Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement: "unity"

Unity

The following article by Günther Gassmann is the entry on unity from the revised edition of the Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement published jointly by the World Council of Churches and the Wm. Eerdmans in 2002.

Christians confess the church as "one, holy, catholic and apostolic" (Nicene Creed, 381). Even where this creed is not in official use, the oneness of the church of Jesus Christ is affirmed. Thus the unity of the church, while it is a goal yet to be realized in history, has as its essential presupposition the already-given oneness of the church. The ecumenical task, then, is to manifest this oneness, to make it visible and effective.

Both this indicative and this imperative are grounded in biblical witness. The New Testament writings refer in a great variety of ways and images to the oneness or unity of the church as one of the fundamental characteristics of its nature and mission (see also New Testament and Christian unity, images of the church). This unity, as well as the very being of the church, is grounded in and reflects the unity of the Trinity. As there is only one God, one Lord (see Jesus Christ, uniqueness of Christ), one Holy Spirit and one communion among them, there can be only one church: the one people of God, the one Body of Christ, the one temple of the Holy Spirit. This God-given unity is constantly sustained by the proclamation of the one gospel, the celebration of the one baptism as incorporation into the one body, and the eucharistic communion (see eucharist) with Christ in the Holy Spirit and with one another. It becomes visible in the koinonia within and between Christian communities, in their confession of the same faith, in spiritual and sacramental fellowship, in mutual love, in the common service of the multiple gifts of the Spirit given to all, in the upbuilding of each community and of their communion with each other through a common apostolic ministry (see ministry in the church). It becomes effective in the world through common service (see diakonia) and witness in continuing the mission of Christ. These basic lines of the biblical witness were expressed not as a theoretical system but in direct relation to the emerging early Christian community, and they are often formulated as exhortations and challenges addressed to communities whose internal unity or whose bond of unity among them was threatened from within or outside.

The struggle for unity

From NT times church history has been deeply marked by the tension between the confession of the given oneness of the church of Jesus Christ and the historical reality of division within Christianity (see schism). The implications of these divisions for the oneness of the church of Christ as confessed in the creed have been and still are interpreted differently by the different Christian traditions. Some claim that the one church is preserved in their own tradition, others have seen in the divided Christian traditions "branches" of the one tree, while yet others have come to the recognition that the divisions break up the Body of Christ and are therefore to be regarded as sinful (see sin). Yet, whatever the explanations, there was a growing general recognition before, and even more so after, the turn of the 20th century that a divided Christianity is a counter-witness against the confession of the one church and thus contradicts the gift, will and prayer of Jesus Christ. This recognition brought about the modern ecumenical movement, which sought to reverse church history from a history of division to a movement towards unity.

With the establishment of the WCC in 1948, the aspirations and efforts for unity received a new and effective instrument. Accordingly, the first constitutional function of the WCC is "to call the churches to the goal of visible unity in one faith and in one eucharistic fellowship expressed in worship and in common life in Christ, and to advance towards that unity in order that the world may believe". This commitment finds its central expression in the work of the WCC commission on Faith and Order, with the understanding that all the diverse activities of the WCC should help the churches effectively to live out their already-existing fellowship and to move on towards full visible unity. Since 1948 the WCC has helped churches to enter into radically changed relationships with each other, to reach agreements and convergences in basic issues of faith and order, and to develop forms of solidarity, cooperation and common witness. With the official entry of the Roman Catholic Church into the ecumenical movement at the time of the Second Vatican Council, the efforts for unity have been decisively broadened and now include all major Christian traditions.

Concepts and models of unity

Already in the early stages of the F&O movement, discussion of particular church-dividing issues inevitably raised questions like: What are the constitutive elements of the unity we seek? How much (and in what form) is agreement necessary in such elements? How much diversity is possible and legitimate? In what form is unity to be expressed? Some Protestants emphasized the already-existing spiritual unity as a sufficient basis for mutual respect and for cooperation in mission and service. Others went one step further and pleaded for general agreement on some basic convictions of faith as a basis for forming federations of churches (see federalism). Anglicans and some others consistently argued for the goal of organic or corporate unity/union (see union, organic), which would be realized in the coming together of hitherto independent churches in one, united church.

The concept of organic unity received a certain pre-eminence in the F&O movement and in the work of the WCC after 1948. This theme is clearly seen in the way the 1961 assembly in New Delhi formulated for the first time the goal of unity: "We believe that the unity which is both God’s will and his gift to his church is being made visible as all in each place who are baptized into Jesus Christ and confess him as Lord and Saviour are brought by the Holy Spirit into one fully committed fellowship, holding the one apostolic faith, preaching the one gospel, breaking the one bread, joining in common prayer, and having a corporate life reaching out in witness and service to all, and who at the same time are united with the whole Christian fellowship in all places and all ages in such wise that ministry and members are accepted by all, and that all can act and speak together as occasion requires for the tasks to which God calls his people."

The 1968 assembly in Uppsala further developed this concept by emphasizing its universal and conciliar dimension and by the call to the churches "to work for the time when a genuinely universal council may once more speak for all Christians and lead the way into the future". The 1975 Nairobi assembly re-affirmed the basic statement of New Delhi and combined it with the Uppsala emphasis on the conciliar and universal dimension of unity: "The one church is to be envisioned as a conciliar fellowship of local churches which are themselves truly united. In this conciliar fellowship each local church possesses, in communion with the others, the fullness of catholicity, witnesses to the apostolic faith, and therefore recognizes the others as belonging to the same church of Christ and guided by the same Spirit... Each church aims at maintaining sustained and sustaining relationships with her sister churches, expressed in conciliar gatherings whenever required for the fulfilment of their common calling." This concept of a conciliar fellowship met with wide approval in all Christian traditions.

