ONE IN CHRIST CONTENTS: 2002-2011

VOL 37 NO 1 JAN 2002

Re-receiving God's Yes Together. Charles Sherlock

The Re-reception of Papal Primacy. Eamon McManus

Primacy and Unity. + John Hind

Our Dysfunctional Church. Kilian McDonnell

Religious Philosophy and the Conversion of St Augustine. George Tavard

Intercommunion and the Meissen and Porvoo Agreements. Martin Reardon

VOL 37 NO 2 APRIL 2002

The Agreement on Justification: A Methodist Perspective. Geoffrey Wainwright

Justification as the Forgiveness of Sins and Making Righteous. Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen

Lutherans and Roman Catholics: Two Perspectives on Faith. Susan Wood, C.S.L.

The Reception of the Joint Declaration on Justification. Matthias Turk

The Proposed Anglican -Methodist Covenant. David Carter

VOL 37 NO 3 JULY 2002

Unity and Legitimate Diversity: An Introduction. David Carter

Comprehensiveness or Catholicity? Jaroslav Pelikan

Legitimate diversity in the Roman Catholic Tradition. Joseph Fameree

Unity and Diversity: An Anglican Standpoint. Martin Reardon

Unity and Reconciled Diversity: An Anglican Case Study. Mary Tanner

Unity in Legitimate Diversity: A Baptist Perspective. Faith Bowers

Unity in Reconciled Diversity: John Wesley on 'Essentialsí and 'Opinions'.

Donald Norwood, David Chapman

VOL 37 NO 4 OCT 2002

The Ecumenism of Andrewes and other Caroline Divines. Marianne Dorman

John Calvin on the Procession of the Holy Spirit. Adrian A. Helleman

Expectations and Forms of Regional Unity in the US Context. Jeffrey Gros

The Lectionary Our Common Table. Karen B. Westerfield Tucker

The Diaconate in Lutheran Traditions. Sven-Erik Brodd

VOL 38 NO 1 JAN 2003

Orthodox Participation in the WCC. Peter Bouteneff

Unity in the Gospel: Catholic Evangelical Relationships. lan Randall

Two Movements of the Holy Spirit: Global Pentecostalism & Ecumenism. Harold D Hunter

The Exhibition on Anglicanism. Stephen Platten

Homing to Rome: The Aeneid and the Acts of the Apostles. Patrick Reardon

Gathering into Union the Scattered Children of God. Michel Van Parys

Walter Kasper on the Local Bishop In the Universal Church. Killian McDonnell

VOL 38 NO 2 APRIL 2003

The Roman Catholic Presence in the Faith and Order Movement. Paul A Crow, Jr.

The Work of the Special Commission of the WCC on Orthodox Participation. Mary Tanner

Dialogue and Method: Learning from the Group des Dombes. Catherine E Clifford

The Impact of the Porvoo Agreement on the Church of England. David Tustin

VOL 38 NO 3 JULY 2003

Catholics and Orthodox in Russia Today. Philip Walters

The Mississauga Initiative. + Crispian Hollis

A School With a View. James Eblen

The Role of an Ecumenical Officer. James M. Cassidy

Ecumenism in Romania. Nicholas Stebbing

Are We Ready to Face the Floods: -Education for Interfaith Relations. Wesley Ariarajah

VOL 38 NO 4 OCT 2003

A Primatial Unity in a Synodical Context. Geoffrey Wainwright

The Ecumenical Vision in Need of Structures. Myriam Wijlens

Methodism, Roman Catholicism And the Middle Ages. John Munsey Turner

Lesslie Newbigin: An Ecumenical Life Between Several Worlds-Review Article. Bernhard

Eckerstorfer

VOL 39 NO 1 JAN 2004

A Unique Meeting in Mississauga. Mary Tanner

The Work of ARCIC 1968-2000. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O 'Connor

What We Agree on in the Light of The ARCIC Final Report. Rt Rev John Hind

Our Goal: Full and Visible Communion. Jean-Marie Tillard

Meditation on 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-12.  Frank T Griswold

