Research on the diaconate: a retrospective view of promise and challenge

This editorial article briefly reviews retrospectively the research undertaken by the Anglo-Nordic Diaconal Research Project (ANDREP), which has been concerned primarily with the Churches of Sweden and Norway, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Church of England, with reference to ecclesiology and praxis in other churches, and to concommitant research and ecumenical developments elsewhere, in relation to the diaconate. From the publication of the WCC Faith and Order Paper on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM, 1982) and throughout the period of the formation of the Porvoo communion of Churches, there appeared to be great promise for the renewal of the deacon's ministry. However, it became apparent that, in the Church of England at least, renewal of the diaconate was not generally regarded principally as an end in itself but as a means of advancing the cause of women's ordination to priesthood. Furthermore, mono-presbyterate and the variety of meanings given to the term ‘diakonia’ have presented a number of problems. Fundamental principles of ecclesiology pertaining to the diaconate also were – and remain – unknown or disregarded in much church practice. A number of challenges which consequently arise for the churches have been identified over time and are addressed in this issue of the International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church (IJSCC), vol. 13, no. 4 (2013), on the theme of ‘The Ministry of the Deacon in Times of Ecumenical Reconfiguration’.     

Faith and Order from Today into Tomorrow

This article is an edited version of the director’s report given to the meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission in Nanjing, China, 12 to 19 June 2019. After looking at the significance of meeting in China, and Chinese perspectives on ecumenism, the text reviews the work undertaken by three study groups set up following the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Korea, on ecclesiology, pilgrimage and ecclesial communion, and the understanding of disagreement on moral issues. It concludes by exploring a proposal to hold a World Conference on Faith and Order in 2025 to coincide with the 1700th anniversary of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicea.     

REVIEWS

Book reviews in this article: The Metaphor of God Incarnate, John Hick Philosophy and Theology in the Middle Ages, G. R. Evans, Routledge 1993 The Bible and Postmodern Imagination: Texts under Negotiation, Walter Brueggemann The Panther and the Hind: A Theological History of Anglicanism, Aidan Nichols The Body of God: An Ecological Theology, Sallie McFague Infant Baptism and the Gospel: The Church of England's Dilemma, C. Buchanan, Darton, Longman & Todd Discipleship of Equals, Elisabeth Schiissler Fiorenza The Renewal of Common Prayer: Unity and Diversity in Church of England Worship, M. Perham (ed.) A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms; The Psalms as Torah, J. Clinton McCann Jr, Abingdon Is God Real?, Joseph Runzo (ed.), Macmillan Asian Faces of Jesus, R. S. Sugirtharajah (ed.) Gaia and God: An Ecofeminist Theology of Earth Healing, Rosemary Radford Ruether Theological Dialogue between Orthodox and Reformed Churches, T. F. Torrance (ed.) The Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith, D. K. McKim (ed.) Eucharist: Christ's Feast with the Church, Lawrence Hull Stookey Hans Küng: New Horizons for Faith and Thought, Karl-Josef Kuschel and Hermann Hauml;Uring (eds), Our God Has No Favourites: A Liberation Theology of the Eucharist, Anne Primavesi and Jennifer Henderson Buddhism and Christianity: Rivals and Allies, Ninian Smart, Macmillan Hanging in Judgment: Religion and the Death Penalty in England, Harry Potter The Greater-Good Defence: An Essay on the Rationality of Faith, Melville Y. Stewart, Macmillan     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Acting in Faith : The World Council of Churches Since 1975, by Leon howell . Handbook of Member Churches , edited by Ans J. van der Bent . The Social Teaching of the Church , by John Desrochers     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: A Vision for Man . Essays on Faith , Theology And Society , ed. Samuel Amirtham. einführung in die Theologie der Religionen , by H. Bürkle . Church And State : Opening A New Ecumenical Discussion . Christians or Capitalists , by Cosmas Desmond . The Orthodox Church in the Ecumenical Movement , ed. Constantin Patelos. Das Herrenmahl , ed. Gemeinsame Römisch-Katholische/Evangelisch-Lutherische Kommission. Nairobi : A Joke, a Junket, or a Journey ? by J. H. Jackson.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Jeffrey VanderWilt, A Church without Borders: The Eucharist and the Church in Ecumenical Perspective Charles Miller, The Gift of the World. An Introduction to the Theology of Dimitru Staniloe Musa W. Dube, ed., Other Ways of Reading: African Women and the Bible Adrian Hastings, Oliver Tomkins: The Ecumenical Enterprise, 1908–92     

