New books of Note in Ecumenism August 1, 2010

Congar, Yves. Essential Writings. Selected by Paul Lakeland. Modern Spiritual Masters Series. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2010.
A Congar anthology of excerpts from his essays and theological writings, organized into five categories: Congar the Ecumenist, Congar the Ecclesiologist, Congar and the Laity, Congar and the Spiritual Life, and Congar and the Holy Spirit.

Hietamäki, Minna. Agreeable Agreement: An Examination of the Quest for Consensus in Ecumenical Dialogue. Ecclesiological Investigations Series. London: T & T Clark, 2010.
This dissertation from the University of Helsinki analyses “the methodological or fundamental questions of theology and …the forms, methods and goals of ecumenical dialogue” in agreements from selected international, European and U.S. bilateral dialogues: Lutheran-Roman Catholic, Anglican-Roman Catholic, Anglican-Lutheran. Drawing upon George Lindbeck’s insights into the cultural-linguistic aspects of doctrine, the author proposes that effective ecumenical consensus should combine “both cognitive-intellectual and socio-communal aspects.”

Kerr, David A. and Kenneth R. Ross, eds. Edinburgh 2010: Mission Then and Now. Regnum Studies in Mission Series. Oxford: Regnum Books International, 2009.
This resource for the centenary observance of Edinburgh 1910 is organized around the eight commission reports of the Edinburgh conference, arising from eight years of conferences focused on those commission reports. In each chapter, the book’s editors summarize one of the 1910 reports and then various mission scholars present essays of response and evaluation from an Edinburgh 2010 perspective.

Laudate Omnes Gentes: Was Uns Eint: Gemeinsam Beten und Singen in der Ökumene=Praying Together: Resources and Songs for Ecumenical Celebrations. Kösel: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2010.
An ecumenical prayerbook and hymnbook from the Third European Ecumenical Assembly that provides key texts of Christian unity from across the ages in order to facilitate prayer for Christian unity. Each text is given in German, English, French, Spanish, and Italian, in parallel columns. An accompanying CD provides translations of selected texts into twenty additional languages.

Siecienski, A. Edward. The Filioque: History of a Doctrinal Controversy. Oxford Studies in Historical Theology Series. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
This work of historical theology traces the filioque concept chronologically from the New Testament to the twenty-first century, with a focus on examining the theology underlying various theological works on the doctrine, as well as the political, cultural and ecumenical aspects of the controversy.

New books of Note in Ecumenism March 30, 2010

Borght, Eduardus Van der. The Unity of the Church: A Theological State of the Art and Beyond. Studies in Reformed Theology. Leiden: Brill, 2010.
This volume collects twenty-four papers from the Seventh Biannual Conference of the International Reformed Theological Institute (2007) exploring various aspects of a theological basis for ecumenism in the Reformed tradition. Contributors include the General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Setri Nyomi, prominent Reformed ecumenists such as Alan P.F. Sell and Lukas Vischer (to whose memory the volume is dedicated), and Brother Jeffrey Gros providing the perspective of a Roman Catholic who teaches at a Cumberland Presbyterian seminary.

Colon-Emeric, Edgardo A. Wesley, Aquinas and Christian Perfection: An Ecumenical Dialogue. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2009.
A theologian from Duke Divinity School provides an in-depth analysis of Roman Catholic and Methodist theologies of the doctrine of holiness by presenting an analysis of the similarities, differences and convergences in John Wesley and Thomas Aquinas. He asserts that these two theologians offer the church catholic “the affirmation of the ecumenical and ecclesial significance of sanctity,” and, using the image of a “kneeling ecumenism,” suggests that “the ecumenical movement might be well served in complementing joint declarations with joint hagiographies” (p. 9).

Geffert, Bryn. Eastern Orthodox and Anglicans: Diplomacy, Theology, and the Politics of Interwar Ecumenism. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2010.
An in-depth look at the nineteenth-century precursors and the beginnings of twentieth-century ecumenical relations between Orthodoxy and Anglicanism, focusing on 1920-1950.

Johnson, Todd M. and Kenneth R. Ross, eds. Atlas of Global Christianity 1910-2010. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009.
Inspired by the centenary of the 1910 International Missionary Conference, this atlas seeks to map Christianity around the globe in a comprehensive way. Drawing data from the World Christian Database (David Barrett, editor), it maps the world by religious demographics, analyzes the historical growth of Christianity through the twentieth century, analyses the relative strength of Christianity by continent and region, analyzes languages and ethnicities of Christianity, and examines missionary trends. All of the maps, charts, tables and graphics of the printed atlas are also made available for presentations in an accompanying CD.