At the time of the Nairobi assembly, the bilateral dialogues between Christian World Communions were already increasing in number, and in their context the question of the goal of unity was also raised. Because worldwide communions were undertaking these dialogues, the significance of entire confessional traditions in searching for and expressing unity was given more attention than the work of multilateral dialogues. Accordingly, concepts of unity like "unity in reconciled diversity", full communion between "sister churches" and "a communion of communions" were developed which seek to preserve (changed and reconciled) confessional identities as an element of future structures of church unity. Here the idea of a union, a merger of churches leading to a united church, is no longer seen as the only structural expression of organic unity. But in their description of the essential conditions of unity, these new concepts agree fully with the perspectives expressed in the New Delhi and Nairobi statements, including the idea of a "conciliar fellowship".

These perspectives were further developed within the framework both of salvation history and of ecumenical history in the statement of the 1991 Canberra assembly on "The Unity of the Church as Koinonia: Gift and Calling". It affirms: "The unity of the church to which we are called is a koinonia given and expressed in the common confession of the apostolic faith; a common sacramental life entered by the one baptism and celebrated together in one eucharistic fellowship; a common life in which members and ministries are mutually recognized and reconciled; and a common mission witnessing to the gospel of God’s grace to all people and serving the whole of creation. The goal of the search for full communion is realized when all the churches are able to recognize in one another the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church in its fullness. This full communion will be expressed on the local and the universal levels through conciliar forms of life and action."

Realizations of unity

Ecumenical language has long used the expression of an already-existing, though imperfect, fellowship between the churches to indicate that the churches are on their way from division to unity. This fellowship is expressed in new relationships with one another, forms of common prayer and worship, convergence on dividing theological differences, common witness and service. The WCC and the regional, national and local councils of churches are both expressions and instruments of this already-existing fellowship. But there are also more direct expressions of unity or steps towards it.

Churches of the same confession in a particular country have united. Different denominations have come together to form united churches, e.g. the United Church of Canada as early as 1925, the Church of South India (1947), the Churches of North India and Pakistan (1970), the United Reformed Church in the United Kingdom (1972), the Uniting Church in Australia (1977). Lutheran, United and Reformed churches in Europe have declared full church fellowship (Leuenberg agreement 1973; see Leuenberg Church Fellowship). Methodist churches in the former East and West Germany agreed with their Lutheran, United and Reformed partners to establish sacramental fellowship and forms of cooperation (see Lutheran-Methodist dialogue). One of the most significant recent ecumenical events was the establishment in 1996 of full communion, on the basis of the Porvoo common statement, between the four Anglican churches in Great Britain and Ireland and the Lutheran churches in Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. In the USA and Canada, Anglicans and Lutherans have moved from "interim eucharistic sharing" to full communion (see Anglican-Lutheran dialogue). In fact, most Reformation and Free churches practise today, whether officially declared or generally permitted, what is called eucharistic hospitality (see communion, intercommunion). All these forms manifest a commitment to move beyond mutual respect and friendly coexistence.

Methods and common orientations

In ecumenical endeavours one of the fundamental and continuing questions has been whether theological dialogue or common missionary and social action leads the churches into unity. Today many are agreed that this is not a true alternative, since efforts for unity require a comprehensive approach involving both the doctrine and the life of the churches. Another question where differences remain concerns the degree of consensus or convergence required for unity and the forms in which agreement should be expressed – whether by mutual recognition that each already holds the same faith or by new consensus texts. All agree that theological agreements and convergences need to be "received" by the churches on all levels of their life in order to facilitate steps towards unity (see reception). The spiritual dimension of unity (prayer, sharing in each other’s joys and sufferings) is affirmed by all, and the role of so-called non-theological factors in facilitating or preventing closer fellowship is also generally recognized. There is also general agreement that the goal of visible unity, however defined structurally, can be reached only by intermediary steps and forms on the way.

Among the common fundamental orientations which have emerged in the course of ecumenical history, the following are of special importance. First, the unity confessed in the creed and to be manifested by the churches is not merely a spiritual, invisible reality but must be visible. Sacramental communion is one basic element of this visibility, but there must also be additional forms of visible and effective expression. Second, unity is not to be regarded as uniformity but must allow for a diversity of theological expressions and forms of ecclesiastical life. Positive heritages of different Christian traditions should be preserved, and the "rootedness" of churches in various social and cultural contexts must be respected. Third, unity can be achieved only through renewal of the life of the churches. Such renewal is necessary in order to overcome antagonistic positions and constitutes at the same time an enrichment of thinking and life. Fourth, unity is not aimed at for its own sake but in order that the world might believe, i.e. for the sake of the salvation and renewal of all humanity according to God’s purpose. Finally, all forms of unity are provisional. They are first-fruits of that eschatological fulfilment when God will unite and complete all things in the perfect communion of his heavenly banquet (see eschatology).

The struggle for unity

Concepts and models of unity

Realizations of unity

Methods and common orientations

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