BOOK REVIEWS

Philosophy in Russia: From Herzen to Lenin and Berdyaev. By Frederick C. Copleston. pp.x, 445, Tunbridge Wells, Search Press, 1986, £25.00. Philosophy's Place in Culture: a Model. By Mark D. Morelli. pp. xv, 154, Lanham MD., University Press of America, 1984, $20.00 (hardback), $10.50 (paperback). Kant's Transcendental Idealism: An Interpretation and Defense. By Henry E. Allison, pp. ix, 389, New Haven & London, Yale University Press, 1983, £29.00. The Science of the Mind. By Owen J. Flanagan, Jr. pp. xii, 336, Cambridge (Mass.), The MIT Press; London, 1984, £23.75 (hardback) £11.90 (paperback). Freud and the Mind. By Ilham Oilman. pp. vii, 204, Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1984, £15.00. Free Will and Responsibility. By Jennifer Trusted. pp. x, 195, Oxford University Press, 1984, £12.50 (hardback), £3.95 (paperback). The Personalist Challenge: Intersubjectivity and Ontology. By Maurice Nédoncelle, translated by Francois C. Gérard and Francis F. Burch. pp. xvi.203, Allison Park, Pennsylvania, Pickwick Publications, 1984, no price given. Reading the Old Testament: Method in Biblical Study. By John Barton. pp. xvi,256. London, Darton, Longman and Todd, 1984, £7.95. Hosea: an Israelite Prophet in Judean Perspective. By Grace I. Emmersqn. pp. xi;224 (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 28), Sheffield, JSOT Press, 1984, £18.50 (hard-back), £7.50 (paperback). Jesus and the Politics of His Day. Edited by Ernst Bammel and C.D.F. Moule. pp. xi,511, Cambridge University Press, 1984, £37.50. Matthew and Paul: A Comparison of Ethical Perspectives. By Roger Mohrlang. pp. xiii, 242, (SNTS Monographs No.48), Cambridge University Press, 1984, £18.00. St Paul's Corinth: Texts and Archaeology. By Jerome Murphy-O'Connor. pp. xxi, 192 (Good News Studies 6), Wilmington (Delaware), Michael Glazier: Dublin, Veritas, 1984, £9.95. Crisis and Catharsis: The Power of the Apocalypse. By Adela Yarbro Collins. pp. 179, Philadelphia, The Westminster Press, 1984, $11.95. The Apocalypse: Biblical Revelation Explained. By Patrick J. Sena. pp. viii, 116, New York, Alba House, 1983, $6.95. The Eucharist in Bible and Liturgy. By G.D. Kilpatrick. pp. vii, 115. Cambridge University Press, 1984, £15.00. Medieval Theory of Authorship: Scholastic Literary Attitudes in the Later Middle Ages. By A.J. Minnis. pp. xviii, 323, London, Scolar Press, 1984, £35.00. Die griechische Gregoriosanaphora. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des eucharistischen Hochgebets. By Albert Gerhards. pp. xxiv, 261 (Liturgiewissenschaftliche Quellen und Forschungen 65), Münster, Aschendorff, 1984, DM78. Remembering the Future: Vatican II and Tomorrow's Liturgical Agenda. Edited by Carl A. Last. pp. 113, New York, Paulist Press, 1984, £5.00. On Liturgical Theology. By Aidan Kavanagh. pp. xiii,205, New York, Pueblo Publishing, 1984, No price given. The Promise of Narrative Theology. By George W. Stroup. pp. 288, London, SCM, 1984, £7.95. Conoscenza e Interiorità. By Bernard Lonergan, translated by Natalino Spaccapelo, pp. 262 (Nuovi Saggi Teologici, n.21), Bologna, Edizioni Dehoniane, 1984, 16,000 It. Lire. Justification and Sanctification. By Peter Toon, pp. 162, (Foundations for Faith Series), London, Marshall Morgan and Scott, 1983, £5.95. Justification: An Ecumenical Study. By George Tavard. pp. vi, 137, Ramsey, N.J., Paulist Press, 1983, $7.95. L‘Uomo tra Legge e Grazia: Analisi teologica del ’De Spiritu et Littera' di S. Agostino. By Domenico Marafioti, S.J. pp. 249, Brescia, Morcelliana, 1983, It. Lire 22,000. The Lay-Centred Church. Leonard Doohan. pp. 175. Minneapolis, Winston Press, 1984, £6.95. Magisterium: Teaching Authority in the Catholic Church. By Francis A. Sullivan, pp. 234, New York, Paulist Press, 1983, $8.95; Dublin, Gill and Macmillan, 1984, £6.95. The Christians as the Romans saw Them. By Robert L. Wilken. pp. xix,214, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1984, £12.95. Divine Pedagogy: A Patristic View of Non-Christian Religions. By Chrys Saldanha Pp. 192 (Biblioteca di Scienze Religiose 57), Rome, Libreria Ateneo Salesiano, 1984, L.20,000. The Language and Logic