Jones, Sarah Rowland, ed. The Vision Before Us: The Kyoto Report of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations 2000-2008. London: The Anglican Communion Office, 2009.
The international Anglican Communion body responsible for ecumenical relations sets forth four principles for ecumenical engagement (addressing the goal, task, and processes of the ecumenical movement and the nature of Christian unity), explores key themes (communion, sacraments, orders, and reception), analyzes the state of the Communion’s various bilateral dialogues, schemes of union, and multilateral relations, describes inter-Anglican issues before the Communion, and identifies challenges to be addressed in the future.

Kasper, Walter. Harvesting the Fruits:Basic Aspects of Christian Faith in Ecumenical Dialogue. New York: Continuum, 2009.
This study of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity examines the dialogue results of the first four bilateral dialogues in which the Catholic Church has engaged since Vatican II: with the Lutheran World Federation, the World Methodist Council, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Anglican Communion. For the areas of Christ and the Trinity; salvation, justification, sanctification; the church (authority, ministry, episcope); baptism and Eucharist, Cardinal Kasper identifies areas in which agreement has been reached, where convergence is happening, and areas where further dialogue is needed.

Benedict XVI. Credo for Today: What Christians Believe. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2009.
The pope draws upon the commonalities of Christian faith in explicating how Christians live in faith, hope and love through the doctrines articulated in the classic creeds, interpreted for today.

Kelly, Joseph F. The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church: A History. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2009.
“This book deals with the 21 councils considered ecumenical by the Roman Catholic Church…The first 8 councils were held before the eleventh-century schism between the Western, Latin Christians and the Eastern, Greek Christians…The next 10 councils, all Western Latin-speaking councils, occurred before the Protestant Reformation. To be sure, Protestants do not consider these councils to be in any way authoritative, but they do form part of the common history of Western Christians in the pre-Reformation period…This book is meant to be ecumenical, but not like a council.” (Introduction, p. 1)

Lubich, Chiara. Living Dialogue: Steps on the Way to Communion among Christians. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2009.
An inspiring collection of essays and meditations on an ecumenism focused on love, renewal, self-emptying, and prayer, from the founder of the Focolare Movement.

New books of Note in Ecumenism October 5, 2009

Catholic Church. Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission. You are Witnesses of these Things (Lk 24: 48): Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and Throughout the Year. Vatican City: Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; Geneva: Faith and Order, World Council of Churches, 2009.

Imbler, John M., ed. A Passion for Christian Unity: Essays in Honor of William Tabbernee. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2009.
This festschrift, a collection of essays written by the faculty of Phillips Theological Seminary ( Enid , OK ) in honor of the eighteen-year presidency of William Tabbernee, provides a Campbell-Stone perspective on ecumenical and interreligious relations.

Mannion, Gerard, ed. Comparative Ecclesiology: Critical Investigations. Ecclesiological Investigations 3. London; New York: T & T Clark, 2008. 
This collection of constructive essays from the 2007 American Academy of Religion Ecclesiological Investigations section engages the thought of Roger Haight on comparative, constructive and ecumenical ecclesiology.

Radano, John A. Lutheran & Catholic Reconciliation on Justification. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.
“A chronology of the Holy See’s contributions, 1961-1999, to a new relationship between Lutherans and Catholics and to steps leading to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.”

New books of Note in Ecumenism July 31, 2009

Grosshans, Hans-Peter, ed. One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church: Some Lutheran and Ecumenical Perspectives. LWF Studies, 2009. Minneapolis: Lutheran University Press, 2009. The published proceedings of a June 2008 conference at Bossey Ecumenical Institute includes ecumenical (Lutheran, Reformed, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Baptist) and global (Europe, Myanmar , Ethiopia , Malaysia and Southeast Asia , Brazil , North America ) perspectives on the ecclesiology of the marks of the church for today.

O’Grady, John and Peter Scherle, eds. Ecumenics from the Rim: Explorations in Honour of John D’Arcy May. Theology, Ethics and Interreligious Relations: Studies in Ecumenics Series, vol. 1. New Brunswick: Transactions Publishers, 2008.
This 500-page festschrift for the director of the Irish School of Ecumenics includes 57 essays. Its three main sections – Christian theology, interreligious relations and peace studies – reflect the honoree’s commitment to the interplay of church, culture, and society and their relationship to and relevance for the ecumenical endeavor.

Wood, Susan K. One Baptism: Ecumenical Dimensions of the Doctrine of Baptism. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2009. 
A Roman Catholic ecumenist and scholar explores the history, theology and ecclesiology of the sacrament of baptism ecumenically and proposes that “concepts of incorporation and communion, rather than membership, are more fruitful concepts with which to think about affiliation with the church through baptism, [because] communion allows for various degrees and intensities of affiliation” (p. 207). Wood sees the continuum approach as more ecumenically fruitful than the in/out concept of membership and believes that approach to provide grounds for “a partial ecumenical resolution of the membership in the visible/invisible church problem.”

New books of Note in Ecumenism May 29, 2009

Herbert, T.D. Kenosis and Priesthood: Towards a Protestant Re-Evaluation of the Ordained Ministry. Milton Keynes: Paternoster Press, 2008.
This British Anglican dissertation from Manchester University seeks a way forward in the ecumenical impasse on ministry by reinterpreting priesthood as a missionary endeavor focused on God’s salvific act and an exercise in story, gift and response.

Rusch, William G., ed. The Pontificate of Benedict XVI: Its Premises and Promises. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.
On the fourth anniversary of Benedict XVI’s elevation to pope, ecumenists from the Baptist, Pentecostal, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist and Roman Catholic traditions address the question “How will the life experiences and theological reflections of Joseph Ratzinger influence the pontificate of Benedict XVI?”

Stanley, Brian. The World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh 1910. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.
On the eve of the centenary of the World Missionary Conference, this volume provides both an historical account of the conference and the movement that precipitated it and also an analysis of its ongoing legacy for the twenty-first century in culture and mission and in ecumenism.

Whitehead, Kenneth D. The New Ecumenism: How the Catholic Church after Vatican II Took Over the Leadership of the World Ecumenical Movement. Staten Island, NY: St. Paul’s, 2009.
An overview of the Catholic Church’s contributions to the ecumenical movement, from Vatican II to the 21 st century.

Wiley, Charles A. et al, eds. Theology in Service of the Church: Essays in Honor of Joseph D. Small 3 rd. Louisville: Geneva Press, 2009.
This festschrift for the Director of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Office of Theology, Worship, and Education provides a series of Reformed essays focused on theology, liturgy, and ecumenical/interfaith engagement.

New books of Note in Ecumenism January 31, 2009

Murray, Paul D., ed. Receptive Ecumenism and the Call to Catholic Learning: Exploring a Way for Contemporary Ecumenism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
This 534-page tome is a rich and impressive collection of essays from the 2006 international “Receptive Ecumenism and Catholic Learning” conference, held in Durham , England in honor of Cardinal Walter Kasper. “Receptive ecumenism” is a fresh approach to ecumenism in which each tradition seeks to address the question: “What can we learn, or receive, with integrity from our various others in order to facilitate our own growth together into deepened communion in Christ and the Spirit?” (p. ix-x). This collection addresses that question from a Roman Catholic perspective, in five parts: I: “Vision and Principles;” II: “Receptive Ecumenical Learning through Catholic Dialogue;” III: “Receptive Ecumenism and Catholic Church Order;” IV: The Pragmatics of Receptive Ecumenical Learning;” and V: “Retrospect and Prospect.” It should be noted that WTC professor, the Rev. Dr . Paul McPartlan from Catholic University , has contributed an excellent essay entitled “Catholic Learning and Orthodoxy – The Promise and Challenge of Eucharistic Ecclesiology.” This book makes a tremendous contribution to the field; it is arguably the most important book published on ecumenism in recent years.

New books of Note in Ecumenism, November 30, 2008

Hunsinger, George. The Eucharist and Ecumenism: Let Us Keep the Feast. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
A Reformed theologian proposes that ecumenical convergence on the Eucharist can be achieved for the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist traditions through a principle of ongoing reformation (ecclesia reformata et simper reformanda secundum verbum dei). He bases the proposal on a theology of real presence, reappropriation of the concept of eucharistic sacrifice, and Protestant acceptance of episcopal ordination and the primacy of the bishop of Rome .

Koskela, Douglas M. Ecclesiality and Ecumenism: Yves Congar and the Road to Unity. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 2008.
A Wesleyan finds fresh ecumenical promise in aspects of Congar’s ecclesiology, especially 1) the essential oneness of the church of Christ, 2) the active ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit that leads the church to indefectibility, and 3) “the fundamental identity of the church as a communion of persons sharing in the life of the triune God” (p. 164).

New books of Note in Ecumenism October 2008

Braaten, Carl E. That All May Believe: A Theology of the Gospel and the Mission of the Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
A prominent Lutheran theologian seeks to advance and invigorate an ecumenism that offers a comprehensive vision of the church that is evangelical, catholic, and orthodox. Addresses authority, dogmatics, resurrection, apocalyptic, missions, and pluralism.