Meditation on Acts 13: 30-33. Cardinal Walter Kasper

VOL 39 NO 2 APRIL 2004

Eucharistic Theology for the Bridge. Gerald Schlabach

Ecumenical Spirituality for the Third Millennium. Thomas Ryan

Faith on the Frontier: Apostolicity and the American Churches. Jeffrey Gros

Healing of Memories. Michael Hurley

The PCPCU Document on the Petrine Ministry. David Carter

VOL 39 NO 3 JULY 2004

Palestinian Christians: Theology and Politics in the Holy Land. Leonard Marsh

The Patriarch of Jerusalem in the Greek, Palestinian, Israeli Triangle. Sotiris Roussos

Christianity in Modern Israel. Leon Menzies

The Vatican, the Latin Patriarchate and Jerusalem. Anthony O 'Mahony

VOL 39 NO 4 OCT 2004

Mission Theology in Dialogue Between Catholics and Pentecostals. Hans Hess

Universal Episkope and Papal Ministry: Responses to Ut Unum Sint. Peter Laning

A Transforming Initiative: Ministry to Interchurch Engaged Couples. George Kilcourse

Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Approaches to Ecumenism. Lawrence Cross

A Contemporary Concept of Law. James Danaher

A Pneumatological Radical Free Church View of Ordination. Robert Muthiah

VOL 40 NO 1 JAN 2005

Petrine Ministry and Christocracy: A response to Ut unum sint. Paul Anderson

Luther's Summa on Christian Life: An Ecumenical Retrieval and Revival. Mark Chapman

'Not Strangers but Pilgrims' The 1980s Inter-Church Process. Colin Davey & Martin Reardon

After Christendom: Benedict, Maclntyre and the Future of Anglicanism. Angus Ritchie

VOL 40 NO 2 APRIL 2005

The Church Ahead of the Church? The SCM as an Ecumenical Pioneer. Robin Boyd

Monasticism and the Anglican Communion. Donald Allchin

Liturgics as Ecumenical Theology: James White 1932-2004. David Tripp

Christian Unity: The Communal Participation in Christ's Body and Blood.                       Lace Marie Williams

Martin Reardon. Mary Tanner

Catholicity and Unity. David Carter

VOL 40 NO 3 JULY 2005

A Response to Orientale Lumen. Benedict Gaughan

Coptic Orthodox Thought in Modern Egypt. Anthony O'Mahony

An Ecumenical Role Played by Monastic Literature:The Case of Isaac the Syrian.  Sebastian Brock

Armenian Christianity: A Historical and Theological Overview. John Whooley

The Macarian Homilies: A Wellspring of the Christian Mystical Tradition. Marcus Plested

The Monastic Contribution to East-West Dialogue. Hugh Gilbert

VOL 40 NO 4 OCT 2005

Christians in Iraq. Aziz M Abdul Nour

Eastern Christianity in Iraq: History and Ecumenism. William Taylor

The Catholic Church and Dialogue with the Syrian Churches. Sebastian Brock

Healing and Reconciliation: Catholic-Syrian Orthodox Dialogue. Mar Gregorius Ibrahim

The Ethiopian Church and its Monastic Tradition. Colin Battell

Unitatis Redintegratio and Orientale Lumen. Dyfrig Harris

Ecumenical Perspectives on the Breaking of Bread. Nicholas Paxton

VOL 41 NO 1 JAN 2006

Possintne Omnes Unum Esse? A Pentecostal Response to Ut Unum Sint. Terry Cross

A Pentecostal Response to Ut Unum Sint. Glen Menzies

Can They be One? A Response. Jeffrey Gros

The Place of Ecumenical Monasticism In the Ecumenical Movement. Nancy Gower

Abraham and Mary Models of Faith in Kierkegaard and John Paul II. Agneta Sutton

The Decree on Ecumenism Forty Years On: A Reflection. Norman Young

Ecumenical Prayer in Czestochowa. Donald Bolen

VOL 41 NO 2 APRIL 2006

The Process of Ecumenism: The Roman Catholic-Eastern Orthodox Dialogue of Love. Lawrence Cross

Religious Freedom at Vatican II: It's Impact on Ecumenical and Interrelgious Dialogue. John Keane

Ut Unum Sint - An Anglican Response. Rt Revd Mark Santer

Mary -Grace and Hope in Christ: Some Reflections. David Carter

VOL 41 NO 3 JULY 2006

Christianity, Interreligious Dialogue and Muslim-Christian Relations. Anthony O'Mahony

Christ in Islam. John Flannery

Who is Muhammad for Christians? An Exploration in the Thought and Theology of Kenneth Cragg. Joan Chadirchi

The Church of England and Islam: Muslim Christian Relations in Contemporary Britain. Barbara Mitchell

VOL 41 NO 4 OCT 2006

The Russian Orthodox Church and Islam. Basil Cousins

Scriptural Corruption in Christian-Muslim Dialogue. Philip Ind

Pope Benedict XVI, Interreligious Dialogue and Islam. B. Wood & A. Unsworth

VOL 42 NO 1 2008

Beyond the Local and the Universal: Search for New Paradigms in Ecclesiology.                  K. M. George

The Logos of our Advaitic Ekklesia.  R.Brad Bannon

The Maronite Catholic Church: History and Identity.  Emma Loosely.

The Ethiopian Catholic Church: A Tale of Two Rites.  Kevin Robinson

The Official Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church:1973-1992.  Frans Bouwen MAfr.

Ravenna and Beyond. The Question of the Roman Papacy and the Orthodox Churches in the Literature 1962-2006.  Adam DeVille

The Evolving Face of Ecumenism.  Thomas Ryan CSP

Catholic-Methodist Dialogue: Promise, Hope and Caution.  David Carter

Fifty Years and Running: Oberlin 57, Back and Beyond. Jeffrey Gros FSC.

A Journey of Reconciliation at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute : 11 March – 11 April 2008

Rt Revd Dr Michael Jackson launches book on Irish School of Ecumenics

Paul D. Murray on recent Developments in Receptive Ecumenism at Durham University

VOL 42 NO 2 2008

Hospitality. Leslie Griffiths

Catholic and Mennonite: a Journey of Healing. Gerald W. Schlabach

New Paths for Dialogue: Chiara Lubichʼs Ecumenical Legacy. Brendan Leahy

Paul Couturtier and Maurice Villain. Frederick Bliss SM and Alois Greiler SM

War. John F. Deane

The Plight of Iraqui Christians. Suha Rassam

ʻGrowing Together in Unity and Missionʼ. An Agreed Statement of IARCCUM.              Mary Tanner

ʻThe Apostolicity of the Churchʼ.Study Document of the Lutheran-RC Commission on Unity. David Carter

Words of the Unknown Soldier. John F. Deane

Healing the Distorted Face: Doctrinal Reinterpretation(s) and the Christian Response to the Other. Peter Admirand

Being One at Home: Interchurch Families as Domestic Church.                                    Thomas Knieps-Port le Roi

Lambeth Indaba 2008 and its Ecumenical Implications. Gregory K. Cameron

Forty Years of Interchurch Families. Ruth Reardon

International Interconfessional Congress of Religious. Nicholas Stebbing CR

Fraternal Address to the Synod Bishops. Robert K. Walsh

Lourdes Ecumenical Conference. Rowan Williams and Walter Kasper

A Journey of Reconciliation ate the Tantur Ecumenical Institute. (contd.) Rosemary Kidd

Words of the Unknown Soldier. John F. Deane

VOL 43 NO 1 2009

Dom Bede Winslow 1888-1959. Benedict Gaughan OSB

Bose: an Ecumenical Monastery. Guido Dotti

ʻLife Precedes Lawʼ: The Story So Far of the Chemin Neuf Community. Timothy Watson

St Anselm of Canterbury: His Mission of Reconciliation. R.W.Southern

A Response to R.W. Southernʼs ʻSt Anselm of Canterbury and His Mission of Reconciliation.ʼ  Rowan Williams

Bishop Bell 1883-1958. Mary Tanner

Mixed Marriages and Sharing in the Eucharist: Universal Catholic Norms and some particular Catholic Norms (part 1). Georges Ruyssen SJ

On Becoming a Christian: Commentary on the Fifth Phase Report of the International Catholic/Pentecostal Dialogue. Ralph Del Colle

The Scope of Salvation. A Wesleyan reflection prompted by the Joint Declaration on Justification. Norman Young

The Figure of Mary from Israel to the Church in the Orthodox Tradition.                                 Nicholas Egender OSB

Re-establishing the Sacramentality of Creation: Understanding the So-called Gnosticism of Paul Florensky. B.J. Lawrence Cross

ʻNothing but God.ʼ John Mayhead OSB

A sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the death of St Anselm, 1109-2009

Anglicans in Rome 2009. Frederick Bliss SM.

Chemin Neufʼs Comminity Manifesto: Serving the Church and the Unity of Christians, 1986-2009. Laurent Fabre

VOL 43 NO 2 2009

Kenosis and the Church. Catherine E. Clifford

Moments of Crisis and Grace: Jewish-Catholic Relations in 2009. David Neuhaus

Calvin and Ecumenism. Alec Ryrie

Pride and Prejudice: the Vocation of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Robin Gibbons

The Primacy of Peter: an Eastern Perspective. Demetrios Charbak

The Petrine Ministry. Colin Battell

Mixed Marriages and Sharing in the Eucharist: Universal Catholic norms and some particular Catholic norms (part 2). Georges Ruyssen

Roman Catholic-Reformed Dialogue. David Carter

Edinburgh 1910 to 2010: Centenary Assessment and Mission Renewal. Kenneth R. Ross and Kirsteen Kim

Bilateral Dialogues between the Churches: Milestones on the Path of Unity. André Birmelé

Address by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Willebrands Centenary Symposium in Rome, 12 November 2009.

A Response to ʻMary: Grace and Hope in Christʼ. The Anglican - Roman Catholic Dialogue of Canada.

Reflections on the Faith and Order Plenary, Crete, October 2009:                                           Renewing the Marks: Called to be One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. Jamie Hawkey Receptive Ecumenism and Faith and Order. Paul D. Murray

 

VOL 44 NO 1 2010

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor: An Interview with Martin Browne

Musings on Archbishop Rowan Williams’s address at the Willebrands Symposium.    James Puglisi

The Apostolic Constitution ‘Anglicanorum coetibus’: an Anglican Juridical Perspective.   Norman Doe

‘Anglicanorum coetibus’: Ecumenical Implications for Mutual Recognition of Ministry.  G.R. Evans

‘Anglicanorum coetibus’: Generous Offer or Aggressive Attack? A Problem of Ecclesiology.  J.A. Arnold

John Henry Newman and the Sanctification of Ambivalence.  Andrew Pierce

Oneness and Trinitarian Pentecostalism: Critical Dialogue on the Ecumenical Creeds.  Wolfgang Vondey

Review article.  ‘Beloved Dust: Tides of the Spirit in Christian Life’  by Robert Davis Hughes III.   Radu Bordeianu

The Italian-Albanian Church: a study in modern history and contemporary ecclesial context.   Anthony O’Mahony

A note on the antiphon: ‘Sub tuum praesidium’.    Eoin de Bhaldraithe

Conference commemorating the 15th Anniversary of ‘Orientale Lumen’, 15 May 2010.   Benedict Gaughan

Conference opening address.  + Vincent Nichols

Christianity in Iraq Seminar Day, 24 April 2010.  Erica Hunter

How Interchurch Families Live the Reality of the ‘Domestic Church’.  George A. Kilcourse

Edinburgh 2010: Reminiscences and Reflections on the Spirituality of a Conference.   Elizabeth Moran 

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VOL. 44 No.2 2010

Editorial

Part 1 of this volume focused on more specifically Western concerns. However, in refocusing on the East, we are confronted with a set of topics that are of crucial concern, for all Churches, in any part of the world. And not only for Christian churches. Globalization has, willy nilly, helped put questions of identity high on all agendas, religious, political, cultural. The overlap of these agendas is as great as ever; but perhaps more difficult to ignore.