of the Bible: The Earlier Middle Ages. By G.R. Evans. pp. xix, 199, Cambridge University Press, 1984, £18.50. The World of John of Salisbury. Edited by Michael Wilks. pp. xii, 469 (Studies in Church History. Subsidia 3), Oxford, Basil Blackwell, for the Ecclesiastical History Society, 1984, £25.00. Robert Grosseteste De Cessatione Legalium. Edited by Richard C. Dales and Edward B. King. pp. xxx, 215 (Auctores Britannici Medii Aevi VII), London, Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 1986, £25.00. Guilds and Civil Society in European Political Thought from the Twelfth Century to the Present. By Antony Black. pp. xv, 280, London, Methuen, 1984, £20.00. Muslims, Christians and Jews in the Crusader Kingdom of Valencia. By Robert I. Burns. pp. xx, 363, Cambridge University Press, 1984, £29.50. Religion and Society in Early Modern Europe 1500–1800. Edited by Kaspar von Greyerz. pp. xii, 281, London, Allen & Unwin, 1984, £22.50. The Mathematicians' Apprenticeship: Science, Universities and Society in England, 1560–1640. By Mordecai Feingold. pp. viii, 248, Cambridge University Press, 1984, £22.50. Christian England, Vol II: From the Reformation to the 18th Century. By David L. Edwards. pp. 526 (Fount Paperbacks), London, Collins, 1984, £4.95. Christian Hebraists and Dutch Rabbis. Seventeenth Century Apologetics and the Study of Maimonides' ‘Mishneh Torah’. By Aaron L. Katchen. pp. xvii, 391, Cambridge (Mass.), Harvard University Press, 1984, £27.95. The Letters of Armand-Jean de Rancé, Abbot and Reformer of La Trappe. Presented by A.J. Krailsheimer. 2 vols. (Cistercian Studies Series 80 & 81) Kalamazoo, Cistercian Publications, 1984, no price given. Cherokees and Missionaries, 1789–1839. By William G. McLoughlin. pp. xiii, 375, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1984, £29.00. George Anthony Denison: The Firebrand By Joyce Coombs. pp. xxii, 244, London, The Church Literature Association, 1984, £12.50. English Catholic Modernism: Maude Petre's Way of Faith. By Clyde F. Crews. pp. xii, 156, Notre Dame (Ind.), University of Notre Dame Press; London, Burns & Oates, 1984, $16.95. Charles Williams: An Exploration of His Life and Work. By Alice Mary Hadfield. Pp. ix, 268, Oxford University Press, 1983, £15.00. Parents and Children: The Ethics of the Family. By Jeffrey Blustein. pp. 274, New York and Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1982, £8.95. Dimensions of Moral Education By Robert E. Carter, pp. xi, 242, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1984, no price given. Radical Departures: Desperate Detours to Growing Up. By Saul Levine. pp. xvi. 196, San Diego, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984, $15.95. Gender Politics. By Ethel Klein, pp. viii, 209, Cambridge (Mass.), Harvard University Press, 1984, £14.50. The Moral Status of Animals. By Stephen R.L Clark. pp. 221, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1984, £3.95. The Nature of the Beast: Are Animals Moral? By Stephen R.L. Clark. Pp. vii, 127, Oxford University Press, 1982, £7.95 (hardback), 1985 (paperback), £2.95. Rights, Killing and Suffering: Moral Vegetarianism and Applied Ethics. By R.G. Frey. pp. xii, 256, Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1983, £17.50. In Defence of Animals. Edited by Peter Singer. pp. xi, 224, Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1985, £15.00 (hardback), £4.95 (paperback). Plurality of Worlds: The Origins of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate from Democritus to Kant. By Steven J. Dick. pp. x, 247, Cambridge University Press, 1984, £7.50.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES: LE PAYSAN DE LA GARONNE, Un vieux laïc s'interroge à propos du temps présent, by JACQUES MARUAIN THE FINALITY OF CHRIST: THE FINALITY OF CHRIST, edited by DOW KIRKPATRICK CHURCH AND SOCIETY: WHO SPEAKS FOR THE CHURCH? A critique of the 1966 Geneva Conference on Church and Society, by PAUL RAMSEY ECUMENICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY: INTERNATIONALE ÖKUMENISCHE BIBLIOGRAPHIE. International Ecumenical Bibliography. Bibliographie ?cuménique internationale. Band 1/2, 1962/63     