Enns, Fernando. The PeaceChurch and the Ecumenical Community: Ecclesiology and the Ethics of Nonviolence. Kitchener, Ontario: Pandora Press; Geneva: World Council of Churches Publications, 2007.
The author, the German Mennonite theologian who authored the World Council of Churches’ proposal to observe 2001-2010 as the Decade to Overcome Violence, hereby presents his tradition’s place in comparative ecclesiology, summarizes the state of the various dialogues in which Mennonites are involved, and engages the ethical questions around peace-making and non-violence that the Historic Peace Churches have brought to the ecumenical dialogue. He concludes with a proposal for deepening the dialogue through a koinonia ecclesiology that is grounded in Trinitarian theology.

Faith and Witness Commission of the Canadian Council of Churches, ed. Liturgies for Christian Unity: The First Hundred Years, 1908-2008. Toronto: Novalis, 2008.
A rich anthology containing a century’s worth of materials for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, organized chronologically by decade, from the Canadian Council of Churches, representing 21 denominations of the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches. Includes prayers, liturgies, confessions, suggested hymns, artwork, children’s activities and a helpful subject index.

Murphy, Francesca Aran and Christopher Asprey, eds. Ecumenism Today: The UniversalChurch in the 21 st Century. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Pub., 2008.
A collection of essays covering both “theological ecumenism” (Part I) and “ecumenical theology” (Part III), taking the confessional commitments of the churches seriously while seeking to forward the search for visible unity. The essayists represent the Reformed Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions and address topics such as schism, authority, papal primacy, Eucharist, and persecution of Christians.

New books of Note in Ecumenism July 2008

 Enns, Fernando. The PeaceChurch and the Ecumenical Community: Ecclesiology and the Ethics of Nonviolence. Kitchener: Pandora Press; Geneva: World Council of Churches Publications, 2007.

The theological foundation of the World Council of Churches’ Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010) explicated in terms of ecclesiology and ethics. A summary of the historic peace churches’ involvement in the World Council of Churches and bilateral dialogue with Baptists, Reformed, Lutherans, and Roman Catholicism is also provided.

Husbands, Mark and Jeffrey P. Greenman, eds. Ancient Faith for the Church’s Future. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008.

A collection of essays from the 2007 Wheaton Theology Conference in which evangelical and Roman Catholic authors explore “the viability and promise of an evangelical engagement” with patristic theology and 20 th century Roman Catholic ressourcement theology.

New books of Note in Ecumenism May 30, 2008

Fuchs, Lorelei F. Koinonia and the Quest for an Ecumenical Ecclesiology: From Foundations through Dialogue to Symbolic Competence for Communionality. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.

This published doctoral dissertation is an excellent 400+ page comprehensive treatment of how the term koinonia has been used in ecumenical dialogues, both bilateral and multilateral. Sr. Fuchs writes: “Come what may, the future direction of the ecumenical movement must indicate that interchurch relations make a difference to intrachurch lived reality. This requires both the capacity to ecumenate and the will to ecume. Communionality calls forth dialogue and doxology which elicit within individual Christians and the particular churches their foundational ecumenical identity and mission. Christians and churches can do this because their unity, their koinonia, finds its source in the triune God” (p. 443).

Perry, Tim, ed. The Legacy of John Paul II: An Evangelical Assessment. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2007.

A collection of fourteen essays from various evangelical theologians reflecting upon the teachings and ecumenical significance of various encyclicals from John Paul II’s papacy.

New books of Note in Ecumenism April 2008

Denaux, Adelbert and Nicholas Sagovsky, eds. Studying Mary: The Virgin Mary in Anglican and Roman Catholic Theology and Devotion: The ARCIC Working Papers. London: T & T Clark, 2007.

Reath, Mary. Rome and Canterbury: The Elusive Search for Unity. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007.

A governor of the Anglican Centre in Rome addresses historical ecumenical relations between Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism, its current difficulties, and future possibilities. The eight appendices provide a useful compilation of ARCIC documents, agreed statements on morals, timeline, and comparative charts.

Robbins, Anna M., ed. Ecumenical and Eclectic: The Unity of the Church in the Contemporary World: Essays in Honour of Alan P.F. Sell. Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2007.

A broad collection of fifteen essays from an array of leading ecumenical scholars on ecumenism past and future in Europe and the U.S. , presented as a festschrift for a leading Reformed ecumenist. The essays “explore the foundations of unity, its historical context and some of the challenges of ecumenism today.”

Wright, David F. Infant Baptism in Historical Perspective: Collected Studies. Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2007.

This collection of 27 essays analyzes the history of infant baptism, infant dedication, and second baptisms through the history of the church, including early church councils, the medieval period, Reformation debates, and modern disputes, and addresses the present and future in the context of ecumenical conversations, such as Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry.