Ecumenical Ecclesiology Research Articles

Ecumenical ecclesiology in the context of the township congregation ministry

Ecumenical ecclesiology in the context of the township congregation ministry

The Shift In The Ecumenical Church Paradigm A Historical Study Of The Shift In The Ecumenical Paradigm In GMIM From 1934 To 2016

Global changes occur in all aspects of human life. The church as a community in the midst of society is also not spared from the impact of change due to changing times. The Evangelical Church in Minahasa is a church that grows and develops in the midst of Minahasa society which is also experiencing changes. Change gave birth to a new paradigm in the church. The problem is whether the change is a synthesis of the old and new paradigms or really gives birth to a new paradigm? Perhaps even a return to the old ecclesiological order adapted to the current context? GMIM has historically tried to answer its calling in the midst of a changing world. GMIM is the largest church in North Sulawesi that has influenced the development of the region. Ecumenism in the local church is strongly influenced by the ecclesiology set by the church. In this paper, the author uses a qualitative method and uses a historical research approach to dissect changes in the ecumenical paradigm from 1934-2016. The author compares ecumenical theories from several Indonesian and foreign figures and theories about paradigm shifts. The results show that there was a shift in GMIM ecumenical ecclesiology through the discussion of sessions, seminars, discussions among theological experts.

Toward a Joint Declaration on the Church?

AbstractThe Lutheran–Catholic report Baptism and Growth in Communion (2019) argued that on the basis of a common understanding of baptism, it would be possible for both Lutherans and Catholics to consider themselves as being in communion within the one body of Christ and in this sense as churches. However, this approach was not supported unambiguously on the Catholic side. One commission member stated that the Catholic Church is the “only fully identifiable” visible manifestation of the body of Christ. Also, the use of “elements of sanctification and truth” as ecclesial criteria was seen to be too optimistic. As a result of this, Baptism and Growth in Communion is now understood only as an open‐ended study document that is not yet ready for reception. It seems the starting point of the report was a belief that the Lutheran and Catholic understandings of the church differ so much that a new approach is needed, namely through the mutual recognition of baptism and the mutual recognition of baptizing communities as members of the body of Christ. However, this path does not appear to be possible in the proposed form because of the criticism from the Catholic side. Instead, it might be possible to make progress through a Joint Declaration on the Church that can pick up the insights of the reports On Church and Church Communion (2018), Communion in Growth (2017), as well as Baptism and Growth in Communion and other major dialogue documents in ecumenical ecclesiology.

Complexity and Timeliness of the Term “Christendom” for Ecumenical Ecclesiology

Complexity and Timeliness of the Term “Christendom” for Ecumenical Ecclesiology

Robert Jenson and the Dogmatic Location of Culture

Abstract: This article takes up Robert Jenson's theology of culture. According to Jenson, the church is a heavenly culture of its own alongside various worldly cultures. The church, therefore, presents a rival agenda for human social life conformed to a distinct Christian ethics and polity. Jenson's brand of ecumenical ecclesiology has also been leveraged against the challenge of modern secularity. However, this article contends that Jenson's ecumenical vision overinflates the doctrine of the church by assigning culture to it. Jenson's ecclesiology risks the particularity of the various cultures, languages, and contexts in which the gospel is proclaimed. To redistribute the contents of ecumenical ecclesiology—and its theology of culture—into the doctrine of creation, this article culminates with an examination of Martin Luther's theology and that of the Lutheran Confessions.

Не­фор­мал­ни ла­ич­ки од­зив на об­ја­вљи­ва­ње књи­ге Цр­ква — ка за­јед­нич­кој ви­зи­ји

The document The Church — Towards a Common Vision (TCTCV) of the Commission for Faith and Order within the World Council of Churches was published in Serbian, as a book, co-published by the Christian Cultural Center “Dr. Radovan Bigović,” Institute for Systematic Theology of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the University of Belgrade and Biblical Cultural Center, 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Both the TCTCV book and the pandemic represent a spiritual and existential challenge. They provoke reception, reflection. Therefore, it is necessary to capture the contemporary context and meaning of publishing and researching literature dedicated to the topic of ecumenism in our Church. It is also expedient to look at history and significance of ecumenism as a general mission of the Church. The notable ecclesiocentricity of the book TCTCV can arouse our greater interest in orthodox and ecumenical ecclesiology, their comparative research, as well as in re-examining our own role and invocation in the ecumenical movement. Through statistical, epistemological, and contextual analysis of the concepts of the text of the book, we noticed some specifics and possibilities of encouragement for inclusive lay, consultative-democratic, and political-theological approaches in ecumenism. The grace of reading the book TCTCV is manifested, among other things, through arousing contemplation over the mystery of the Church, unity, communion. This secret could be explored mentally and spiritually, through a personal relationship, together, based on the experience of participating in a concreate community of the Church. The axiom about the Church as a community is at the heart of the content of this book, as well as the universal call to the Christ-loving hearts of many to use the book as an instrument for mutual acquaintance, rapprochement, and striving for a common, Eucharistic understanding of the Church and universal Christian unity. In general, this was the vision of Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich while participating in the ecumenical movement and infusing in it his own orthodox experience of the Church. It was also very impactful on prof. Dr. Radovan Bigović, who further elaborated modern ecumenical attitudes, clear and solid guidelines for our contemporary orthodox ecumenical orientation. Both of them, bishop Nicholai and Dr. Bigović are ecumenical and inclusive (unifying) persons and as such our encouraging paragons for ecumenical mission and above all ecumenical love. Relied on them and other ecumenical theologians we are gifted with an opportunity to get involved and to continue building our ecumenical tradition in which publishing plays a significant role.

