Washington Theological Consortium

Beilby, James K. and Paul Rhodes Eddy, eds. Justification: Five Views. Spectrum Multiview Books. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011.
This work of comparative systematic theology on the doctrine of justification presents five perspectives: Michael S. Horton on the traditional Reformed view, Michael F. Bird on the progressive Reformed view, James D.G. Dunn on the “new perspective” view, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen on the deification view, and Gerald O’Collins, S.J. and Oliver P. Rafferty, S.J. on the Roman Catholic view. The work becomes a written theological dialogue and debate as responses from each of the other authors are presented for every view. These authors are mostly engaged in the justification debate arising out of contemporary biblical scholarship and refer to the ecumenical literature on justification only occasionally. The “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification,” for example, is lauded as a “remarkable achievement” (p. 287), but is addressed in only a few pages. The lack of inclusion of a Lutheran view is noted by the editors, who claim that Horton’s traditional Reformed view is “functionally identical” (p. 10) to a traditional Lutheran view and that Kärkkäinen’s deification view is a less traditional Lutheran view.

Collins, Paul M. and Barry Ensign-George, eds. Denomination: Assessing an Ecclesiological Category. London: T & T Clark, 2011.
A lively debate on the concept of denomination (and how it relates to the ecumenical task), in response to a paper presented by Barry Ensign-George at the Ecclesiological Investigations group of the American Academy of Religion. Ensign-George’s paper describing “denomination” as contingent, intermediary, interdependent, partial and permeable leads the collection, followed by various denominational responses: Anglican (Paul Avis), Baptist (Steven R. Harmon), Lutheran (Gesa Elsbeth Thiessen), United Methodist (Russell E. Richey), Orthodox (Elena Vishnevskaya), Pentecostal (Wolfgang Vondey), Society of Friends (Ann Riggs), Presbyterian (Amy Plantinga Paul), Roman Catholic (Peter De Mey), and a global perspective (Kirsteen Kim).

Ellis, Ian M. A Century of Mission and Unity: A Centenary Perspective on the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference. Dublin: The Columba Press, 2010.
An accessible summary of the Edinburgh 1910 conference, its purposes and accomplishments, and its reverberations in ecumenism through the ensuing century, written by the editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette.

Granberg-Michaelson, Wesley. Unexpected Destinations: An Evangelical Pilgrimage to World Christianity. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2011.
The personal, spiritual and theological memoir of the recently retired general secretary of the Reformed Church in America, who also served on the World Council of Churches staff and helped to establish Christian Churches Together and the Christian Forum.

Leahy, Brendan. Ecclesial Movements and Communities: Origins, Significance, and Issues. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2011.
“This is by far the strongest introductory book I have found describing the lay ecclesial movements at work in the international Roman Catholic Church today (2011)” – Gerald Stover.

Norgren, William A. Faith and Order in the U.S.A.: A Brief History of Studies and Relationships. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2011.
The first director of Faith and Order for the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA summarizes its highlights from 1957 to 1999 in 85 pages, with the emphasis on his years of tenure, 1957-1971.

Balia, Daryl M. and Kirsteen Kim. Edinburgh 2010: Witnessing to Christ Today. Regnum Edinburgh 2010 Series. Vol. 2. Eugene, Or.: Wipf & Stock, 2010.
This is the published collection of the nine pre-conference theme papers prepared as background papers for the Edinburgh 2010 conference held in Scotland in June 2010: 1) Foundations for Mission, 2) Christian Mission among other Faiths, 3) Mission and Postmodernities, 4) Mission and Power, 5) Forms of Missionary Engagement, 6) Theological Education and Formation, 7) Christian Communities in Contemporary Contexts, 8) Mission and Unity – Ecclesiology and Mission, and 9) Mission Spirituality and Authentic Discipleship, plus shorter papers on Women and Mission and Bible and Mission.

Flanagan, Brian P. Communion, Diversity, and Salvation: The Contribution of Jean-Marie Tillard to Systematic Ecclesiology. Ecclesiological Investigations. Vol. 12. London; New York: T & T Clark, 2011.
This revised Boston College dissertation summarizes Roman Catholic approaches to ecclesiology, analyzes and critiques communion/koinonia as an ecclesiological concept, particularly Roman Catholic ecumenist Jean-Marie Tillard’s use of it, and seeks to bring Tillard’s thought into conversation with social science for contemporary application, with particular concern for the local church.

Kim, Kirsteen and Andrew Anderson. Edinburgh 2010: Mission Today and Tomorrow. Regnum Edinburgh 2010 Series. Oxford: Regnum, 2011.
This is the published official record of the proceedings of the Edinburgh 2010 conference, the centenary observance of the World Missionary Conference of 1910, held in Scotland, June 2-6, 2010.

Long, Michael G., ed. Christian Peace and Nonviolence: A Documentary History. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011.
An ecumenical anthology of writings on pacificism, justice, peace, nonviolence, and reconciliation, with 116 entries arranged chronologically from Scripture to twenty-first century. Two-thirds of the entries are from the North American context and more than half of the writings date from 1900 or afterward. Contextual comments and source citations are provided for every entry. Stanley Hauerwas contributed the book’s forward.

