Search results

''At this critical juncture, this book brings together 'texts and voices' that reveal both the profound legacy of the ecumenical movement and the spiritual, theological basis on which it can build to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.'' -- Editor Michael Kinnamon

Included in this exhaustive collection are significant passages from the most widely influential texts produced by assemblies, consultations, and statements of the World Council of Churches, carefully selected, edited, and introduced. They address the most important aspects of the ecumenical movement from its beginnings more than a century ago to toda

At the heart of the ecumenical fellowship stands a moral imperative, a kind of pledge by the churches to hold themselves and one another accountable in their faithfulness.

"God of life, lead us to justice and peace”
Under this theme, the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches drew 3500 registrants and thousands of other visitors from 100 countries to Busan, Republic of Korea, in late 2013. This indispensable volume not only records the essential business and actions of the assembly. It also captures something of the intellectual and religious energy of the assembly’s key presentations, discussions, and statements.

In an era in which life itself is imperilled, Christians around the world are challenged to authentic witness to the God of life and to justice and peace. Ecumenical Visions, prepared as a core resource for theological education and reflection in advance of the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, equips Christians to discern and develop relevant and responsible insights in many arenas of Christian engagement.

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.

Despite the presumption that baptism is the basic bond of unity between the churches, the path toward mutual recognition remains a long one. Here is a brief yet authoritative guide to the historical, theological, and practical issues involved.

In an age of feel-good Christianity, it is perhaps counter-intuitive to stress the cross of Jesus, let alone to insist that it is the indispensable key to Christianity’s global future.
Yet, far from hiding in rosy scenarios of global peace and Christian unity, Olav Fykse Tveit here lifts up the cross—with its promise of suffering and contradiction—not only as a sign of personal reconciliation with God but also as the call, the challenge, and the agent of effective ecumenical Christian witness in the world today.

Modern ecumenism often traces its roots back to the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh. "Celebrating a Century of Ecumenism" brings readers up to date on one hundred years of global dialogue between many different church traditions, including Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Orthodox, Baptist, Disciples of Christ, Oriental Orthodox, and more. Eighteen essays by authors representing a wide spectrum of denominational interests outline the achievements of this movement toward unity.

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.

What do "mission" and "evangelism" mean in the theology and practice of churches active in the ecumenical movement today? "You Are the Light of the World" is a compendium of statements on Christian mission produced within the World Council of Churches (WCC) from 1980 through early 2005.

The Ecumenical Review explores emerging issues within the ecumenical movement and the potential and reality of Christian cooperation in faith and action. Founded at the same time as the World Council of Churches in 1948, it focuses on themes of current importance to the movement for Christian unity