Introduction

Abstract

The Introduction demonstrates why a book focusing on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s early ecclesiology is necessary at this time. In a context of widespread and increasing interest in Bonhoeffer’s theology, only limited scholarly attention has been given to Bonhoeffer’s first dissertation. Most scholars have deemed this work to be theologically problematic, in ways that Bonhoeffer later goes on to correct. Those few scholars who have been more positive about Sanctorum Communio have tended to focus on only parts of it, while neglecting its structure and integrity as a whole. The Introduction, therefore situates this book as a systematic study of Bonhoeffer’s early ecclesiology which both addresses this neglect and responds to these ways it has been misread. At the end of the Introduction, a detailed overview of the monograph and its chapters is provided.