This book assesses episcopal cooperation as envisioned by the third-century bishop Cyprian of Carthage. It outlines and assesses the interactions between local bishops, provincial groups of bishops, and the worldwide college. Assessing these interactions sheds light on the relationship between Cyprian's strong sense of local autonomy and the reality that each bishop was responsible to the world-wide college. Episcopal consensus was the sine qua non, for Cyprian, for a major issue of faith or practice to become one that defined membership in the college and, ultimately, the Church. The book brings this assessment into a modern scholarly debate by concluding with an evaluation of the ecclesiology of the Orthodox scholar Nicolas Afanasiev and his critiques of Cyprian. Afanasiev lamented Cyprian as the father of universal ecclesiology and claimed that Cyprian's college wielded authority above that of the local bishop. This book argues that Afanasiev fundamentally misconstrued Cyprian's understanding of collegiality. It is shown that, for Cyprian, collegiality was the framework for the common ministry of the bishops and did not infringe on the sovereignty of the local bishop. Rather, it was the college's collective duty to define the boundaries of acceptable Christian belief and practice.

Advent is a special time in the Christian year. In our troubled world, which is also a world of extraordinary possibility and creativity, we need such times more than ever. Times to renew our soul so that our lives may express a deeper compassion and a more joy-filled awareness. Traditionally in the days of Advent there has been an emphasis on the coming of Light - that Light which illumines all our journeys and brings healing to the nations. May these readings enlarge your hope, and bring you to Christmas morning with Christ's light steadily illumining your path.

The world stands before a landmark date: October 31, 2017, the quincentennial of the Protestant Reformation. Countries, social movements, churches, universities, seminaries, and other institutions shaped by Protestantism face a daunting question: how should the Reformation be commemorated 500 years after the fact? Protestantism has been credited for restoring essential Christian truth, blamed for disastrous church divisions, and invoked as the cause of modern liberalism, capitalism, democracy, individualism, modern science, secularism, and so much else. In this volume, scholars from a variety of disciplines come together to answer the question of commemoration and put some of the Reformation's larger themes and trajectories of influence into historical and theological perspective. Protestantism after 500 Years? examines the historical significance of the Reformation and considers how we might expand and enrich the ongoing conversation about Protestantism's impact. The contributors to this volume conclude that we must remember the Reformation not only because of the enduring, sometimes painful religious divisions that emerged from this era, but also because a historical understanding of the Reformation has been a key factor towards promoting ecumenical progress through communication and mutual understanding.

Catholics without Rome examines the dawn of the modern, ecumenical age, when "Old Catholics," unable to abide Rome's new doctrine of papal infallibility, sought unity with other "catholics" in the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox churches. In 1870, the First Vatican Council formally embraced and defined the dogma of papal infallibility. A small and vocal minority, comprised in large part of theologians from Germany and Switzerland, judged it uncatholic and unconscionable, and they abandoned the Roman Catholic Church, calling themselves "Old Catholics." This study examines the Old Catholic Church's efforts to create a new ecclesiastical structure, separate from Rome, while simultaneously seeking unity with other Christian confessions. Many who joined the Old Catholic movement had long argued for interconfessional dialogue, contemplating the possibility of uniting with Anglicans and the Eastern Orthodox. The reunion negotiations initiated by Old Catholics marked the beginning of the ecumenical age that continued well into the twentieth century. Bryn Geffert and LeRoy Boerneke focus on the Bonn Reunion Conferences of 1874 and 1875, including the complex run-up to those meetings and the events that transpired thereafter. Geffert and Boerneke masterfully situate the theological conversation in its wider historical and political context, including the religious leaders involved with the conferences, such as Doellinger, Newman, Pusey, Liddon, Wordsworth, Ianyshev, Alekseev, and Bolotov, among others. The book demonstrates that the Bonn Conferences and the Old Catholic movement, though unsuccessful in their day, broke important theological ground still relevant to contemporary interchurch and ecumenical affairs. Catholics without Rome makes an original contribution to the study of ecumenism, the history of Christian doctrine, modern church history, and the political science of confessional fellowships. The book will interest students and scholars of Christian theology and history, and general readers in Anglican and Eastern Orthodox churches interested in the history of their respective confessions.

