ECUMENICAL REVIEW最新文献

This article considers what the language of the body of Christ in Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians implies about the nature of the church as an exercise in embodied solidarity, suggesting that it might helpfully be used to offer scriptural warrant for the relatively recent practice of receptive ecumenism. It suggests that the ecclesiological assumptions implicit in the practice of receptive ecumenism can be articulated as a recovery of a particular Pauline “ecclesiology as Christology.” However, if this vision is to be of any use, it must address situations in which its basis in embodied solidarity appears to be under threat. Following a recent commentary on the epistle (and drawing in other reflections), it considers whether the language of pathology is a helpful way of articulating such threats and, if not, what alternative language might be preferable for this task.

This article justifies and demonstrates that the church, and not only its members, is capable of sinning. It can thereby become a structure of sin and be called a sinful church. This is exemplified through the cases of the Roman Catholic Church's handling of sexual abuse and the Residential School System in Canada. This highlights that the churches, along with calling the world, societies, and all people to change where it is needed, should also be constantly self-examining and self-correcting.

This article seeks to acknowledge the issue of problematic whiteness in listening to Black experiences through reflecting on the poem “Mirroring” by the womanist theologian Doreen Hazel and in the writing of a poem by the author as an artistic piece. Against a feeling of despair about xenophobia, racism, sexism, homophobia, and the way people talk about refugees, the poem seeks to find the light of hope and to imagine the kingdom and how to participate in it.

In judging the relative merits of online, in-person, and hybrid conferences and meetings, this article takes as a case study the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI), which took place as an in-person phase held in conjunction with the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in 2022, following an earlier online phase. The primary objective was to determine the level of satisfaction among participants with the online phase and whether they considered the online phase to have enhanced the productivity of the subsequent in-person phase. The research found that the combination of online and in-person phases was deemed an ideal approach for conferences and programmes such as GETI. While it would have been challenging for young researchers or students without previous assembly experience to keep up with the programme without a preparatory online phase, building friendships and connections solely through the online phase proved to be difficult. Accordingly, it is crucial to recognize the situations where in-person meetings are necessary and effective versus those where online dialogue suffices.

This article sets out the background to and the significance of the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI), an educational course for younger and emerging theologians, first organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to coincide with its 10th Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, in 2013. Further GETIs have taken place since then, most recently at the WCC's 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2022. The article finishes by setting out five statements about ecumenical education and formation.

Some observers claim that ecumenism has entered the season of winter and that ecumenism does not flourish as it has done in other periods. This article proposes that queer theory, an academic field that in different ways addresses and challenges questions of identity, offers perspectives to respond to this challenge and allow ecumenism to enter springtime. One of the main elements within queer theory is the understanding that identity is not static or binary but rather fluid and moveable. Given that ecumenism is always dealing with identity and the longing to overcome an ecumenical winter, the article investigates how queer theory could be a useful tool within ecumenical relations and work. First, it will discuss what identity is. Second, it will present queer theory. And third, it will attempt to bring together identity and queer theory in an ecumenical effort.

Based on the theme of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, “Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity,” this article analyzes the concept of “movement” as a theological category on the basis of the scripture. First, it argues that it is important for the churches to be attentive to the movements and transformations taking place in societies, recognizing in them the presence of the Spirit constantly working in the world. It then points out that the presence of the Spirit in the churches should be characterized by two actions: the denunciation of injustice as a prophetic action of believers, and the ecumenical character of synodality as a movement toward encounter with other Christians and a willingness to walk with them. Finally, the article proposes that this movement of the Spirit also requires dialogue with other religions as a necessary condition for building peace in society.

Ecumenical organizations have long agreed that human trafficking and modern slavery are consequences of human sin that, in the words of Pope Francis, have left “an open wound in the body of Christ and in all humanity.” While the ecumenical consensus against human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery remains strong, the discourse lacks clear definitions and, thus, focused engagement. To enrich ecumenical reflection on these phenomena, the prevailing discourse could be reframed through the contextualized, case-based, and comparative lens of asymmetrical dependency theory. Consequently, this article surveys recent ecumenical pronouncements, clarifies relevant legal and definitional considerations, and asks whether it is time to take a “dependency turn” in ecumenical discourse on human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery.