ECUMENICAL REVIEW最新文献

This article explores the potential of the 1973 Leuenberg Agreement – which resulted in the creation of the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE) – for the work and witness of churches in Europe today. Recalling its 50th anniversary not only celebrates the agreement, but also encourages the development of a European-wide community. Until now, Reformation theology could rely on the fact that Christian influence still had a living role within European culture. Today, however, churches must shape the message of their public mission not only to be heard, but also to win over fellow human beings. Churches need to have a “prophetic” influence and thus engage in advocacy for justice and democracy. This article explores how the CPCE can place its Reformation potential at the service of the peoples of Europe, based on solidarity, commitment, unity, representation, and trust.

Under the title Walking, Praying, and Working Together: An Ecumenical Pilgrimage, the Joint Working Group (JWG) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) offered its tenth report to the most recent WCC assembly in Karlsruhe in 2022. This report recounts many instances of cooperation between the RCC and the WCC. This fact raises the question of whether the relations between the RCC and the WCC have changed and, if so, in what way. This article goes back to the roots of the JWG and tries to imagine the ecumenical atmosphere of those days to adequately understand the present situation. It critically assesses selected instances of cooperation mentioned in the tenth report and draws conclusions from the assessment. What does this mean for the work of the JWG? And what does this mean for the relationship between the JWG's parent bodies: the RCC and the WCC?

As the World Council of Churches (WCC) celebrates its 75th anniversary, the world faces many challenges, including ecological crises, violence, pandemics, systemic poverty, racism, gender-based violence, human rights violations, and the war in Ukraine that began in 2022. Taking as its basis the Unity Statement agreed at the WCC's 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2022, which met around the theme “Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity,” the article argues for an “ecumenism of the heart,” of which the statement spoke, as a path to unity. It underlines that this is a “public theology” based not on political abstinence but on a passion for and renewed commitment to the world. The article concludes by exploring the challenges of such a public theology for justice, peace, and the integrity of creation.

Against the background of the document Called to Transformation – Ecumenical Diakonia, published in June 2022 by the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance, this article argues for a comprehensive approach to diakonia in which community projects and programmes, education, and training should emphasize social justice, people's participation, and the role of people's movements and the need for networking between them. This approach also stresses that diakonia must go beyond mere service, charity, and relief and engage in radical transformation.

This article, by one of those involved in the process that led to the 1973 Leuenberg Agreement between Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches, considers the significance of the agreement and its methodology, often described as “differentiated consensus,” for ecumenical efforts aimed at church unity. The article begins by reviewing the Leuenberg Agreement against the background of other models of church unity and the significance of the aim of church fellowship or communion. It then reviews how the agreement stimulated theological conversations between Lutherans and Roman Catholics, and the contribution of the insights of the Leuenberg Agreement to the process of the mutual recognition of churches, in which the communion in Jesus Christ founded in baptism plays a central role. In this process, the churches are on a pilgrimage together whose ultimate goal is the coming of the kingdom of God.

Among the 104 churches signatory to the Leuenberg Agreement of 1973, which created ecclesial communion between Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches in Europe, are six churches from Latin America, five of them from the Southern Cone. This article reviews how the Protestant churches in the Southern Cone came to be signatories of the Leuenberg Agreement and its significance for their life and witness. Two elements in particular have proven significant over the years. The first is the theological and ecumenical platform the Leuenberg Agreement provided, which gave visibility to a phenomenon already taking place. The second is the fact that the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe has a regional group in South America: this was the case almost from the beginning, which also poses an interesting theological and contextual challenge.