Many events were staged and a plethora of new books appeared to mark the quincentenary of the birth of John Calvin, in 2009. But one area received considerably less attention in that anniversary year - namely, Calvin's ecclesiology. This study explores the development and fundamental legacy of Calvin's perspectives on and relationship with the church. Contributions are included which explore the later development and denominational variations' of Calvin's ecclesiology, along with ecumenical discussions/responses to and implications of Calvin's understanding of the church. There are further chapters which focus on particular aspects such as Calvin's ecclesiological method, understanding of ministry, the sacramental' principle, the invisible church' etc. Contributions on the use of Calvin's ecclesiology by later and modern/contemporary ecclesiologists also feature. This is a volume that brings together leading and emerging theological voices from Europe, North America and Latino America and from across the different theological sub-disciplines. Significantly, it also a book from genuinely ecumenical perspectives, with writers from several different denominational traditions contributing.

The theology of communion, or Koinonia, has been at the centre of the ecumenical movement for more than thirty years. It is central to the self-understanding of the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and has been prominent in the work of the World Council of Churches. This book, based on the 1996 Hulsean Lectures, examines the significance of Koinonia for contemporary ecumenical theology, tracing the development of contemporary understanding in critical engagement with the thoughts of Plato, Aristotle, the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament, the Cappadocian Fathers, and Augustine. In each case, reflection on community life is related to actual communities in which texts were produced. The importance of conflict and the place of politics for the Koinonia that constitutes the Christian churches is a major theme throughout. Communion is seen as a gift to be received and a discipline to be cultivated in the continuing practice of ecumenism.

Exploring a new approach to interfaith/interreligious communication, the contributors to this collection seek to interact from the perspective of their own tradition or academic discipline with Ernest Becker's theory on the relationship between religion, culture and the human awareness of death and mortality. While much interfaith/interreligious dialogue focuses on beliefs and practices, thus delineating areas of disagreement as a starting point, these chapters foster interactive communication rooted in areas of the universal human experience. Thus by demonstration these authors argue for the integrity and efficacy of this approach for pursuing intercultural and interdisciplinary communication.

This book, entitled Conversations on Fethullah Gulen and the Hizment Movement: Dreaming for a Better World, is intended to represent an open perspective on the influence of the Hizmet Movement, including Fethullah Gulen in particular, on the theme of "dreaming for a better world," based on a variety of Christian and Muslim world views. This theme is approached from three specific perspectives: education and an emphasis on interfaith and intercultural dialogue, a comparison of various spiritualties, and a consideration of the shared dreams of the two religions. The essays in this volume are adapted from talks presented by eleven authors from Canada and the United States at the Gulen Symposium at Carleton University in October 2009. The panel discussion that followed the individual presentations enhanced the overall theme of "dreaming for a better world." The symposium as a whole represented the positive potential that there is for the organization of forums of sharing that focus on this theme and on the three sub themes.

This monograph demonstrates that the books of Exodus-Numbers, taken together, are the result of one, highly creative, hypertextual reworking of the book of Deuteronomy. This detailed reworking consists of around 1,200 strictly sequentially organized conceptual, and at times also linguistic correspondences between Exodus-Numbers and Deuteronomy. The strictly sequential, hypertextual dependence on Deuteronomy explains numerous surprising features of Exodus-Numbers. The critical analysis of Exodus-Numbers as a coherently composed hypertextual work disproves hypotheses of the existence in these writings of Priestly and non-Priestly materials or multiple literary layers.

Individual churches today have a lively ecumenical consciousness, but they often express anxieties about what will become of them in a future united Church. Questions are being asked about the goal of such unity. In this book, G. R. Evans asks what we mean by 'a church', and how different Christian bodies have understood the way 'a church' is related to 'the Church'. She surveys the nature of unity and what the fullness of the communion being reached for might consist of; the place of diversity of faith and order in a united Church, or ways in which there can go on being many churches in one Church and how they might be related to it; and questions about the common structures one Church would need, and the way in which it could come to think and act as a single 'body' of Christ. The book concludes with a discussion of the concept of 'communion', which now looks very hopeful ecumenically as a guide to the way forward.

What we sing shapes what we believe - this is an incontrovertible truth as regards the song of the Church. It has led many Westerners to believe that Jesus was a silent baby (Away In A Manger) and a docile child (Once In Royal David's City). It has suggested that militarism is an apt metaphor for discipleship (Onward Christian Soldiers) and this misconception is closely allied to decay (Abide With Me). It has also led to the assumption that, as regards religion, 'the West is the best' (O'er Those Gloomy Hills of Darkness, etc). This is not to discount the value of these and other favourite texts. It is, rather, to suggest that the songs we sing reflect the theology of our times, and theology is always in process because God is always on the move. The songs in this collection are not the antidote but rather a supplement both to traditional hymnody and to the narrow spectrum of biblical and emotional content in much praise and worship material. They are songs intended, as the title (which comes from the words of Jesus) suggests, to liberate us from limited horizons. Hence there are: songs which shun dated, churchy language and instead embrace contemporary speech; songs which prove that the southern hemisphere has more to offer than Kumbaya; songs which take the world seriously, because God takes it seriously; songs which allow worship to be more than predictable praise; songs which challenge the dominance of a performance mentality because they are meant for all to sing. Because we have never set out to provide peerless performances of flawless music, we hope that this album will not just be something to listen to, but may encourage all of God's people to sing.

