This historical dictionary covers the major trends in the 20th century ecumenical movement until today. It deals with developments in the realms of church unity, mission and evangelism, laity, women in church and society, and many other ecumenical subjects. It also covers many programs and activities of the World Council of Churches since its inception in 1948. The longer articles survey important theological themes while short articles provide quick reference on a precise question. The bibliography is not exhaustive-some 50,000 titles have been published since the beginning of this century-but very helpful for major bibliographical information. The dictionary is particularly strong in American subjects and includes a great number of ecuminical personalities which cannot be found in other reference works. This publication is not only an indispensible tool of research for university and seminary libraries but also for individual persons belonging to whatever Christian church who are interested in knowing more about reflections, relations, and activities in the several regions of the ecumenical world. A helpful description of the most important ecumenical assemblies and conferences is provided. To take stock of the past, to interpret the present, and to look forward into the third millenium of Christian existence are exciting and challenging enterprises.

This book presents twenty essays written in honor of the noted theologian and ecumenist Geoffrey Wainwright, Cushman Professor of Christian Theology at Duke University. The editors have assembled a remarkable international roster of contributors and have organized the volume around three major themes in Wainwright's work: worship, liturgy, and mission. Contributors include Nicholas Lossky, Eberhard Jungel, Dietrich Ritschl, and Gunther Gassman.

First published in 1996 this book examines the search for unity in the Church.

In the first volume of Essays in Ecumenical Theology Ivana Noble depicts differences between what she calls a sectarian outlook and one which engages in the search for common roots, dialogical relationships and shared mission in a world that has largely become post-Christian, but often also post-secular. Drawing on both Western and Orthodox scholarship, and expressing her own positions, Noble sketches what ecumenical theology is, how it is linked to spirituality, the methods it uses, how it developed during the twentieth century, and the challenges it faces. Specific studies deal with controversial interpretations of Jan Hus, Catholic Modernism, the problematic heritage of the totalitarian regimes, and responses to the current humanitarian crisis.

Pentecostal Theology and Ecumenical Theology: Interpretations, Intersections, and Inspirations brings together globally recognized and newer scholars to address the complex relationship between Pentecostalism and the Ecumenical Movement. Historical essays address topics such as early Pentecostal responses to and participation in ecumenism, explicit convergences between Pentecostal and ecumenical initiatives, and the particular contributions of Pentecostals and ecumenists outside North America and Europe. Constructive theological essays address intersections between ecumenical theology and systematic loci in Pentecostal perspective, in the hope that mutual exchange and criticism will lead to ways to improve both. Never before have this many scholars of Pentecostalism combined their efforts in order to focus on the relationship between Pentecostal theology and ecumenical theology past, present, and future.

In the second volume of her Essays in Ecumenical Theology, Ivana Noble engages in conversation with Orthodox theologians and spiritual writers on diverse questions, such as how to discover the human heart, what illumination by the divine light means, how spiritual life is connected to attitudes and acts of social solidarity, why sacrificial thinking may not be the best frame for expressing Christ’s redemption, why theological anthropology needs to have a strong ecological dimension, why freedom needs to coexist with love for others, and why institutions find the ability to be helpful not only in their own traditions but also in the Spirit that blows where it wills.

What is Ecumenism? Is Christian unity a legitimate hope or just a pious illusion? The aim of this book is to analyze the real obstacles that stand in the path to unity and to propose solutions, where these are possible. Distinguished authors from the main Christian denominations offer a unique insight into the problem of Christian divisions and the relationships between Christian communities. This work is not a politically correct exercise in diplomacy; rather, it informs the reader about the actual state of the ecumenical dialogue.

Reshaping Ecumenical Theology is a major contribution to the study of the Church. It provides clear and authoritative orientation for the student, while probing deep into a range of key issues in ecclesiology and ecumenical dialogue from a critical standpoint that will stimulate discussion among scholars and ecumenists. It reclaims some old orthodoxies, while challenging some new ones, and points to a deeper and more personal engagement with the major traditions of the Christian Church as the way to fuller unity and more effective mission. Reshaping Ecumenical Theology argues that the values of difference and diversity and the priority of mission and evangelisation must shape our picture of unity. It transcends old arguments about 'establishment', by showing that all churches are compelled to develop a constructive relationship to the modern state, wherever possible, if they are to be effective in mission. The central ecumenical notion of 'reception' is re-interpreted, not as the faithful unquestioningly receiving the teaching of church authorities, but as the process whereby the whole Church discerns the truth of new developments. The mantra 'baptism is complete sacramental initiation' is challenged, and the place of confirmation is secured within a total process of initiation. The ministry of the episcopate is affirmed, but only by being related to the gospel on which the Church is founded. The nature of communion is examined and the imperative of maintaining it against divisive tendencies is affirmed. 'The hermeneutics of unity' shows that we are shaped by each other through the conflict or rivalry of traditions: 'We are what we are because you are what you are'.

This volume proposes a fresh strategy for ecumenical engagement - 'Receptive Ecumenism' - that is fitted to the challenges of the contemporary context and has already been internationally recognised as making a distinctive and important new contribution to ecumenical thought and practice. Beyond this, the volume tests and illustrates this proposal by examining what Roman Catholicism in particular might fruitfully learn from its ecumenical others. Challenging the tendency for ecumenical studies to ask, whether explicitly or implicitly, 'What do our others need to learn from us?', this volume presents a radical challenge to see ecumenism move forward into action by highlighting the opposite question 'What can we learn with integrity from our others?' This approach is not simply ecumenism as shared mission, or ecumenism as problem-solving and incremental agreement but ecumenism as a vital long-term programme of individual, communal and structural conversion driven, like the Gospel that inspires it, by the promise of conversion into greater life and flourishing. The aim is for the Christian traditions to become more, not less, than they currently are by learning from, or receiving of, each other's gifts. The 32 original essays that have been written for this unique volume explore these issues from a wide variety of denominational and disciplinary perspectives, drawing together ecclesiologists, professional ecumenists, sociologists, psychologists, and organizational experts.

Whenever an attempt has been made in recent years at a diagnosis of the ecumenical movement, an impression has emerged of stagnation or even resignation. Has the momentum been lost? Taking this question as his starting point, in this book Konrad Raiser undertakes a critical examination of the present-day problems areas in the ecumenical movement. What some see as a period of marking time and helplessness, he attempts to understand in terms of a paradigm shift which will lead to fresh approaches to contemporary problems.