Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Ecumenical Quest

“ No one has a better grasp of Bonhoeffer’s legacy and

knowledge of the ecumenical movement than Keith Clements.

This is a publishing milestone for those interested in both.”

—John W. de Gruchy, University of Cape Town

The perennially fascinating and multi-faceted figure of Dietrich Bonhoeffer emerges whole in this vivid historical portrait by an eminent contemporary churchman and Bonhoeffer scholar.

Drawing on a full panoply of historical and archival resources, Keith Clements here asserts that Bonhoeffer’s “commitment to and active involvement in the ecumenical movement…form the most continuous thread of his life and activity, and link all his various engagements. Equally, the challenge that he laid down to that movement in his time remains a legacy which has still to be fully claimed by the ecumenical world today.”

Here is a fascinating narrative yet also a strong case that the key to the puzzle of Bonhoeffer’s life and deepest commitments also reveals to us vital clues to more authentic Christian life and community today.

Keith Clements is a British historian, theologian, and ecumenist whose international service includes eight years as general secretary of the Conference of European Churches. Among his several prior works on Bonhoeffer is volume 13 of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, London: 1933-1935, and his most recent other work is Ecumenical Dynamic: On Living in More than One Place at Once (WCC Publications).

Listen to the presentation from Keith Clements

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Ecumenical Quest

Listen to the presentation from Victoria J. Barnett

The Ecumenical and Interfaith Landscape in Bonhoeffer's Time

Listen to the presentation from Stephen Brown

Bonhoeffer's Continuing Challenge to the Ecumenical Movement