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen’s ecclesiology and its relevance to South Africa

The South African context has been characterised by the prevalence of various social realities and problems in the form of xenophobia, racism, poverty and social injustice, aspects that adversely affect the ecumenical dream of equality, unity, love and tolerance. This article delves into these issues critically by examining how Veli-Matti Karkkainen’s concepts, ideas and symbols as expressed in his Pentecostal ecumenical ecclesiology can effectively inform the South African context. This article also brings into perspective the credible foundational precepts within the Pentecostal tradition that are intricately intertwined within Karkkainen’s ecclesiology and determines how these invaluable traits or precepts can be applied effectively within the South African context. Although these Pentecostal foundational precepts have for a long time been overlooked by traditional theologies, they are also embedded within ecumenical values such as cultural diversity, interracial communion, promotion of peace, gender equality and religious pluralism. Contribution: This article is pushing the boundaries of how Pentecostal theology in general is understood by presenting its role and function in a wider ecumenical and geographical context. In this regard, this study makes a contribution by exploring ideas from Karkkainen’s ecclesiology which can effectively inform the current South African context which has been plagued by elements of inequality and injustice.

The Ecclesiology of Visible Unity at Lambeth 1920: Lost beyond Recovery?

According to the ecumenical ecclesiology of the 1920 Lambeth Conference ‘Appeal to All Christian People’, Christians are called to make known to the whole world the fellowship of human persons that is God’s will. They are to do so by means of the visible unity of Christ’s church in faith, sacraments and ministry, which requires the union of churches in each place and the communion of churches in every place, for which universal acceptance of the historic episcopate is pivotal. While this ecumenical ecclesiology faced significant challenges during the following five decades within international Anglican ecumenism, it continued to be widely influential until hopes for the union of churches in each place went into eclipse from the 1970s onwards, with work towards the communion of churches in every place becoming unhinged from it. A re-imagining of the interdependence of local union and universal communion in the contemporary context is needed for the renewal of an ecumenical ecclesiology that holds together unity and mission in a relationship that is not narrowly instrumental but demonstrates the profound inseparability between the communication of Christ and communion in Christ.

Ethno-Regionalism, Politics and the Role of Religion in Zambia: Changing Ecumenical Landscapes in a Christian Nation, 2015-2018

Abstract This contribution explores the interaction between religion and politics in a religiously plural and ethnically multidimensional Zambian context. Given the political salience of both religion and ethnicity in Zambian politics, this research locates an understudied aspect in the discourse on religion and politics in Zambia, namely the multiple relations between religion, ethnicity and politics. It specifically offers a historical-theological analysis of the implications that the political mobilisation of religion has for ecumenism in Zambia since Edgar Chagwa Lungu became the country’s president (2015-2018). Underlining the church-dividing potential of non-theological (doctrinal) factors, the article argues that the ‘political mobilisation of religion’ and the ‘pentecostalisation of Christianity’ in Zambia are reshaping the country’s ecumenical landscapes. Accordingly, this contribution posits the significance of ecumenical consciousness among churches and argues for a contextual ecumenical ecclesiology.

Is the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium Empowering the Vocation of the Eastern Churches in Communion with Rome?

The juridical aspect of ecumenism is very important. A sign of reception of ecumenical ecclesiology is its integration with canon law. This essay evaluates the value of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium as an instrument in their hands of the Eastern Churches in communion with Rome for promoting unity between Orthodox and Catholics. It contrasts it with the ecclesiology of the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue on unity. It also shows that in many important points the ecumenical value of this code of law is limiting more than facilitating and reflects the need to integrate the results of the ecumenical dialogue with canonical legislation.

