Ecumenical Theology

Aspekty ekumeniczne w Anaforze św. Bazylego Wielkiego

by Mateusz Potoczny

Studia Oecumenica 10 (2010), 163-171.

"Aspetti ecumenici nell’Anafora di San Basilio Magno"

Il Concilio Vaticano II e il magistero... more "Aspetti ecumenici nell’Anafora di San Basilio Magno"

Il Concilio Vaticano II e il magistero postconciliare riservano un’attenzione particolare al ristabilimento dell’unità fra tutti i cristiani, che attraverso il vicendevole avvicinamento tra varie tradizioni mira alla piena comunione. In questa prospettiva ricopre un’importanza fondamentale la conoscenza reciproca dei tesori di ogni tradizione di matrice cristiana. Tra questi tesori si ascrive senz’altro l’Anafora bizantina di San Basilio Magno. Questa preghiera eucaristica, ricca di contenuti teologici, contiene anche degli spunti che, in un’ottica attualizzata, si potrebbero definire aspetti ecumenici. Attraverso l’analisi del testo dell’Anafora si colgono diversi elementi facilmente riconducibili all’ambito dello sforzo ecumenico. In primo luogo la koinonía tra le tre Persone della Santissima Trinità, come fonte ed icona dell’unità dei cristiani. Il testo dell’Anafora, in particolar modo l’epiclesi, suggerisce inoltre la possibilità di un’unità perfetta soltanto attraverso l’azione unificatrice dello Spirito Santo. Infine, la necessità di porre l’unità interna della comunità radunata in preghiera come base e fonte d’irradiazione per l’unità tra tutti i cristiani come scopo precipuo del movimento ecumenico.

Intro to Quakering Theology

by David Johns

This is a draft of the Introduction to my book, Quakering Theology, that will be published by Ashgate Publishing.

O prietenie ecumenică (An ecumenical friendship)

by Adrian Magdici

published in "Vatra Magazine" 11-12 (2008) 92-95 

Ecumenical friendship between the controversial (collaborationist during Romanian communist era) orthodox bishop... more Ecumenical friendship between the controversial (collaborationist during Romanian communist era) orthodox bishop Nicolae Corneanu and catholic Friars Minor (OFM), Italy. 

Book Review of Beyond Idealism: A Way Ahead for Ecumenical Social Ethics

by Jayme Reaves

Nicht nur als Wurzel! Der Ort des Judentums in der innerchristlichen Ökumene

by Thomas Fornet-Ponse

published in: Catholica 65 (2011) 195-210

Although they are not very numerous, there are some voices who plead for recurring to Judaism as the root of... more Although they are not very numerous, there are some voices who plead for recurring to Judaism as the root of Christianity for overcoming the differences between the churches. While this normally is limited to rabbinic Judaism, others go even further and argue for integrating contemporary Judaism in innerchristian ecumenics. This approach takes seriously the intimate relationship between Christianity and Judaism (especially with regard to the understanding of the people of God) and is shown in this article to offer valuable insights into some of the most controversially discussed ecumenical subjects like the relationship of primacy and synodality and the understanding of the papacy. It not only strongly supports existing proposals like a perichoretic view of the relationship of universal church and local churches or of Petrine ministry as serving the unity of the church understood as dialogue of different perspectives. It also modifies and contours them, especially by an epistemic understanding of authority and the value of discourse combined with it.

The League of Nations as an Inspiration for the League of Churches

by Will Abbott

Traditions in Dialogue: A Comparison of the Concept of Tradition in Old Catholic Anglican, Orthodox Anglican and Orthodox Old Catholic Dialogue

by Peter-Ben Smit

Anglicans, Old Catholics, and Orthodox have been engaged in dialogue with each other practically since the beginnings... more Anglicans, Old Catholics, and Orthodox have been engaged in dialogue with each other practically since the beginnings of the ecumenical movement. This paper survey the findings of these three dialogues on the subject of Tradition and compares them to each other, concluding that even though these dialogues have developed compatible and dynamic understandings of Tradition, these understanding have not yet led to the removal of certain obstacles between the Churches involved.

Destructive Obedience: U.S. Military Training and Culture as a Parody of Christian Discipleship

by Michael Iafrate

The Conrad Grebel Review 29.2 (Spring 2011): 4–30.

Using the theme of “discipleship” found in the witness of the peace churches but neglected in Roman Catholic theology,... more Using the theme of “discipleship” found in the witness of the peace churches but neglected in Roman Catholic theology, this paper interrogates concrete practices of military training and culture in the contemporary United States. Viewed through the lens of discipleship, military training is described as a process of discipleship in its own right, including practices of conversion and deliberate conscience (de-)formation that are fundamentally at odds with Christian discipleship and ultimately destructive to both the soldier and the victims of the US military. American Catholics can learn much from the peace churches in terms of ecclesial praxis for resisting the "destructive obedience" that is central to military discipleship.

The REC and the Swaziland Reformed Church

by Arnau Van Wyngaard

Published in "REC Mission Bulletin 20:3 & 4, 25-32"

Einigung auf Kosten des Judentums?: Zur kritischen Funktion des Judentums für die innerchristliche Ökumene am Beispiel der GER

by Thomas Fornet-Ponse

published in: Cath(M) 64 (2010) 309-325

This article is based on the conviction that it is both necessary and highly productive for Christian ecumenics to... more This article is based on the conviction that it is both necessary and highly productive for Christian ecumenics to regard in ecumenical dialogue not only the dialogues between Jews and Christians but also to integrate the Jewish positions as further and independent voices. This conviction can be validated by arguments stemming from Christology, Ecclesiology and Economy of Salvation. Against this background, this article deals with the critical function of Judaism within Christian ecumenics shown clearly by those critiques on the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification which refer to Jewish-Christian relations or Jewish beliefs. A discussion of these critiques elucidates several weak points of the Joint Declaration (especially its conception of law and how it deals with Israel) without them undermining its consensus in fundamental truths. Although the consensus between Lutherans and Catholics was not reached at the expense of Judaism, it did not regard it sufficiently. Finally, there are mentioned some methodological and theological conclusions.