Our Eastern focus is prompted by the Synod for the Catholic Church in the Middle East held in Rome, 10-24 October last. Issues about ecclesial identity, discussed in many of the following pages, find their echo in the political arena. Thus, words spoken in Indonesia last November by President Obama are apposite: 'We can choose to be defined by our differences ... or we can choose to do the hard work of finding common ground'. This journal's starting-point is epitomised by our opening articles, demonstrating how diverse traditions—in this case Syriac and Western—announce, symphonically, the great Tradition of conversion to the mind of Christ.

A critical component of discussions about identity, not least in religious matters, is that of gender. It is troubling if this has become a side-issue on the ecumenical agenda. Its discussion in this issue is especially welcome.

The Groupe des Dombes Report, 'One teacher': doctrinal authority in the church, presented under Reports & Events, concludes with words of Bruno Chenu:

'Every Christian is called to be a "universal brother" or a "universal sister" wherever they live. It would be a wonderful contribution if globalization were to open each human being to the possibility of an identity based, not on opposition or exclusion, but on relationship with others, in the awareness of a legitimate otherness and of an indelible resemblance, so that ultimately, in a Pauline or Irenaean dynamic, "God may be all in all" (I Cor. 15:28).' See Bruno Chenu, L'Eglise sera-t-elle catholique? (Paris: Bayard, 2004), 159.

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Three Christian Women of the Arab Orient: Rafqa, Mariam, Hindiyya

Avril M. Makhlouf

The focus of this paper is Eastern Catholic mysticism as articulated by three Catholic women in the modern Middle East, each positioned at the axial point of a theological and cultural interchange between the Latin Catholic West and the Syriac Catholic East, especially as expressed by the Maronite Church tradition. Their lives span 1720–1914, a period which saw tumultuous change in the Middle East, and the emergence of a distinctive Middle Eastern Catholic ecclesial and religious culture. Rafqa, Mariam and Hindiyya contribute uniquely to understanding Eastern Catholic thought and theology and to the development of a wider canon for the study of Christian spirituality in the modern world.

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Isaac of Nineveh, John of Dalyatha and Eastern Spirituality

+Antoine Audo sj

This paper,first presented as a lecture at the Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College in November 2009, is dedicated to the spirituality of two of the great Syriac Christian mystics and writers, Isaac of Nineveh and John of Dalyatha in comparative perspective with the Latin Catholic tradition,especially the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius and the Carmelite tradition. Both the Jesuit and the Carmelite orders have had a strong presence in the modern Middle East and have made a significant contribution to the emergence of a distinct Catholic tradition. The study is embedded in the theological and ecclesial culture characteristic of the Chaldean Catholic tradition.

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The Renewal of the Coptic Catholic Church: Grappling with Identity and Alterity

Fadel Sidarous sj

The Coptic Catholic Church [CCC] is a minority, twice-over: Christian, in an overwhelmingly Muslim society; and Catholic, in relation to the Orthodox majority. Furthermore, its potential role as bridge with the Orthodox seems overlooked by the Roman Church. The temptation to retreat into an exclusivist identity is strong. The difficulty of engaging with secular reality is exacerbated by the clericalisation of the various religious communities in Egypt, where religious affiliation has replaced political involvement. A plea is made for an 'enlightened secularisation', for a Gospel openness to today's world—serving the 'whole man'—which embraces the CCC's multi-faceted plural identity, as opportunity, not threat.

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'Communion and Witness'. Renewed Liturgy and the Eastern Churches: a vision for the future

Robin Gibbons

This article examines the place and role of liturgy in the life of the Eastern Catholic Churches, not only as a source of spirituality and life, but also as a tool of evangelisation and witness. The recent Synod of the Catholic Churches in the Middle East called for a renewal and adaptation of liturgical life, this being a pastoral response to the needs of the various Christian communities there and in diaspora countries. Some recent liturgical shifts in the Roman rite have tended to focus on a number of external elements and fidelity to the Latin tradition and translation; however, the call to renewal by the Eastern Catholic Churches is in essence a return to the pastoral vision of the Second Vatican Council and a recovery of authentic 'Tradition' amongst diverse 'traditions'—a healthy sign!

