Ecclesial communion: The letters of St Basil the great revisited

Abstract

The German word Kirchengemeinschaft, translated as ‘ecclesial communion’ or ‘communion of churches’, is a term frequently used in contemporary ecumenical discourse. Are ‘communion of churches’ or ‘ecclesial communion’ leading concepts for future ecumenism? Starting from the fact that modern ecumenism and ecclesiology often refer to communio/κo?vωvíα in the Early Church as their model or ideal, this article investigates more closely how κo?vωvíα worked in that period. Basil the Great's letters serve as an example to show not so much the theoretical but the practical impact of κo?vωvíα on everyday church life. They also demonstrate how Basil applied κo?vωvíα on different levels and indicate what is required to facilitate it. Finally, they give some indication of what this could mean for ecumenism today.     

The Ecclesial Hermeneutic of Raymond E. Brown

Against the background of some positions taken up in a recent document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, the article studies Raymond Brown's attempt to combine mainstream historical-critical exegesis of the Bible with a Roman Catholic theological pre-understanding. Particular reference is made to his handling of issues connected with the virginal conception of Jesus. Some of his religious presuppositions such as those concerning the relation between faith and reason, and the development of doctrine, are presented. Biblical criticism in Brown's understanding is an essentially historical discipline which has as its principal object the literal sense of the text, that is, what the text meant when it was written. His religious presuppositions make the practice of the discipline ineliminable in an integral hermeneutic. From an analysis of his treatment of the virginal conception, it is argued that Catholic pre-understanding and historical criticism, when combined, inevitably result in a two-stage hermeneutic. In a first stage appeal is made to presuppostions common to all practitioners of historical criticism. In a second stage religious presuppostions come into play. The distinction between these two stages is seen as more fundamental than Brown's better known distinction between the literal and more-than-literal senses of the text. It is argued that the relation between the two stages is to be understood in chalcedonian terms as exemplifying the dialectic of faith and reason: they must be distinguished, but cannot be separated. Brown's grasp of an incarnational economy of salvation is presented in terms of David H. Kelsy's concept of a discrimen, and emerges as fundamental for an ecclesial hermeneutic of the Bible. Questions about the place of the historical-critical method, the promise of alternative approaches and the role of hermeneutical theory can only be adequately addressed in terms of it.     

The Stranger as Sacrament: Karl Barth and the Ethics of Ecclesial Practice>

Recent theology has devoted attention to ecclesial practices as a matrix for ethical reflection. Barth stands in ambivalent relation to these developments. On the one hand, Barth urges consideration of the relation of church practice to the gospel of divine action; on the other, Barth's christocentric account of ethics might be corrected by an ethics of ecclesial practice. The ambivalence is explored in an interpretation of Barth's account of the ministry of the Christian community in Church Dogmatics IV/3 and of his treatment of love of one's neighbour in I/2.     

Postmodern Illusions and the Challenges of African Theology: The Ecclesial Tactics of Resistance

Contemporary African theological reflection has not sufficiently paid attention to the reality of postmodernism in general, its cultural expressions in particular. In this essay, I depict some of the illusions of a postmodern culture and how their power to shape the economic, cultural and imaginative visions of Africans remains one of the key theological challenges. Accordingly, the crucial test for African theology today will be whether it can generate enough critical skills and inspire new forms of community, which are capable of challenging, as well as offering alternatives to, the dangerous and playful nihilism of a postmodern culture.     

The Church in the World: Shifting Notions of Ecclesial Identity among North American Mennonites

Abstract : At mid‐century, Harold S. Bender's “The Anabaptist Vision” provided a definition of sixteenth‐century Anabaptist tradition that clarified the self‐understanding of its contemporary Mennonite heirs and by which their faithfulness to the tradition might be judged. Critics of the vision, such as J. Lawrence Burkholder, sought reformulations of the vision's central tension between separation from and integration into “the world,” calling for greater social responsibility and for a recognition that the ambiguities of human existence extend to the church, of necessity qualifying its lived expressions of radical discipleship.     

The Ecclesial Ethics of John Howard Yoder’s Abuse

In the last decade – now that his sexual abuse is no longer deniable – Christian ethicists have had to reconsider John Howard Yoder’s theological contributions in the late twentieth century. This essay considers how the witness of the women who survived his abuse exposes the sexism latent in his development of a framework for moral discernment and community discipline. Yoder designed an ecclesiology that was congruent with his pursuit of unaccountable power over the women he used as subjects for working out his exploitative sexuality. His theological contributions, I argue, cannot be separated from his behavior.     

