Observations on Pentecostal Participation in Formal Ecumenical Dialogue

As analysis of the implications of global Pentecostalism for ecumenism continues, we can learn much by examining the formal ecumenical dialogues in which Pentecostals have participated. Among these dialogues, both between Pentecostals and other Christian traditions and between Oneness and trinitarian Pentecostals, the Catholic–Pentecostal dialogue is especially instructive. As Pentecostals continue to dialogue, they should employ the methodology of lex orandi, lex credendi, reflect on the requirements and responsibilities of their dialogue participation, and return to previous topics in their dialogues that may be ripe for reconsideration.     

Making Time Protestant in Early-Modern Glasgow

This article, drawn largely from the under-utilized Kirk session records from late-sixteenth-century Glasgow, by way of example, demonstrates how changing dispositions towards time were at the heart of the Reformation change of religion in Scotland. From the expansion of time obligations of Christians, the alteration of holy days, and the re-definition of basic units of time, alternative understandings of time were among the most tangible effects of the establishment of Protestantism in Scotland. In introducing time as a new way to examine the broad influence of the Reformation on the lives of the Scottish people, the article builds on recent research on the European Reformations while also introducing new perspectives on the uniqueness of the Scottish case.     

Behold … All Things New: Uppsala 1968 and Its Mediatization as Film

The 4th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 1968 occurred during a period of increasing influence of the media in shaping society and culture. The documentary film Behold … All Things New, produced by Radio Sweden for the WCC's 1968 assembly in Uppsala, reflected this development. It was, however, both a promotional tool for the church and a sort of documentary. This article analyzes the film from the context of church media relations, examining the strengthened mediatization of the religious arena in the 20th century and giving close attention to the circumstances of the film's production, its narrative techniques, and visual realization. In this way, the film is made accessible as a historical source for the WCC and thus also for the history of the globalization of churches. The film places into perspective the connection between mediatization and secularization, as it represents the churches' integration into modern media society with all of its visual symbols of globality, ecumenism, and willingness to enter into dialogue.     

The Second Vatican Council 50th anniversary: visions and re-visions

On 21 November 2014, the 50th anniversary of the solemn promulgation of Lumen Gentium and Unitatis Redintegratio was celebrated. Between ‘aggiornamento’ and ‘ressourcement’ the Catholic Church had been striving to understand itself and its Tradition more precisely, in order to be newly relevant, lastingly true and authoritative in the future ? an indispensible task, if the gospel were to be proclaimed to the contemporary world, but not an easy one. It is little wonder that this completion of the Council's endeavours was preceded by its so-called ‘black week’. Questions remain as to the outcome of it all, and the articles assembled in this issue assess the reception of these two conciliar texts after 50 years. Where do the achievements lie? Where are the shortcomings? Where do questions need to be asked today that reach beyond the horizon of Vatican II?     

Ecumenism and Global Governance

On 21 June 2018, on his 23rd international journey, Pope Francis travelled to Geneva to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the World Council of Churches. The Swiss city also hosts a large number of representative international institutions dealing with global governance and the issues of peace, human rights, and migration. After reviewing the main highlights of the journey, this article discusses its significance: to appeal to the common commitment of Christians to proclaim the gospel and its power of salvation in a divided and wounded world. In this way, Pope Francis underlined that in the pluralistic society of today, harmony is not possible if we just ignore faith and focus on what it means to be human while excluding the transcendent. Indeed, it is the gospel that promotes harmony and commitment to a better world.     

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.     

The ecumenical vision of Pope Francis: journeying together as fellow pilgrims − ‘the mystery of unity has already begun’

After reviewing some of the unique ecumenical steps taken by Pope Francis, this article examines briefly the three ecumenical paragraphs in Evangelii Gaudium. It presents them in the wider context of this post-synodal exhortation, of the ecumenical gestures and testimonies of Pope Francis, the ecumenical orientation of the Catholic Church and the ecumenical movement as such. It concludes with an outlook on a newly emerging ecumenical paradigm.     

What is Happening to Global Christianity?

Abstract :  Following Philip Jenkins's analysis of "the next Christendom" it is argued that when the centre of Christianity is moving southwards Christianity will change. As a translation movement, Christianity is a religion made to travel. The consequences of this development are dramatic. In the West and North the mainline churches are in decline. The diversification within Christianity will continue in a certain tension to a trend towards uniformity. This leads to new priorities in mission. The discipline, theology of religions, will gain in importance as the churches are confronted with the life and death choice between a "clash of civilisations" or a peaceful multicultural and multireligious co‐existence.