A Harvest of Ecumenical Ecclesiology

A Harvest of Ecumenical Ecclesiology

Ecumenical Ecclesiology in its New Contexts: Considering the Transformed Relationship between Roman Catholic Ecclesiology and Ecumenism

The quest for Christian unity is entering a new phase amidst the movement’s many voices, perspectives and tensions. Christians are witnessing the advent of an emerging ecumenical paradigm, which, because it is not fully realized, is still realizing its full definition. The paradigm operates in a global context rather than a Eurocentric one, and even as it is more global, it is simultaneously more local. It cultivates shared praxis while being less concerned with the comparison of dogmas. Ecclesiology is also entering a new paradigm which shares many features with its ecumenical counterpart, particularly its global perspective and interest in shared praxis ahead of dogmatic questions. Even though ecumenism and ecclesiology share common trajectories, their journeys are unfolding in largely parallel rather than cooperative and mutually-enriching ways. This raises the question: What opportunities might arise from examining the shifts in ecumenism and ecclesiology together? This article examines how new methodological and practical developments in these two fields can form and inform one another. It studies the shift to synodality in the Catholic Church and the turn towards discernment in the ecumenical sphere as manifestations of similar theological commitments and a common interest in cultivating participatory processes. The seismic changes reshaping the religious landscape are transforming the relationship between ecumenism and ecclesiology; yet a strong connection between them endures and illumines paths forward for the church in the third millennium.

ECUMENICAL ECCLESIOLOGY IN THE AFRICAN CONTEXT: TOWARDS A VIEW OF THE CHURCH AS UBUNTU

This purpose of this essay is to provide an overview of approaches to ecclesiology in the African context with specific reference to various institutional expressions of the ecumenical movement. While wider ecumenical ecclesiological debates have pondered on the distinctive nature of the church, African contributions have focused on the embeddedness of the church in the African context with its evolving cultures and social context. Decrying the split between what the church is (read: ecclesiology) and what it does (read: ethics) as a false dichotomy within the African context, I will argue for a critical appropriation of the sub-Saharan African non-dualistic notion of ubuntu as apposite for articulating an ecumenical ecclesiology within the African context. This is buttressed by the connotations of communality, communion and interrelatedness that ubuntu carries in addition to its resonance with other concepts in African thought, such as vital participation and vital force.

A Critical Study about the Methodology of Ecumenical Ecclesiology of Avery Dulles

A Critical Study about the Methodology of Ecumenical Ecclesiology of Avery Dulles

The Motherhood of the Church in Henri de Lubac and John Calvin

ABSTRACTBoth Henri de Lubac and John Calvin described the Church as ‘mother’. From the patristic tradition, the motherhood of the Church had two dimensions: (i) the Mother Church as an institution delimited by the episcopacy of which inclusion was a necessity for salvation; and (ii) the Church as the mother of believers through whose ‘motherly’ care of bringing to life, nourishing and teaching through the sacraments God makes provision for his children. Both de Lubac and Calvin stress the maternal functions of the Church, but differ over how the Church’s motherhood relates to its visible identity and why inclusion in the Church is necessary for salvation. This article argues that this connection represents a rich theme for ecumenical ecclesiology. Despite divergent ecclesiological grammars and themes, Catholic and Reformed traditions are drawing from a shared patristic inheritance which gives good ground for dialogue for respective ecclesial self-understandings.

The 500th anniversary of the Reformation

The 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 represents a challenge as well as an opportunity for contemporary ecumenism. The challenge is how to remember the Reformation in a way that neither entrenches the divisions of the past nor denies the seriousness of the issues that lay at its heart. Responding to that challenge might begin by identifying within the Reformation a striving for renewal and unity in the gospel. That would underline the importance of repentance in seeking Christian unity. It would emphasize the need to address the current distance between ecumenical ecclesiology on the one hand and the theology and practice of mission on the other. Finally, it would point to the centrality of the person of Jesus Christ for ecumenical thinking about gospel and Church. Together, these points could form a significant agenda for contemporary ecumenism.

Living Ecumenism: Margaret O'Gara's Ecumenical Ecclesiology

Margaret O'Gara was a prominent Canadian theologian who taught at the faculty of theology of St. Michael's College (University of Toronto) for thirty-six years. She was deeply engaged in the ecumenical movement, mainly as a Catholic representative in international and North American ecumenical dialogues: with the Anglican Church, the Disciples of Christ, the Lutheran Church, the Mennonites, and Evangelical communities. This essay is a study of the principal features of her ecumenical theology and her involvement in ecumenical dialogues, focusing on five major themes: the purification of memory, ecumenical gift exchange, primacy in the universal church, friendship in the ecumenical movement, common prayer and intercommunion, and the ecclesiology of communion and the nature of the church. While all of O'Gara's ecumenical involvement was in bilateral dialogues, she was totally committed to ecumenism as a principle of life—a living and lived ecumenism.