Strengthening the Capacity of Schools and Communities to Serve Students with Serious Emotional Disturbance

Target 2 of the National Agenda for Improving Results for Children and Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance stipulates that communities and schools serve children and youth with emotional needs in their neighborhood homes and regular classrooms by developing the capacity of teachers, schools, and communities to provide supports and resources. This statement is partially based upon the idea that children and youth who are placed out-of-district for special needs and services are often alienated from their neighborhoods and their communities. The Westerly, RI, and Alliance, OH, school districts, service delivery agencies and families collaborated to implement system-wide change, so as to accomplish two main goals. First, they intended on retaining students with emotional needs in their neighborhood schools and in regular classrooms. Second, they aimed to increase their effectiveness in addressing the needs of all students by providing a range of integrated resources. Both communities were strongly driven by the underlying objective: to improve the educational, economic, and social outcomes for all children.     

The Contribution of Common Principles of Canon Law to Ecclesial Communion in Anglicanism

An important recent development in worldwide Anglicanism is the emergence over recent years of a project to articulate the principles of canon law common to the churches of the Anglican Communion. This project seeks to express the juridical character of Anglicanism from a global perspective, not only to underscore the many fundamental values that Anglicans share in terms of their polity, ministry, doctrine, liturgy, rites and property, going to the very roots of Anglican identity but, also, as a concrete resource for other churches in ecumenical dialogue with Anglicans. This article traces the development of the so-called ius commune project, describes the methodological challenges which it faces and, the process of producing a draft. It also seeks to compare the project with the juridical experiences of other international ecclesial communities and, briefly, to place the project in the context of the debate about the adoption of an Anglican Covenant, an initiative proposed by the Lambeth Commission in 2004.     

'Fullness of the Spirit' and 'Fullness of Catholicity' in Ecclesial Communion

In this article I will consider two terms central to post-conciliar ecclesiology, both of which express different aspects of the 'fullness' of the church. The 'fullness of the Spirit' is a biblical concept describing the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost and in the historical sacrament of confirmation, while the 'fullness of catholicity' is a more recent term employed in conciliar and post-conciliar discourse to clarify the status of churches and ecclesial communities within the church of Christ. After analyzing the origin and development of each form of fullness, constructive interaction between the two will allow for a critique of post-conciliar ecclesiological and ecumenical statements.     

Bullying Is Everywhere: Ten Universal Truths About Bullying As A Social Process In Schools & Communities

This article outlines a proposal to see schools as the natural portal of entry into community violence and to conceptualize bullying as a universal dysfunctional social process, in which the bully and the victim are symptoms, not causes of that dysfunction. Ten truths that we have found are crosscultural, and deserve consideration if such an approach is to become a practical reality in our struggles against community violence. These are: (1) Children need clear, consistent signals from home and school; (2) biology transcends culture; (3) schools mirror their communities; (4) bullying is a process, not a person; (5) when adults deny problems, children become targets; (6) children are developmentally similar across cultures; (7) all schools have a climate; (8) children need to feel safe to learn; (9) when children feel securely attached and valued, they grow; and (10) natural leaders and altruism are necessary for school and community change.     

The Contemporary Relevance of Schillebeeckx's Political Theology: On Ecclesial Participation in the Saving Work of Christ

In this article I explore the relation between God's absolute governance of the world and ecclesial dominion over other communities in a shared political forum that seeks the greatest good of all. On this question I compare the positions of Colin Gunton, Robert Jenson, and Edward Schillebeeckx as representatives of three distinct political theologies. Whereas Gunton's reservation regarding the participation of the church's politics in divine governance shows excessive deference to human sinfulness, Jenson on the contrary tends to absorb God's Rule into ecclesial politics. Drawing upon Schillebeeckx's Christology, I argue that God's absolute Rule is compatible with ecclesial sovereignty; however, this does not allow for unilateral ecclesial dominion over others, inasmuch as God's Rule is disclosed as forgiveness.     

Ecclesial Ethics and the Gospel sine glossa: Sacramental Politics and the Love of the World

This article examines the charge that the approach D. Stephen Long identifies as “ecclesial ethics” is a world-denying approach. The article examines typologies that pit world-affirmers against world-deniers, showing how “neo-Augustinians” end up on both sides of this divide, depending on who is constructing the typology. The article argues that these typologies are inaccurate, distorting, and often self-contradictory. It offers an alternative etiology, making a case that “ecclesial ethics” can be understood as a development of the progressive wing of Catholic thought that surfaced in Vatican II. The article examines Giuseppe Dossetti’s advocacy of a Gospel sine glossa at Vatican II, and argues that this type of ethics has deep roots in a Catholic sacramental theology. Finally, the article examines Henri de Lubac’s work as exemplary of such a sacramental theology. The article concludes that the basis of “ecclesial ethics” is a deeply sacramental view of creation being transformed by the grace of God through Jesus Christ.