Receptive Ecumenism as Transformative Ecclesial Learning

Abstract

Receptive Ecumenism asks not what other churches can learn from us, but ‘what can we learn and receive with integrity from our ecclesial others?’. This demands more than viewing gifts from another tradition as objects of reception. Receiving with integrity also involves a transformation of the church as subject in the act of reception. It represents the church in a mode of ‘ecclesial learning’. Since the publication of Receptive Ecumenism and the Call to Catholic Learning: Exploring a Way for Contemporary Ecumenism (2008), this fresh ecumenical strategy has been adopted, critiqued, and developed in different Christian traditions, and in local, national, and international settings, including the most recent bilateral dialogue of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III). This volume shows how Receptive Ecumenism is being received ‘with dynamic integrity’ in Christian communities representing different ecclesial traditions and geographies. The potential for such ecumenical ecclesial learning is illustrated in respect of recurrent ecclesial problems, such as the understanding and practice of ministry. Throughout the book, and particularly in the final part, the contributors draw on Scripture, hermeneutics, and pneumatology to offer a critical reflection on how Receptive Ecumenism itself implements ecclesial learning. These thirty-eight essays by academics, church leaders, and ecumenical practitioners show how Receptive Ecumenism has matured since its launch not only in terms of ecclesial application and geographical breadth, but also in critical depth.