Consensus and Difference: The Elusive Nature of Ecumenical Agreement

Abstract

The article examines the elusive nature of ecumenical agreement and the slippery notion of consensus, particularly in dialogue between the Roman Catholic, the Lutheran and the Anglican Churches, not least in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999) between the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation. In a critical engagement with Minna Hietamäki's Agreeable Agreement: An Examination of the Quest for Consensus in Ecumenical Dialogue (2010), the article draws attention to the general lack of critical reflection on methodology in ecumenical dialogue and encourages a heightened awareness of its pitfalls.