Manion, Gerard and Ed A. J. G. van der Borght, eds. John Calvin's Ecclesiology: Ecumenical Perspectives. London; New York: T & T Clark, 2011.
This collection of twelve scholarly essays representing a variety of denominational perspectives, geographies, and schools of thought celebrates the legacy of John Calvin to the church catholic by way of “an especially ecumenical type of comparative ecclesiology” (p. 17).

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Speaking the Truth in Love: Theological and Spiritual Exhortations of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. New York: Fordham University Press, 2011.
This, the second volume of the collected works of the current Patriarch of Constantinople, anthologizes his encyclicals, exhortations, ecumenical presentations and addresses, academic lectures, and joint ecumenical declarations with other church leaders, revealing the deep theological foundations and steadfast ecumenical commitments of the leader who is primus inter pares among the patriarchs of worldwide Orthodoxy.

DeVille, Adam A.J. Orthodoxy and the Roman Papacy: Ut Unum Sint and the Prospects of East-West Unity. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2011.
An historical review of Catholic and Orthodox perspectives of ten Orthodox patriarchates and a bold proposal for the creation of “a permanent ecumenical synod” consisting of six continental patriarchates within the Latin church under papal presidency, for “a reunited Church where East and West are again in full communion” (p. 8).

Groeschel, Benedict. I Am with You Always: A Study of the History and Meaning of Personal Devotion to Jesus Christ for Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010.
In this 600-page history of ecumenical spirituality, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal describes and demonstrates how Christians from various traditions have expressed devotion to Jesus through the history of the Church.

Masters, Thomas and Amy Uelmen. Focolare: Living a Spirituality of Unity in the United States. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2011.
Two long-term members of the Focolare movement introduce its history and practice in the North America context and explore through personal stories how the movement’s spirituality engages American values: the pursuit of happiness, the quest for freedom, the search for community, the commitment to the common good.

Clifford, Catherine E., ed. For the Communion of the Churches: The Contribution of the Groupe des Dombes. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2010.
An anthology of the six documents of the Groupe des Dombes, 1971-1991, in English translation: on eucharist (1971), on reconciliation of ministries (1972), on episcope (1976), on sacraments (1979), on papal primacy (1985), and on dialogue and reception (1991).

Echeverria, Eduardo J. Dialogue of Love: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic Ecumenist. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2010.
The author’s faith journey through neo-Calvinism and Roman Catholicism informed his commitment to ecumenism, reflected in this ecumenical gift exchange on truth, anthropology and ecclesiology, drawing upon the theologies of Catholic Romano Guardini and Calvinist Herman Dooyeweerd.

Johnson, Maxwell E. ed. Issues in Eucharistic Praying in East and West: Essays in Liturgical and Theological Analysis. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2010.
A collection of fourteen essays on a variety of liturgical and theological questions around Eucharistic prayers, from the question of whether Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, to various anaphoras (Addai and Mari, St. Athanasius, Basilian Anaphoras), to connections with martyrdom and Mariology.

Nichols, Bridget, ed. The Collect in the Churches of the Reformation. SCM Studies in Worship and Liturgy. London: SCM Press, 2010.
This collection of essays by noted international liturgical scholars provides a comparative ecumenical view of how the historic prayer form, the collect, has evolved and adapted to contemporary liturgical usage in various Protestant traditions and in Roman Catholicism. A helpful contribution to the study of ecumenical convergence in the liturgical renewal movement.

Puglisi, James F., ed. How Can the Petrine Ministry Be a Service to the Unity of the Universal Church? Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2010.
Twenty theological papers contributed by international ecumenical scholars from various faith traditions for Farfa Centre conferences in 2003 and 2004 as background papers for the ongoing ecumenical dialogue on the papal office invited by Pope John Paul II in Ut Unum Sint.

Vischer, Lukas, Ulrich Luz, and Christian Link. Unity of the Church in the New Testament and Today. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2010.
“Looking first at the various conflicts that hinder unity, the book offers a Bible-centered discussion on various ‘flash points of unity’ – the authority of Scripture, the various church confessions, the Lord’s Supper and the ministerial office – reflecting on early Christian struggles for unity and drawing biblical conclusions for the life of the church today ” (cover). Translated from German, the study comes out of a Protestant-Old Catholic-Roman Catholic dialogue from the theological faculties of the University of Berne and Fribourg.

Nugent, John C., ed. Radical Ecumenicity: Pursuing Unity and Continuity after John Howard Yoder. Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press, 2010.
Two essays by John Howard Yoder and eight other scholarly essays present and assess the Mennonite theologian’s ecumenical contributions, mostly from the Stone-Campbell tradition’s perspective.

Putnam, Robert D. and David E. Campbell. American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010.
A massive (673 page) sociological analysis of religious change, polarization, and fluidity in American society since the 1960s, based on extensive “Faith Matters” surveys of the state of contemporary religion in America. Professors Putnam (Harvard) and Campbell (Univ. of Notre Dame) argue that even as American society has become more religiously diverse and religious institutions more polarized, individuals have become more tolerant of that diversity and fluid in their personal religious identities. That toleration is what the authors term “American grace.”