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Orientale Lumen. Ecumenical Dialogue in the Tradition of Vatican II: a Monastic Perspective

Nikola Proksch osb

This paper, first given at the Orientale Lumen conference held at Heythrop College in May 2010, identifies the tradition of monastic life as a vital presence from the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement, through Vatican II, to the present day. As a living expression of the faith shared by East and West, monks and nuns inspired pioneering ecumenical initiatives. By their studies, and the encounters they foster, for example at Minster Abbey, they continue to facilitate a dialogue in truth and love.

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Contemporary Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue in the Patriarchate of Antioch

Demetrios Charbak

This paper, first given at the Orientale Lumen conference held at Heythrop College in May 2010, describes current problems confronting Christians in the East, as well as recent and continuing progress Orthodox and Catholic are making in Antioch, in the Dialogue of truth, both local and official, as well as in the Dialogue of love.

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Nicolas Lossky: an Interview

Nicolas Lossky was born in 1929 in Paris. He is a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church. He is professor emeritus of English intellectual history at the University of Paris-Nanterre, and professor of Church history at the Orthodox theological Institute of St Sergius (Paris). He was formerly director of the Higher Institute of Ecumenical Studies. From 1974 until 1998, he was a member of Faith and Order. Then he was a member of the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches until 2006.                     Thierry Marteaux osb interviewed him earlier this year.

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Modern Catholic Thought on Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations

Anthony O’Mahony

This paper considers the evolution of modern Catholic Thought on Islam and Christian-Muslim relations from the Second Vatican Council onwards against a changing global religious and political context. The principal currents of Catholic theology which emerged from theologians and scholars, such as Louis Massignon, are discussed as they influenced the drafting and preparation of the Conciliar Document Nostra Aetate. An account of Catholic theological engagement with Islam, in the context of religious challenge, is described in relation to the contemporary contours of Christian-Muslim encounter.

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Reviving the Gender Agenda: a human development approach

Trish Madigan op

Since the two International Decades for Women (UN and WCC) a much needed discussion about gender seems to have fallen from the ecumenical agenda. After reviewing the position in which women find themselves in the world and church of today and the ecumenical treatment of this question, this article will look at how the ongoing discussion on gender across cultures and faiths might be re-visioned and revitalized through an ethical (human development) approach drawing on the ‘capabilities’ paradigm of development of Nobel Prize Winner Amartya Sen and his collaborator, Martha Nussbaum.

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Episkope: a recent study of the Lutheran–Roman Catholic dialogue in Australia

Gerard Kelly

The dialogue between Lutherans and Roman Catholics in Australia has worked patiently since 1975 on major questions dividing the churches. Its most recent statement challenges both churches about the understanding and practice of the ministry of oversight (episcopal ministry). This article will give some background to the study before focusing on certain sections of the final text: the dispute at the time of the Reformation and its relevance today; the divine institution of episcopal oversight; the apostolic succession; and the relationship between bishops and the pastorate.

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Christian Dialog as Symphonic Unity: Lessons on Non-Contrastive Language-Use from Thomas Aquinas and Meister Eckhart

Anastasia Christine Wendlinder

Directed by Cardinal Walter Kasper’s metaphor of ecumenism as 'symphonic unity', this article explores the lessons Thomas Aquinas and Meister Eckhart might teach us about engaging diverse voices in Christian dialog. For both medieval theologians, diversity in speech and tradition are necessary to move the believer beyond conventional ways of understanding the relationship between Creator and human creature, manifested by the Church united as the body of Christ in the world. Like the composition of a symphony, a variety of instrumental voices together not only transform ordinary notes into unique sounds and melodies but transform the audience as well.

