ECUMENICAL REVIEW最新文献

Taking as its starting point the 1966 World Conference on Church and Society in Geneva, which marked the beginnings of a fundamental change in the understanding of ecumenical social ethics within the World Council of Churches (WCC), this article discusses the role of the conference in this shift in perspective from the idea of the “responsible society” to the emergence of a form of postcolonial ecumenism. It traces the emergence of the responsible society as a guiding principle for the WCC and, in particular, the role in this of the US social ethicist Paul Abrecht, as well as how a focus on rapid social change helped strengthen and consolidate churches in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These churches would then articulate the beginnings of a postcolonial understanding of ecumenical social ethics at the Geneva conference, which would in turn lead to the development of new programmes on social justice after the WCC's 4th Assembly in Uppsala in 1968. The article concludes by discussing the tension between the two guiding principles in the decade that followed the Uppsala assembly.

This article considers the legacy of the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work, which met in Stockholm in 1925, for the contemporary ecumenical movement. It asks whether the World Council of Churches and the wider ecumenical movement can reconnect with the spirit of the Life and Work movement, especially that of its first decade or so, to inspire a comprehensive understanding of ecumenical social thought and action in response to contemporary challenges and opportunities. It argues that responses to today's global challenges can build on four foundational principles inspired by the Life and Work movement: creatively reimagining the spirits of the time; embodying an incarnational presence; mobilizing ecumenical efforts for meaningful and empowered action; and recommitting to the principles of life, peace, and justice that were central to the Life and Work movement.

The themes of justice, participation, and sustainability emerged from the 5th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Nairobi in 1975 in the context of addressing global inequalities and promoting a more equitable society, and were brought together in the search for a “Just, Participatory and Sustainable Society.” While underlining the need for theological reflection on justice, particularly in the context of historical injustices and contemporary global divides, this article questions whether “sustainability” still expresses an appropriate vision. With the shift to the Anthropocene, it proposes instead the concept of “habitability.” With habitability, the focus is on the flourishing of the habitat itself. Categories such as civilization, excellence, economic growth, sustainable development, mitigation and adaptation, human flourishing, sustainability as such, and even justice can no longer suffice, at least not on their own. What is required is a comprehensive transformation.

This article examines the participation of Orthodox representatives in the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work held in Stockholm in 1925. It highlights the contributions of Orthodox hierarchs and theologians to key themes such as social ethics, international relations, and cooperative efforts among Christian communions. Despite their active involvement, the Orthodox presence at the conference has so far been underresearched. The article emphasizes the significance of the Orthodox Church, particularly the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in shaping the conference's agenda and fostering ecumenical dialogue. It also discusses the urgent call for Christian unity in addressing contemporary societal challenges and underlines the importance of Orthodox participation in advancing the goals of the ecumenical movement during a critical period in world history.

A concept of “Oxford Responsibility” shaped ecumenical social ethics at the Oxford Conference on Church, Community, and State of 1937. Organized by the Life and Work movement, the conference drew on the thought of Christian realism. Its social method comprised a unifying ecclesiology encompassing political and missional concern; an understanding of human freedom and dignity rooted in divine creation over against the modern project; and the dialogical social method of the middle axiom, providing provisional guidelines for action within particular historical and cultural contexts. This article uses the term “Oxford Responsibility” to refer to a society whose members and institutions act in accordance with human value and freedom, in obedience to the will of God, toward the achievement of justice within the limits and contingencies of human finitude, culture, and history. Having emerged in the global crises of the 1930s, the conference's method offers resources for the church in contemporary society.

This article discusses the organization of the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work in Stockholm in 1925, its significance for the 20th-century ecumenical movement, and the central role played by Swedish Archbishop Nathan Söderblom. It describes Söderblom's repeated efforts during the First World War to bring churches together to work for peace and how he originally hoped that what might become the Stockholm conference would be organized by the World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches, as well as his determination that Orthodox churches should be present in Stockholm. The article then gives an account of the proceedings of the Stockholm conference and how it demonstrated the diversity of the unity of the church.

“Mission from the margins” is an important concept to help move toward a renewed vision of ecumenical mission praxis. This article examines the idea of mission from the margins in the context of the Nagas, an Indigenous (tribal) people in Northeast India. The article's aim is to identify the main internal factors that drive the marginalization of the Nagas, such as geographical isolation, poverty and migration, ecological injustice, exploitation of identity, culture, and values. This marginalization will be addressed in conversation with the mission document of the World Council of Churches, Together towards Life, exploring the possibilities of inclusive mission for a just community.

This article explores the efforts of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in combating racism and discrimination, emphasizing the importance of anti-racism rather than non-racism. The article underlines the intersection of racism with climate change and economic inequality, including its compounded impact on marginalized groups. It highlights an epistemology that gave primacy to Western knowledge and ways of knowing and that became a fundamental tool in making enslavement and colonization acceptable to enslaving and colonizing empires. The article outlines the WCC's commitment to anti-racism – which includes awareness campaigns, capacity building, and global advocacy against systemic racism – and underlines the WCC's role in fostering justice and reconciliation within diverse communities.

In November 2023, the Groupe des Dombes, a Francophone ecumenical group, published its new study “De toutes les nations … ”: Pour la catholicité des Églises (“Of All Nations … ” For the Catholicity of the Churches). Its central affirmation, following a common reading of history, and as a result of the biblical exploration that group has undertaken together, is that “it is possible to affirm that the Catholic Church and the Churches of the Reformation form One Church, although in imperfect communion.” This article recalls the history of the Groupe des Dombes, as a group gathering equal numbers of Roman Catholic and Protestant members, and sets out the main elements of the new study on catholicity. It concludes by discussing the central affirmation and returns to the calls for conversion, so important to the Groupe des Dombes, as a way to live together according to the gift of God: “For beyond themselves, the Churches have the common mission of bearing witness to the unity of humanity. The lived catholicity of the Church can be a sign of this.”