Discerning the Call of the Spirit to Theological-Ecclesial Renewal: Notes on Being Reasonable and Responsible in Receptive Ecumenical Learning

Abstract

This chapter engages directly with the overall theme of the volume, Leaning into the Spirit: Ecumenical Perspectives on Discernment and Decision-making in the Church. It does this by drilling down into what has rightly been identified as a crucial area requiring further attention and articulation within Receptive Ecumenical thought and practice: the need for clarity as to what it means to discern well the appropriateness and viability of a possible instance of receptive learning by one tradition from another. The chapter starts out by recognizing the affinity between Receptive Ecumenism and Spiritual Ecumenism, with Receptive Ecumenism properly being understood as a movement of attempted receptivity of and responsiveness to the movement of the Spirit in the lives of the churches. The specificity of Receptive Ecumenism is presented as consisting in its pursuing this basic orientation in explicitly theological and ecclesial-institutional modes; focused on the need for rigorous theological visioning and scrutiny in service of effective and significant ecclesial reform. Accordingly, the main concern of the chapter is to articulate and provide justification for the principles in accordance with which such theological visioning and scrutinizing should be pursued.