The idea of a Jewish Church has been banned from the Christian horizon for almost two millennia. But things are changing. Since the middle of the 70s the Messianic Jewish movement has strived to build an ecclesial home for all Jewish believers in Christ. This new phenomenon brings to life issues that had disappeared since the first centuries of the Church. What does it mean to be a Jew in the Church? Should there be a distinction between Jews and non-Jews among believers in Christ? Is such a distinction compatible with the unity of the whole Body of Christ so ardently preached by Paul? What lifestyle should this Church promote? In his various works, Mark Kinzer, a prominent Messianic Jewish theologian, has attempted to provide substantial answers to these questions. Antoine Levy is a Dominican priest. With Kinzer, Levy has launched the "Helsinki Consultation", a cross-denominational gathering of Jewish theologians. In Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism, Levy examines Kinzer's positions critically, bringing forward an alternative vision of what a "Jewish Church" could and should be. This is only the beginning of what promises to be a fascinating discussion.

This book treads new ground by bringing the Evangelical and Dissenting movements within Christianity into close engagement with one another. While Evangelicalism and Dissent both have well established historiographies, there are few books that specifically explore the relationship between the two. Thus, this complex relationship is often overlooked and underemphasised. The volume is organised chronologically, covering the period from the late seventeenth century to the closing decades of the twentieth century. Some chapters deal with specific centuries but others chart developments across the whole period covered by the book. Chapters are balanced between those that concentrate on an individual, such as George Whitefield or John Stott, and those that focus on particular denominational groups like Wesleyan Methodism, Congregationalism or the 'Black Majority Churches'. The result is a new insight into the cross pollination of these movements that will help the reader to understand modern Christianity in England and Wales more fully. Offering a fresh look at the development of Evangelicalism and Dissent, this volume will be of keen interest to any scholar of Religious Studies, Church History, Theology or modern Britain.

The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification which is considered to be 'a milestone on the journey of ecumenism' has a very significant place in the theological-ecumenical realm since it hoped to overcome the disunity between the protestant Churches and the Catholic Church at large. This work analyzes and redefines the JDDJ from a Pentecostal perspective, and proposes a new Pentecostal view of ecumenism for this century. The major questions that are considered here are: what is the ecumenical and ecclesiastical significance of this Joint Declaration in the 21st century, what are the neglected theological elements in the Joint Declaration, what are the controversial issues connected to the JDDJ and what challenge can it give to the present world of Christianity?. The JDDJ has become a basis for theological agreement and further discussions. This study also brings out ecumenical and theological understandings of the Pentecostal Church and substantiates the Pentecostal assessment of the JDDJ. The first chapter has two parts: the first part explains the research topic, methodology and the importance of the research; and the second part gives an outline of the Pentecostal movement and its theology mainly with regard to the doctrine of justification. The second chapter deals primarily with the significant stages and influences that helped for the formation of JDDJ. The last part of this chapter explains the responses of other churches to the JDDJ. The third chapter presents a Pentecostal response to the JDDJ, which starts with a positive evaluation and will be followed by a negative response to the same. The fourth chapter expounds the development of a paradigm model for the ecumenical thinking of the 21st century from a Pentecostal point of view. The Proposed slogan for this century can be "back to Pentecost" and be united in the love and power of the Holy Spirit. Because it is said that Pentecostal experience of the 1st-century Christianity has had a true Ecumenism, which was somehow lost in the long run. Nevertheless, methodological shifts in the approach to ecumenism can still make a change. When such a step is taken, the good news of unity of Christians will become a reality. Only then one can say that the condemnation of the 16th century regarding the doctrine of justification is invalid.

Advancing strong, scholarly discussion on the Holy Spirit and the church in the context of the ecumenical movement, six theologians in five different churches offer new theological and pastoral insights into the work of the Holy Spirit in the churches of Christianity, in ecumenism, and in witness. With The Church: Towards a Common Vision (World Council of Churches) document serving as a common point of reference, a pastoral perspective is distinctive throughout. Relating theology to non-theological knowledge of the contemporary cultural context, as well as application to pastoral practice, this book draws from, and is applicable to, clergy formation, preaching, lay discipleship, church-world relations, social mission, congregational life, grass-roots ecumenical cooperation, and witness to Christ and the gospel by racial minorities.

The present volume includes the papers of the first PRO ORIENTE Colloquium Syriacum, which took place in Salzburg, Austria and concentrated on the Syriac Churches' experiences with Islam. The papers in this volume survey the whole history of these two communities from the times of the Four Caliphs through the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ottoman periods. Topics include the personal status of Christians under Islam, the ecclesiastical response to the rise of Islam, the Indian experience and the present situation.

Increasingly, the modern neo-liberal world marginalises any notion of religion or spirituality, leaving little or no room for the sacred in the public sphere. While this process advances, the conservative and harmful behaviours associated with some religions and their adherents exacerbate this marginalisation by driving out those who remain religious or spiritual. And all of this is seen through the lens of social science, which seems to agree that religion remains important, if not in spiritual sense, at least as a source of folklore and a means of identification: religions remain rooted in the societies from which they emerged, and the legal systems of many of those societies emerged from religious sources, even if those societies remain unwilling to admit that fact. In the modern materialistic world of conformity, religion is less a source of guidance than a label of identification. The world therefore faces two issues. First, the decreasing level of spirituality in the 'West' widens the gap between worshippers and those who have left their faith (eg agnostics and atheists, or those who look at religion as a matter of 'picking and choosing' from a range of options). And, second, the strong connections to religion which remain in many nations, but which are often misused in the secular public sphere (both in the West and internationally). In such divided worlds, both religious and secular forces tend to lock themselves into closed groupings of 'pure truth' and in so doing increase the level of disagreement, in turn producing radicalism. In short, the modern world is divided in two ways: between religious and non-religious (although some have argued that the non-religious secular is itself a form of civil religion), and between those subscribing to divergent understandings of the same religious tradition. While hyperbolic and histrionic, the term 'culture wars' nonetheless best captures what we see happening in the public sphere today. The question emerges, then: how best to accommodate the democratic principle which posits that the majority should feel that it lives in a society of its own with the human rights principle, holding that is necessary to ensure the full protection of the minority's rights? How to balance these seemingly opposed principles? We are very familiar with the differences that appear between secular and sacred in the modern world; yet, what of the similarities amongst scriptures and laws which seek to encourage mutual understanding, cooperation and even cohabitation? Because religion itself is a source of law, a set of exhortations or commands as much as a set of rights, every major religion offers an approach to encountering 'the Other' in a positive, constructive, affirming way; and it is here that religions reveal much that they have in common. This book draws together the work of scholars engaged in exploring the possibilities for a 'utopian' world in the sense fostered by St Thomas More. The essays explore those dimensions of religious and civil law where 'love' - however that is defined by relevant texts - fosters and encourages acceptance of 'the Other' and will offer perspectives on the ways in which religious or civil/state law command one to act in the spirit of 'love'.

A record of the 2015 Building Bridges Seminar for leading Christian and Muslim scholars, this collection of essays explores the nature of divine and human agency through themes of creation's goal, humankind's dignity and task, and notions of sovereignty. Part I sets the context for the book with "Human Action within Divine Creation: A Muslim Perspective" by Mohsen Kadivar of Duke University and "On the Possibility of Holy Living: A Christian Perspective" by Lucy Gardner of Oxford University. The rest of the book includes paired essays-one from a Muslim perspective, one from a Christian perspective-that introduce scriptural material with commentary to aid readers in conducting dialogical study. In her conclusion, coeditor Lucinda Mosher digests the illuminating small-group conversations that lie at the heart of the Building Bridges initiative, conversations that convey a vivid sense of the lively, penetrating but respectful dialogue for which the project is known. This unique volume will be a valuable resource to scholars, students, and professors of Christianity and Islam.

Understanding our religious neighbors is more important than ever-but also more challenging. In a world of deep religious strife and increasing pluralism it can seem safer to remain inside the "bubble" of our faith community. Christian college campuses in particular provide a strong social bubble that reinforces one's faith identity in distinction from the wider society. Many Christians worry that engaging in interfaith dialogue will require watering down their faith and accepting other religions as equally true. Bethel University professors Marion Larson and Sara Shady not only make the case that we can love our religious neighbors without diluting our commitment, but also offer practical wisdom and ideas for turning our faith bubbles into bridges of religious inclusion and interfaith engagement. Drawing on the parables of Jesus, research on interreligious dialogue, and their own classroom experience, Larson and Shady provide readers with the tools they need to move beyond the bubble. Interfaith dialogue is difficult, and From Bubble to Bridge is the timely guide we have been waiting for.

