory of international law and religion challenging received traditions in fundamental aspects. On the one hand, the connection of international law and religion has been little explored. On the other, most of current research on international legal thought presents international law as the very victory of secularization. By questioning that narrative of secularization this book approaches these traditions from a new perspective. From the Middle Ages' early conceptualizations of rights and law to contemporary political theory, the chapters bring to life debates concerning the interaction of the meaning of the legal and the sacred. The contributors approach their chapters from an array of different backgrounds and perspectives but with the common objective of investigating the mutually shaping relationship of religion and law. The collaborative endeavour that this volume offers makes available substantial knowledge on the question of international law and religion.