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Reports & Events

'One Teacher': Doctrinal Authority in the Church                         Christianne Méroz and Bernard Sesboüé sj

The Synod of Bishops: the Catholic Church in the Middle East            +Antoine Audo sj

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Book Reviews

Reshaping Ecumenical Theology: The Church Made Whole? Paul Avis (London: T.&T. Clark International, 2010), 209 pages, including index of names.

Criteria of Discernment in Interreligious Dialogue, ed. Catherine Cornille (Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2009), xix + 283 pages.

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VOLUME 45   NUMBER 1  2011

Editorial

It is axiomatic that Christians—individuals and churches—should pay special attention to what the poor and the weak have to say: but in inter-church conversations this can be problematic, as the first and last of our articles reflect (Jeruma-Grinberga, Creemers). In the Spirit of kenosis, a church will enable her less prosperous sisters to be heard, and learn from them.

It is hard to imagine a happier juxtaposition than the dialogue between Olivier Clément and Thomas Merton (Hugh-Donovan) on the one hand, and an exposition of the riches of the Icon of the Nativity (Fotiou) on the other—mirrored in the microcosm of an East-West marriage (Arjakovsky).

A characteristically Jesuit initiative of liturgy as mission—mission as liturgy—giving voice to the people of God in a particular place and time (Palmisano), may be contrasted with the weakening of that one voice in one place, resulting from imminent Catholic liturgical changes (McGinnell).

As in any conversation with a history, our various dialogues feature key terms whose usage requires special care. Our contributors draw attention, among others, to 'relativism' (Carter), 'denomination' (Sherlock), and 'province' (Avis).

As we look forward to reflecting further on the progress of ARCIC III, recently inaugurated (Longley), a reflection on the nature of the Anglican Communion (Avis) is most timely. 

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Frailty and Faithfulness: Minority Churches and Ecumenism

Jana Jeruma-Grinberga

The ecclesial nature of a church is not governed by its size: Minority Churches are equally part of the Body of Christ and members of the royal priesthood. The particular paradigm that these churches model is one of presence and faithfulness in weakness and vulnerability; but the ability to model this paradigm, especially in the ecumenical arena, is often limited by resources, financial, spiritual and pastoral. More effort needs to be made, both by Minority and Majority Churches, to enable the voices of the smaller churches to be heard.

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Is the Bible valued by Catholics?

Henry Wansbrough

A paper read under the auspices of Churches Together in Greater Manchester on 4 May 2011, the day commemorating in both Anglican-Methodist and Roman Catholic traditions the martyrs of the Reformation era.

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One in Christ: the Icon of the Nativity as  the Charter of the Church

Stavros S. Fotiou

The mode of existence conveyed to human beings through the Church is the harmonious communion of God, human beings, and creation, without confusion and without division. Ecclesiastical art illustrates this communion in its own way. In particular, the icon of the Nativity of Christ reveals all the main themes of Christian theology, so it could be characterized as the charter of the Church.  

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Ecclesial thought and life trajectories: an ecumenical dialogue. Part 1:  Olivier Clément and Thomas Merton

Stefanie Hugh-Donovan

Olivier Clément, French Orthodox lay theologian, was an important Christian thinker of the twentieth century. The Russian Diaspora brought Eastern Orthodoxy into a fresh encounter with the West, enabling Clément, a young atheist, to discover Christ. He was baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church in Paris in 1951. Thomas Merton also experienced atheism before encountering Christ. Both theologians sought to engage with the concerns of modernity and worked for Christian unity. Bringing the thought of Clément and Merton into dialogue demonstrates a paradigm for ecumenism: faithful rootedness in one’s own ecclesial tradition with deep respect for the ‘other’. Part 2 of this study will consider Olivier Clément's analysis of the ecclesiology, theology and ecumenical thought of Paul Evdokimov.

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Una voce dicentes: As we cry out with One Voice

Kevin McGinnell

September 2011 marks the partial introduction of a new English translation of the Roman Missal. It will be noticed by everyone for initially it will be the dialogue of priest and people that will be affected. Many English speaking Christians have been struck by the fact that across denominational divisions we have used the same words for priest and people in the Eucharistic order. This came about from an ecumenical commitment before 1975. Liturgical priorities have taken over in this new work. We need to evaluate the positive experience we have, reflect on what the changes will mean,  and see how to move forwards hoping to regain what we have lost in another generation.

