Document
by Rev. Dr Hermen Shastri
Introduction
The Faith and Order study on Ecclesiology—with an initial study-text published as Faith and Order Paper No 181 (1998)—was revised in December 2005. The revision was based on the responses received and after careful discernment by the Standing Commission at its various meetings.
As it now stands, the text seeks to express common convictions about the church, its nature and mission, and to identify the ecclesiological issues which continue to divide the churches today.
The subtitle of the texts, A Stage on the Way to a Common Statement, indicates that it is a provisional text; in other words, it is still a work in progress. The text, it is hoped, will be enriched and become more mature as the Commission takes into consideration the responses received since 2006 from the churches, and others, and the responses that will be received until the end of January 2010.