Thomas, Norman E. Missions and Unity: Lessons from History 1792-2010. American Society of Missiology. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2010.
“This study is an interpretive essay on the contribution of the missionary movement to understandings of Christian unity and work for common Christian witness” (p. xxiii), authored by Professor Emeritus of World Christianity, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH. After reviewing the history since 1800 (part I), the author assesses ten models of unity (part II) and how ecumenism and Christian mission relate to the secular world and interreligious dialogue (part III)

Gooren, Henri. Religious Conversion and Disaffiliation: Tracing Patterns of Change in Faith Practices. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
An anthropology professor proposes that religious conversion is not a static one-time event in a person’s life but rather a dynamic process that he characterizes as a person’s “conversion career” through analysis of individuals’ engagement with religious organizations and social contexts, as described in oral histories and life stories, on a scale of “preaffiliation, affiliation, conversion, confession, and disaffiliation.”

Schreiner, Peter, Esther Banev, Simon Oxley, eds. Holistic Education Resource Book: Learning and Teaching in an Ecumenical Context. New York: Waxmann Munster, 2010.
This book, a product of the Holistic Education Study Process of the World Council of Churches, combines theology, educational theory, and case studies from around the world to elucidate the study group’s eight principles of holistic education (HE). “1) Holistic education in an ecumenical perspective is centred in the belief that it is God who is the creator and sustainer of life. Therefore holistic education contributes to the ongoing search for the restoration of the given unity of creation; 2) HE is education for transformation; 3) HE deals with the development of the whole person in community; 4) HE honours the uniqueness and creativity of persons and communities based on their interconnectedness; 5) HE enables active participation in a world community; 6) HE affirms spirituality as being the core of life and hence central to education; 7) HE promotes a new praxis (reflection and action) of knowing, of teaching, and of learning; 8) HE relates to and interacts with differing perspectives and approaches” (20-22).

Smolarski, Dennis C. Eucharist and American Culture: Liturgy, Unity, and Individualism. New York: Paulist Press, 2010.
A Jesuit priest on the faculty of Santa Clara University utilizes recent scholarly sociological studies of American individualism to encourage the church to develop effective means for fostering unity in liturgical celebrations, particularly the Eucharist, both within Catholicism and through ecumenical engagement with Orthodoxy and social outreach.

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

New books of Note in Ecumenism as of January 2008

Gros, Jeffrey; Thomas F Best; Lorelei F Fuchs, eds. Growth in Agreement III: International Dialogue Texts and Agreed Statements, 1998-2005. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Williams Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2007.

The anthology of agreed statements from many different churches’ bilateral ecumenical dialogues continues with this latest contribution, covering 1998-2005. An invaluable addition to Growth in Agreement and Growth in Agreement II. This is an indispensable resource for all ecumenists.

Holifield, E. Brooks. God’s Ambassadors: A History of the Christian Clergy in America. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007.

The author, professor of American church history at Candler School of Theology, thoroughly investigates the history of ordained ministry in Catholicism and multiple Protestant traditions throughout United States history.

Ingle-Gillis, William C. The Trinity and EcumenicalChurch Thought: The Church-Event. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007.

The author, an American now serving as an Anglican priest in Wales , argues for renewed ecumenical vigor in seeking visible unity by seeking a multilateral consensus on ecclesiology, and proposes a definition of Church as “event-in-process, an event of persons-in-reconciliation,” grounded in the triune life of God.

Moleck, Fred, ed. A Primer for the Visiting Organist. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.

This is a practical manual intended to orient musicians to liturgical practices in eight traditions: African American Protestant, Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reform Jewish, Roman Catholic and United Methodist. Though written for musicians, much of this information would be useful to those planning to attend a worship service in a tradition with which they are not familiar.

Turner, Paul. When Other Christians Become Catholic. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2007.

A Roman Catholic pastor studies the history and liturgical rites for reception of baptized Christians from other traditions, arguing that the church should recognize and uphold baptismal unity and make a careful distinction between reception of baptized Christians and conversion of the unbaptized.

New Editions of Note:

Bliss, Frederick M. Catholic and Ecumenical: History and Hope. 2 nd edition. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007.

A new edition of the 1999 Roman Catholic text on the history of the ecumenical movement, updated to include developments in dialogues through 2005.

New Ecumenical Documents as of January 2008

Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. “Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority.” Origins 37 ( November 22, 2007): 382-387.

Called the “Ravenna Document,” this working paper from the international Catholic-Orthodox dialogue was released on November 15, 2007 . Much news coverage has focused on the Russian Orthodox delegation’s decision to leave the plenary assembly over disagreement with the Greek Orthodox delegation. The paper reaches accord on the point that in the era when the church was undivided, there was a primate and that at that level conciliarity, synodality and authority all existed, although the dialogue did not achieve consensus on how primacy and synodality related.