Reviews

Books reviewed: L. E. Keck et al. (eds), Numbers, Deuteronomy, Introduction to Narrative Literature, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel S. E. Gillingham, One Bible, Many Voices: Different Approaches to Biblical Studies Michael D. Goulder, The Psalms of the Return (Book 5, Psalms 107–150): Studies in the Psalter IV James D. G. Dunn, T. & T. Clark, The Theology of Paul the Apostle D. Mendels, Identity, Religion and Historiography: Studies in Hellenistic History William Horbury, Jewish Messianism and the Cult of Christ James S. McLaren, Turbulent Times? Josephus and Scholarship on Judaea in the First Century CE J. Neusner and B. Chilton, Jewish-Christian Debates: God, Kingdom, Messiah Ben Pink Dandelion, Douglas Gwyn and Timothy Peat, Heaven on Earth: Quakers and the Second Coming Adnan Aslam, Religious Pluralism in Christian and Islamic Philosophy: The Thought of John Hick and Seyyed Hossein Nasr W. Cantwell Smith, Believing: An Historical Perspective W. Cantwell Smith, Faith and Belief: The Difference Between Them Norman Doe, Canon Law in the Anglican Communion: A Worldwide Perspective G. R. Evans, Discipline and Justice in the Church of England Alan Falconer (ed.), Faith and Order in Moshi: The 1996 Commission Meeting Lewis S. Mudge, The Church as Moral Community: Ecclesiology and Ethics in Ecumenical Debate T. F. Best and D. Hellar (eds), Eucharistic Worship in Ecumenical Contexts: The Lima Liturgy – And Beyond Timothy Bradshaw ed, Grace and Truth in the Secular Age José Comblin, Called for Freedom: The Changing Context of Liberation Theology Karen Kilby, Karl Rahner Rosemary Radford Ruether, Women and Redemption: A Theological History Ian Markham, Truth and the Reality of God: An Essay in Natural Theology Johannes A. van der Ven, Formation of the Moral Self Robin Gill (ed.), Euthanasia and the Churches Richard Swinburne, Providence and the Problem of Evil John Polkinghorne, Science and Theology: An Introduction John P. Burgess (ed.), In Whose Image? Faith, Science and the New Genetics Stephen Platten (ed.), Seeing Ourselves: Interpreting Contemporary Society Jacques Derrida and Gianni Vattimo (eds), Religion Ursula King (ed.), Faith and Praxis in a Postmodern Age     

The Ecumenical Assembly for Justice,Peace and the Integrity of Creation

The Vancouver assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1983, in part through the efforts of Heino Falcke and the delegates from the GDR, called on the WCC “to engage member churches in a conciliar process of mutual commitment to justice, peace and the integrity of creation”. In the GDR, the high point of this conciliar process was an Ecumenical Assembly of Churches and Christians which met in three sessions in 1988 and 1989, and which, not least because of the involvement of peace, environmental and human rights groups, made unprecedented demands for the reform of the GDR and influenced the citizens' movements and political parties formed at the time of the peaceful revolution of autumn 1989. As envisaged at the Vancouver assembly, the conciliar process was intended to link the issue of peace, a priority at that time for many WCC members in the northern hemisphere, with that of global justice, an overriding concern for churches in the South. In the course of preparations for the Ecumenical Assembly in the GDR, however, the discourse of justice was applied to GDR society itself, something that was reflected in the 10,000 proposals from parishes, groups and individuals for the assembly, and in the “testimonies of concern” with which the assembly opened its first session in February 1988. In this article,¹ which comes from a conference in Dresden in April 1999 to mark the 10th anniversary of the final session of the Ecumenical Assembly, Falcke reflects on how the assembly changed from being a Christian, church gathering to becoming an emerging opposition within civil society.     

Is It Still a Movement?

In this address from 1971, the second general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Eugene Carson Blake, sets out the challenges facing the WCC at the beginning of the 1970s, identifying three key changes within the ecumenical movement: a shift in power and decision making away from the Protestant churches of North America and Western Europe; an organization more representative of churches in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and of Orthodox churches; and the ecumenical involvement of the Roman Catholic Church. It goes on to set out how the WCC, particularly since its conference on Church and Society held in Geneva in 1966, has been attempting to make Christian faith and morals relevant to a world experiencing rapid social, economic, and political change.     

The Future of Multilateral Ecumenical Dialogue

This article offers an overview of work undertaken in multilateral ecumenical dialogue, as it has been conducted at the international level by the commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC), to clarify the issues discussed in this dialogue and the methods used. In particular, the article analyzes the statements on unity made at various WCC assemblies. While they demonstrate a certain continuity regarding the key points of church unity they identify, they clearly mark a shift in the overall understanding of how unity is conceived. The second part of the article examines the current ecumenical situation and its importance for this dialogue, to show how Faith and Order has responded and what further progress in multilateral dialogue might look like.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Marsha Dutton and Patrick Gray (ed) One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: Studies in Christian Ecclesiality and Ecumenism in Honor of J. Robert Wright Alan P.F. Sell, Nonconformist Theology in the Twentieth Century Denis Edwards, Ecology at the Heart of Faith Amitai Etzioni, Security First: For a Muscular, Moral Foreign Policy Pauline Webb, World Wide Webb: Journeys in Faith and Hope     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Kaisamari Hintikka, The Romanian Orthodox Church and the WCC: 1961–1977 Eugene M. Skibbe, A Quiet Reformer: An Introduction to Edmund Schlink's Life and Ecumenical Theology. From a Gospel Voice in Nazi Germany to a New Vision of Christian Unity Gavin D'Costa, The Meeting of Religions and the Trinity     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: John D. Zizioulas, Eucharist, Bishop, Church: The Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop during the First Three Centuries, transl. Jérôme Cottin et Jean‐Nicolas Bazin, Vers un christianisme virtuel? Gail Ramshaw, Treasures Old and New: Images in the Lectionary Thomas K. Carroll, Wisdom and Wasteland: Jeremy Taylor in His Prose and Preaching Today     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, The Living Body of Christ Owen F. Cummings, Canterbury Cousins: The Eucharist in Contemporary Anglican Theology Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, The Power of the Word: Scripture and the Rhetoric of Empire Manuel Quintero Pérez and Carlos Sintado, Pasión y compromiso con el Reino de Dios: El testimonio ecuménico de Emilio Castro [Passion and commitment to the Kingdom of God: the ecumenical testimony of Emilio Castro] Dagmar Heller, Christina Kayales, Barbara Rudolph, Gert Rüppell, Heinrich Schäfer, eds, Mache Dich Auf und werde licht!, Arise, Shine! Ecumenical Visions in Times of Change Anthony R. Cross, editor, Ecumenism and History: Studies in Honor of John H. Y. Briggs, Studies in Christian History and Thought     

