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A stellar collection of nearly 30 of the most important, orienting documents of contemporary ecumenical and missiological reflection. Composed and compiled to serve as a textbook for the meeting of the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute, held in Arusha, Tanzania, in conjunction with the world conference of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism in March 2018, the volume nurtures ecumenical theological formation with a contextual sensitivity yet a truly global focus.

Resources for the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism

A gift to the ongoing work of reconciliation among Christians, the textual fruits of ecumenical dialogue over the last decade are presented here in complete documents. The vast yield is here collected in two volumes, incorporating bilateral and multilateral dialogues of the churches across the Christian confessions—Orthodox, Catholic, and Reformation traditions—and evinces not only agreements and disagreements but also the new insights that dialogue itself reveals.

Sharing Good News is a comprehensive and timely contribution to the field of evangelism that takes full measure of the distinct challenges and opportunities that Christians face in contemporary Europe for students, professors, clergy and practitioners. Sharing Good News offers important keys to revitalizing Christian evangelism in the lives and discipleship of Christians across Europe.

Developed in a years-long consultative process, the volume includes expert contributions from around Europe and from a variety of confessional traditions keenly tuned to the particular challenges raised by secularization, migration, interreligious and cross-cultural encounter; a systematic, ecumenical framework for understanding evangelism in the present context; probing theological work on the meaning of evangelism in relation to mission, ecclesiology, and spirituality; and eight case studies that illustrate best practices and new paradigms in evangelism.

Faith and Order Papers 218

The common study of the sources of authority shows that the church cannot exist without, beyond, or above authority. The church sustains the authority of God. And here comes the clash with the secular world.

Living and witnessing to their faith in the first centuries after the New Testament, the men and women of the early church—theologians and bishops, ascetics and martyrs—have exerted a profound influence and authority in the subsequent theological and ecclesial periods and traditions.

“New refreshing insights on our understanding of the gospel in the 21st century from our ancient past—this is the surprising impact of what is captured in this small book in which the thoughts of early church figures are brought alive in a new way.” —Setri Nyomi, World Communion of Reformed Churches, General Secretary

At once the instrument of and obstacle to Christian unity, the identity of the church itself has often been the subject of debate and division in Christian history. Yet, despite such diversity and the steep challenges presented by the present context, The Church: Towards a Common Vision presents a genuine ecumenical convergence of understanding on the fundamental character and mission of the Church from a variety of communions, traditions, and regions.

The historic ecumenical journey of the Commission on Faith and Order towards the goal of visible unity in one faith and in one eucharistic fellowship led them to the island of Crete in 2009 and to a fresh appreciation of many facets—historical, doctrinal, social, spiritual—of what it means to be called to be one Church today.

This stimulating volume gathers a rich array of presentations and reports from the Crete meeting, focused especially on the doctrine of the Church and the changing shape of the “visible unity” that Christians seek. Chief among its study projects, and the central focus of this volume, is rethinking the nature and mission of the Church in light of new contextual insights from around the world, deeper appreciation of the early Church’s ecclesial legacy, and highlighting the prophetic and missional roles of the Church today.

One Baptism: Towards Mutual Recognition is a recent contribution to the churches’ quest for Christian unity. A decade in the making, it is a study document from the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order that invites further dialogue among Christians concerning baptism within the One Church of Jesus Christ.

Commemorating the martyrdom and witness of Christians, both past and present, is a vital yet untapped source of Christian self-understanding and courage for the future. A Cloud of Witnesses reflects on the growing awareness that contemporary and historical witnesses to the Christian faith not only belong to individual confessional groups, but are also a source of inspiration for all the churches.