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Church and Unity: Compatible or Contradictory concepts?

David Carter

This article examines some of the recent teaching of Cardinals Kasper and Koch on church and unity in terms of its relationship in dialogue with the positions of the four major Western dialogue partners of the Roman Catholic Church. It points to places where their approach might need to be more nuanced, and to the need for all churches to be clearer about the meaning to be attached to the phrase ‘unity in reconciled diversity’.

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Being Ecumenical: being Partial, being Practical

Charles Sherlock

This paper explores a number of dimensions of ‘being ecumenical’, with close attention to post-modern, post-Christendom and ‘post-denominational’ contexts of Victoria, Australia (including metropolitan, regional and rural areas). Taking a stance grounded theologically in hope, the address reflects on ways in which Christian concepts such as ‘member’, ‘partiality’ and ‘tradition’ function in a ‘freedom of choice’ culture. The question raised is: whatever we may be ‘post’, what are we ‘pre?’ This article had its origin as the 2010 inaugural Annual Oration in honour of former General Secretaries of the Victorian Council of Churches [VCC], in the Welsh Church, Melbourne. 

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The Ecumenical Consequences of the Anglican Communion

Paul Avis

Taking its cue from two well-known treatises by the economist J.M. Keynes, this article assesses the ecumenical consequences of the present tensions that the Anglican Communion is facing. It asks first, What is the Anglican Communion, ecclesiologically speaking? Then it draws out some implications for the Communion’s ecumenical engagements of the present situation. Finally, it considers the proposal, currently on the table for the member churches, for an Anglican Covenant and asks whether the Covenant would help the Communion and the ecumenical movement.

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Martin Royackers and the Church in Annotto Bay,   Jamaica

Joseph Redfield Palmisano sj

This study explores how love finds an embodiment through the relationship between the local church of Annotto Bay, Jamaica with the life and work of Martin Royackers sj (1959-2001). It focuses on how the relationship between Royackers and the local church of Annotto Bay, Jamaica enacts a more dynamic and intercommunicative ecclesial way of proceeding in mission through their ways of worshipping and ethically living with one another. It further considers how the papal exhortation Ecclesia in America, in concert with pastoral letters from local Jamaican bishops, encourages collaboration and solidarity for the global church.

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Intertwined problems of Representation and Reception in Pentecostal ecumenical involvement: a case study

Jelle Creemers

As a non-institutional  and diverse ecclesial movement, Pentecostalism cannot use the customary means of official representation when entering into ecumenical dialogue. This is problematic, as such representation is traditionally essential for the dialogue results’ reception in local church life. In the first part of this article, the problems regarding representation in Pentecostal ecumenical involvement are analyzed using the example of the Roman Catholic- Classical Pentecostal Dialogue. In the second part, three non-traditional routes are presented which currently serve to bring the dialogue results to the local churches. It is suggested that these routes should be more consciously explored and exploited to the full.

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Reports & Events

ARCIC III

+ Bernard Longley

 “Our Little Church”

Laure Dubourdieu-Arjakovsky and Antoine Arjakovsky

Michael Hurley SJ  (1923-2011)  rip

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Book Reviews

Lutherans and Pentecostals in Dialogue (Strasbourg/Pasadena/Zürich: Institute for Ecumenical Research/The David Du Plessis Center for Christian Spirituality/The European Pentecostal Charismatic Research Association, 2010), pages 84.

For the Communion of the Churches: The Contribution of the Groupe des Dombes, Catherine E. Clifford, ed. (Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 2010), 231 pages.

George Tyrrell and Catholic modernism, Oliver P. Rafferty SJ, ed. (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2010), 188 pages.

Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings, James Payton (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 2010), 272 pages.

Women and Fundamentalism in Islam and Catholicism. Negotiating Modernity in a Globalized World, Patricia Madigan (Oxford et al.: Peter Lang, 2011), viii + 338 pages.

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