REVIEWS

Colin E. Gunton Yesterday and Today: A Study of Continuities in Christology, xi+228pp. London. Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. 1983. $9.50. Gerd Theissen Biblical Faith: An Evolutionary Approach Translated by John Bowden from the German, SCM Press 1984 L5.95 Vincent Brümmer What Are We Doing When We Pray?, vi + 138pp. SCM Press 1984. Price $5.95 (paperback) Thomas F. Tracy God, Action and Embodiment, xix + 184pp. Eerdmans 1984. $10.80.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Fernando Enns, Friedenskirche in der Ökumene: Mennorutische Wurzeln einer Ethik der Gewaltfreiheit [A Peace Church in the Ecumenical Movement: The Mennonite Roots of an Ethic of Non‐Violence] Riccardo Larini (under the direction of), II libra di testimoni: martirologio ecumenico [A Book of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Martyrology] Horace Russell, The Missionary Outreach of the West Indian Church: Jamaican Baptist Mission to West Africa in the Nineteenth Century Daphne Hampson, Christian Contradictions: The Structure of Lutheran and Catholic Thought Joseph Liechty and Cecelia Clegg, Moving beyond Sectarianism: Religion, Conflict and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland     

The Old Catholic churches of the Union of Utrecht

Abstract

The Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht have different historical backgrounds. The Dutch Church has her roots in the Catholic Counter‐Reformation, the German‐speaking Churches in the protest‐movements against Vatican I, and the Polish Churches in the problems of emigrants to USA. However, they adhere in common to the conciliar and synodical tradition of the Catholic Church. They lay stress on the relative autonomy of the local church, the episcopal apostolic succession, and the Eucharist as the manifestation of the Church. The autonomy of the local church is not seen as detached from the universal Church or the responsibility to stay in or to restore Church unity. This leads to an ecumenical engagement which has resulted in full communion with the Anglican Churches and a doctrinal consensus with the Orthodox Churches. Reference back to the undivided Church is a key feature of Old Catholic ecclesiology, though this does not lead to uncomplicated ecumenical solutions.     

Exercising a free conscience: The conscientious objectors of the Soviet union and the German democratic republic

Die ukrainische katholische Kirche (The Ukrainian Catholic Church) 2nd expanded edition Munich: Kirche in Not, 1989.165pp.

Die römisch‐katholische Kirche in der Sowjetunion (The Roman Catholic Church in the Soviet Union) Munich: Kirche in Not, 1989.143 pp.

Tserkva v Ruyini — Church in Ruins. The Demise of Ukrainian Churches in the Eparchy of Peremyshl by Oleh Wolodymyr Iwanusiw, Shevchenko Scientific Society Ukrainian Studies Volume 56. Ontario: St Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics in Canada, 1987. Parallel text in English and Ukrainian. 350 pp.

Áron Márton a lelkiismeret apostola (Áron Márton, the Apostle of Conscience) compiled by László Virt. Budapest: Ecclesia, 1988. Paperback, 262 pp., 85 Ft.