An Evangelical Response to The Church: Towards a Common Vision

The author has prepared an evangelical response to The Church: Towards a Common Vision based on classroom discussions at the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit in Leuven, Belgium, and with the kind cooperation of colleagues. The respondents have no authority to speak for an ecclesial family. In fact, they do not even share a denominational allegiance. They can, however, offer a multilayered appreciation from within the diverse evangelical movement, which is characterized by a shared spirituality. After general remarks, Faith and Order’s second convergence document is discussed from conversionist, restorationist and revivalist perspectives. While opinions on the document diverge, there is a general appreciation for the work of Faith and Order. It is explained how the document challenges the evangelical movement to critical self-reflection. Particular theological emphases of the evangelical movement that can contribute to the developing ecumenical ecclesiology are suggested as well.

Exploring a Common Vision for the Church for a North American Context: The 2014 North American Academy of Ecumenists Conference—President’s Introduction

Exploring a Common Vision for the Church for a North American Context: The 2014 North American Academy of Ecumenists Conference—President’s Introduction Mitzi J. Budde (bio) Keywords ecclesiology, ecumenism, ecumenical, koinonia. –North American Academy of Ecumenists, World Council of Churches The essays in this collection were presented at the annual conference of the North American Academy of Ecumenists (NAAE), held September 26–28, 2014, in Burbank, California. This was the Academy’s first joint conference, and it was co-sponsored by the Faith and Order Commission of the Southern California Ecumenical Council. The Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America hosted the conference at its magnificent new cathedral, dedicated in 2011, the Cathedral of St. Leon in Burbank. The theme of the conference was ecumenical ecclesiology, focused particularly on the 2013 convergence document from the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC), The Church: Towards a Common Vision (TCTCV).1 This document is a remarkable ecumenical achievement, as it is only the second WCC convergence document in its eighty years (the first having been the 1982 Lima document, Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry2 [BEM]). The Academy undertook to study this new convergence text and to explore its relevance and significance, particularly for a North American context. [End Page 202] The Significance of the TCTCV Text What is distinctive about The Church: Towards a Common Vision? First, TCTCV seeks to “serve the churches in three ways,” providing “information, reaction and growth”: (1) by providing a synthesis of the results of ecumenical dialogue about important ecclesiological themes in recent decades; (2) by inviting them to appraise the results of this dialogue—confirming positive achievements, pointing out deficiencies and/or indicating areas that have not received sufficient attention; and (3) by providing an occasion for the churches to reflect upon their own understanding of the Lord’s will so as to grow towards greater unity (cf. Eph. 4:12–16).3 Second, TCTCV’s overarching methodology, koinonia ecclesiology, takes the concept further than previous ecumenical documents, as discussed by John Gibaut in his first keynote address. TCTCV asserts: “There is a growing consensus that koinonia, as communion with the Holy Trinity, is manifested in three interrelated ways: unity in faith, unity in sacramental life, and unity in service (in all its forms, including ministry and mission).”4 Third, TCTCV is distinctive in the themes it explores: the Church as “a community of witness,” “a community of worship,” and “a community of discipleship.”5 This document seeks to bring together issues both of faith and order and of life and work, addressing questions of justice, morality, interreligious dialogue, and concern for the poor and suffering alongside traditional ecclesiological questions of sacraments and ministry. This effort is reflected in its structure: The Church: Towards a Common Vision opens with a chapter exploring how the Christian community finds its origin in the mission of God for the saving transformation of the world. The Church is essentially missionary, and unity is essentially related to this mission. The second chapter sets out the salient features of an understanding of the Church as Communion, gathering the results of much common reflection both about how Scripture and subsequent tradition relate the Church to God and some of the consequences of this relation for the life and structure of the Church. The third [End Page 203] chapter focuses upon the growth of the Church as the pilgrim people moving towards the kingdom of God, especially upon several difficult ecclesiological questions that have divided the churches in the past. It registers the progress towards greater convergence about some of these issues and clarifies points about which churches may need to seek further convergence. The fourth chapter develops some significant ways in which the Church relates to the world as a sign and agent of God’s love, such as proclaiming Christ within an interreligious context, witnessing to the moral values of the Gospel and responding to human suffering and need.6 What commends the text of TCTCV for the same depth and breadth of study, analysis, and response that the churches gave to BEM in the 1980’s? TCTCV is a tour de force...

Better Together: Apostolicity and Apostolic Succession in Light of an Ecumenical Ecclesiology

Better Together: Apostolicity and Apostolic Succession in Light of an Ecumenical Ecclesiology