This book deals with the relationship between the catholicity of the Church and ethnicity. Churches confess their "catholicity" - which means that they declare that their members belong to one community; but at the same time, the churches are often internally divided along ethnic lines. South Africa was a divided society under apartheid, which also shaped the churches ethnically. The legacy of apartheid continues to cause division between people through inequality, injustice, skewed power relations, and marginalisation. The author presents an analytical tool that has been derived from key documents of the Faith and Order movement and the World Council of Churches concerning the catholicity of the Church. In addition, he tests the catholicity of the Church against an operative ecclesiology of South African congregations and churches twenty years after the dismantling of apartheid.

Advancing strong, scholarly discussion on the Holy Spirit and the church in the context of the ecumenical movement, six theologians in five different churches offer new theological and pastoral insights into the work of the Holy Spirit in the churches of Christianity, in ecumenism, and in witness. With The Church: Towards a Common Vision (World Council of Churches) document serving as a common point of reference, a pastoral perspective is distinctive throughout. Relating theology to non-theological knowledge of the contemporary cultural context, as well as application to pastoral practice, this book draws from, and is applicable to, clergy formation, preaching, lay discipleship, church-world relations, social mission, congregational life, grass-roots ecumenical cooperation, and witness to Christ and the gospel by racial minorities.

By the end of the twentieth century, ecumenism's deteriorating state had become evident. This deterioration can be attributed to many causes, however, the erstwhile German ecumenist Dr. Gerhard Ebeling's rancorous, public debate among theologians in Germany in 1998 over the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification remains a contributing factor in its decline. Through an investigation of Ebeling's systematic theology and his lifelong examination of the theology of Martin Luther, much of which is based upon German texts not translated into English, Scott A. Celsor identifies the hermeneutical and ontological concerns at the heart of Ebeling's objection to the Joint Declaration. Consequently, this book provides scholars with ardent historical insights into the bitter, public debate in Germany over the Joint Declaration in addition to critical insights into the hermeneutical and ontological objections that some evangelicals still lodge against it. This, along with the accompaniment of an extensive bibliography dedicated to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, make this text an ideal, advanced introduction for graduate seminars on ecumenism, the doctrine of justification, and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification as well as philosophical theology in general.

When Hindus and Sikhs become followers of Christ, what happens next? Should they join Christian churches that often look and feel very unfamiliar to them? Or to what degree can or should they remain a part of their Hindu/Sikh communities and practices? Uncomfortable with the answers that were provided to them by Christian leaders in northwest India, six followers of Christ began Yeshu satsangs that sought to follow Christ and the teachings of the Bible while remaining connected to their Hindu and/or Sikh communities. 'Ecclesial Identities in a Multi-Faith Context' contextualises the practices and identities of these leaders and their gatherings, situating these in the religious history of the region and the personal histories of the leaders themselves. Whereas some Christians worry that the Yeshu satsangs and related 'insider movements' are syncretising their beliefs and are not properly identifiable as 'churches', Darren Todd Duerksen analyses the Yeshu satsang's narratives and practices to find vibrant expressions of local church that are grappling with questions and tensions of social and religious identity. In addition to his ethnographic approach, Duerksen also uses recent sociological and anthropological theory in identity formation and critical realism, as well as discussions of biblical ecclesiology from the Book of Acts. This study will be a helpful resource for those interested in global Christianity, the practices and identities of churches in religiously plural environments, and the creative ways in which Christfollowers can engage people of other faiths.

The term "charism" is drawn originally from Pauline literature and refers to a gift given by the Spirit for the upbuilding of the body of Christ. Since the mid-twentieth century, Christians from a broad spectrum of theological positions have applied this term, in varying ways, to groups within the Church. However, no book thus far has provided a rigorous and sustained critical investigation of this idea of ecclesial charisms. In Division, Diversity, and Unity, James E. Pedlar provides such an investigation, drawing on biblical and systematic theology as well as literature on church renewal and ecumenism. Against those who justify denominational separation in order to preserve particular gifts of the Spirit, Pedlar insists that the theology of charisms supports visible, organic unity as the ecumenical ideal. Division, Diversity, and Unity argues that the theology of ecclesial charisms can account for legitimately diverse specialized vocational movements in the Church but cannot account for a legitimate diversity of separated churches. Pedlar tests and develops his constructive proposal against the fascinating and conflicted histories of two evangelistic movements: the Paulist Fathers and The Salvation Army. While the proposed theology of ecclesial charisms stakes out a legitimate and important place in the Church for specialized movements, it excludes any attempt to justify the permanent separation of an ecclesial body on the basis of an appeal to an ecclesial charism.