Lasset uns auch beten für die Irrgläubigen und Abtrünnigen?: Zur ökumenischen Relevanz der ausserordentlichen Karfreitagsfürbitten

by Thomas Fornet-Ponse

published in: Cath(M) 63 (2009) 214-224

Baptism Is The Defining Moment

by Daniel Keeran MSW

Compiled by Daniel Keeran, author of related book http://collegemhc.academia.edu/DanielKeeran/Books/446453/Ancient_and_Medieval_Baptismal_Fonts

Relevant scripture passages, with a brief notation, from John the Baptist onward. Was baptism intended for all Israel?... more Relevant scripture passages, with a brief notation, from John the Baptist onward. Was baptism intended for all Israel? What is the purpose and meaning of baptism?

See related book on academia http://collegemhc.academia.edu/DanielKeeran/Books/446453/Ancient_and_Medieval_Baptismal_Fonts and at http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Medieval-Baptismal-Daniel-Keeran/dp/1441471618

Bind Us Together: Repentance, Ugandan Martyrs, and Christian Unity

by Timothy J. Furry

What do an ecumenical dialogue and a supreme court have in common?

by Ulrich L. Lehner

18th C. Ecumenical Dialogues in the Holy ROman Empire

University of Notre Dame, Institute of Advanced Study, December 2010

Aguzzi, Steven D. "Florovsky’s 'The Boundaries of the Church’ in Dialogue with the Reformed Tradition: Toward a Catholic and Charismatic Ecumenical Ecclesiology", Ecumenical Trends 39: 3 (2010), 8-14

by Steven Aguzzi

The purpose of this essay is threefold. First, I seek to trace a brief history of the concept of catholicity within... more The purpose of this essay is threefold. First, I seek to trace a brief history of the concept of catholicity within the Reformed tradition and offer this historical context as an explanation
for its resistance to traditional conceptions of the Church. Second, I will show how Georges Florovsky’s work “The Boundaries of the Church,” offers a better point of reference for
Orthodox dialogue with Churches of the Reformed Tradition than other Orthodox ecclesiologies, such as those based solely on St. Cyprian’s model, and the ecclesiology of N. Afanassieff. Last, I will use John Calvin’s ideas on the church in Institutes of the Christian Religion to show that certain contemporary Reformed ecclesiologies do not take into consideration the early Calvinist emphasis on catholicity. Using the early Christological controversies of Monophysitism and Nestorianism and applying them to ecclesiology, I will illustrate how both the traditionalist Orthodox and evangelical Reformed views of the Church are weak, make extreme claims on the nature of the Church, and must come closer to the center for dialogue. There is hope if doctrinal agreement could be made in two areas—(a) the existence of the Church, at least to some degree, outside the
formal walls of any given denominational, canonical structure in a “charismatic” sense, and (b) the intrinsic unity of the Church as a catholic reality. Both these statements must be affirmed for the sides to agree, though agreement must not come at the expense of doctrinal suicide for either tradition.

Western Ordination Pneumatology: A Comparative Analyais of Six Rites

by Will Abbott

The Christology of John Calvin and Karl Rahner

by Richard Cumming

31pp, currently under peer review

This article approaches the christology of John Calvin and Karl Rahner, discovering numerous points of convergence... more This article approaches the christology of John Calvin and Karl Rahner, discovering numerous points of convergence between their approaches and results. The article goes on to explore their differences within the context of their respective ecclesio-theological paradigms, concluding that the spectra of Reformed Christology and Roman Catholic Christology overlap in all essentials and that there is no reason for the separation of these two churches on the basis of their christologies alone.

“’Fullness of the Spirit’ and ‘Fullness of Catholicity’ in Ecclesial Communion”

by Evan Kuehn

International Journal of Systematic Theology, 11.3 (2009), pp. 271-292

"Instruments of Faith and Unity in Canon Law: The Church of Nigeria Constitutional Revision of 2005"

by Evan Kuehn

The Ecclesiastical Law Journal, 10.2 (2008), pp. 161-173

The Ecclesiastical Law Journal website is here: <more The Ecclesiastical Law Journal website is here: <http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=1833760>;

Hope Called to the World: The Universal Priesthood of the Community of God

by Payson Johnston

Paper submitted for the Theology of the Laity Class (STFT 1930) at the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology - Taught by Michael Sweeney - 2008.

The role of the laity in the church has been a topic of discussion during the 20/21st centuries in both Catholic and... more The role of the laity in the church has been a topic of discussion during the 20/21st centuries in both Catholic and Protestant theological conversations. The intensity of the topic has grown in recent years because of questions surrounding the role of the church in society and the question of the power of Christ to transform society despite the movement towards secularization, especially in the West, that is devoid of the Triune God. This conversation brings to the forefront the question of the meaning of the Church in regards to its ecclesiology and the ultimate purpose it serves.

I plan to further develop this concept in the future with additional focus on insights of the Church Fathers.