Church Laws and Ecumenism

Church Laws and Ecumenism PDF Author: Norman Doe
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000192873
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Written by experts from within their communities, this book compares the legal regimes of Christian churches as systems of religious law. The ecumenical movement, with its historical theological focus, has failed to date to address the role of church law in shaping relations between churches and fostering greater mutual understanding between them. In turn, theologians and jurists from the different traditions have not hitherto worked together on a fully ecumenical appreciation of the potential value of church laws to help, and sometimes to hinder, the achievement of greater Christian unity. This book seeks to correct this ecumenical church law deficit. It takes account of the recent formulation by an ecumenical panel of a Statement of Principles of Christian Law, which has been welcomed by Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, leader of the Orthodox Church worldwide, as recognizing the importance of canon law for ecumenical dialogue. This book, therefore, not only provides the fruits of an understanding of church laws within ten Christian traditions, but also critically evaluates the Statement against the laws of these individual ecclesial communities. The book will be an essential resource for scholars of law and religion, theology, and sociology. It will also be of interest to those working in religious institutions and policy-makers.

Church Laws and Ecumenism

Church Laws and Ecumenism PDF Author: Norman Doe
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000192873
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book

Book Description
Written by experts from within their communities, this book compares the legal regimes of Christian churches as systems of religious law. The ecumenical movement, with its historical theological focus, has failed to date to address the role of church law in shaping relations between churches and fostering greater mutual understanding between them. In turn, theologians and jurists from the different traditions have not hitherto worked together on a fully ecumenical appreciation of the potential value of church laws to help, and sometimes to hinder, the achievement of greater Christian unity. This book seeks to correct this ecumenical church law deficit. It takes account of the recent formulation by an ecumenical panel of a Statement of Principles of Christian Law, which has been welcomed by Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, leader of the Orthodox Church worldwide, as recognizing the importance of canon law for ecumenical dialogue. This book, therefore, not only provides the fruits of an understanding of church laws within ten Christian traditions, but also critically evaluates the Statement against the laws of these individual ecclesial communities. The book will be an essential resource for scholars of law and religion, theology, and sociology. It will also be of interest to those working in religious institutions and policy-makers.

Faith and Law

Faith and Law PDF Author: Marc Reuver
Publisher: World Council of Churches
ISBN: 9782825413258
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 133

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Book Description
Differences in doctrine and worship that divide Christian churches -- and how to overcome these -- have drawn much ecumenical attention over the years. There has been far less discussion of how the quest for Christian unity is helped or hindered by the legal structures and forms by which churches organize themselves. In most Christian traditions canon law (or church order) has strengthened confessional identity and distinctiveness, taking little account of new realities emerging from the quest for the unity of the church -- common witness and collaboration, a sense of community and mutual accountability, agreements over historic theological disputes, fresh understandings of church-state relations and the establishment of ecumenical organizations. After outlining the historical development of church legislation in Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic traditions, the author explores what ecumenism implies for this central but often neglected element of church life.

Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism

Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism PDF Author: Catholic Church. Pontificium Consilium ad Christianorum Unitatem Fovendam
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780851838908
Category : Christian union
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description


Church and Communion

Church and Communion PDF Author: Philip Goyret
Publisher: CUA Press
ISBN: 0813234638
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
This book is about ecumenism, from a Catholic point of view. The first part, chapters 1 and 2, describe the history of divisions within the Church, as well as of the efforts to bring about Christian unity. The second part examines Ecumenism from a systematic theological perspective. This first part takes into account the different factors that led to definitive ruptures within the Church, which usually are not only theological. The text gives useful information about what happened after the respective divisions as well as about the various attempts to restore unity, the development of the Ecumenical Movement in the 20th Century, and the current situation of ecumenical dialogue within the Catholic Church. While offering insight into the sad history that has led to the present disunity, this work also highlights the way Christians have sought to bring to fulfill the petition of Christ that his disciples might be one, as He and the Father are one. The second part―chapters three, four and five―offers a systematic theological analysis of unity in the Church, from the point of view of dogmatic theology. We find here an explanation of the Catholic concept of ecumenism, of how Catholic theology understands the unity of the Church, and, finally, of the Catholic principles which sustain the efforts for regaining unity in the Church. The Second Vatican Council, and particularly the Constitution Lumen gentium and the Decree Unitatis redintegratio, are at the foundation of these reflections. At the same time, since the theology of the Church and the life of the Church are intimately connected, there is a profound link between this dogmatic section and the earlier historical section. The last chapter, about the practice of ecumenism, is also written from a theological perspective, but with more links with life and spirituality. The chapter recalls that ecumenism can never simply remain a set of theological principles, but rather inspires an attitude and action in charity which are essential to the Christian life.

Christian Law

Christian Law PDF Author: Norman Doe
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107469864
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Christian Law: Contemporary Principles offers a detailed comparison of the laws of churches across ten distinct Christian traditions worldwide: Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed, Presbyterian, United, Congregational and Baptist. From this comparison, Professor Doe proposes that all denominations of the faith share common principles in spite of their doctrinal divisions; and that these principles reveal a concept of 'Christian law' and contribute to a theological understanding of global Christian identity. Adopting a unique interdisciplinary approach, the book provides comprehensive coverage on the sources and purposes of church law, the faithful (lay and ordained), the institutions of church governance, discipline and dispute resolution, doctrine and worship, the rites of passage, ecumenism, property and finance, as well as church, State and society. This is an invaluable resource for lawyers and theologians who are engaged in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, showing how dogmas may divide but laws link Christians across traditions.

In Order to Serve

In Order to Serve PDF Author: Leo J. Koffeman
Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster
ISBN: 3643903189
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Ecclesiology is in the center of current ecumenical dialogue. However, this hardly seems to influence theological reflection on church polity. Does a deeper ecumenical understanding of the nature and mission of the church foster a renewal of church polity? This book explores new avenues in this respect, enhancing a truly ecumenical and intercultural approach of the theological discipline of church polity, without neglecting its juridical character. Key issues like liturgy and ordained ministry are featured, as well as concepts like the missional church, synodality, episcopacy, and many others. Examples from Roman Catholic and Anglican canon law - as well as from a number of Protestant church orders - clarify the issues at stake. Finally, its contextual approach stimulates new reflection on church-state relationships. (Series: Church Polity and Ecumenism. Global Perspectives - Vol. 1) [Subject: Religious Studies, Ecumenical Studies, Christianity]

Church, Ecumenism and Politics

Church, Ecumenism and Politics PDF Author: Benedict XVI
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Catholic Church
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this collection of essays, theologian Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, tackles three major issues in the Church today--the nature of the Church, the pursuit of Christian unity, and the relationship of Christianity to the secular/political power.

Bound to Be Free

Bound to Be Free PDF Author: Reinhard Hutter
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 0802827500
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
"Bound to Be Free" explores the scriptural concepts of church ("ekklesia"), freedom ("eleutheria"), and truthful speech ("parrhesia"), showing not only that the proper meanings of three concepts interpenetrate one another but also that rending them asunder lies at the root of Christian division today. According to Reinhard Hutter, the crucial interrelationship of these three concepts has long been obscured by ongoing church division. Separated from each other, many Christians assume that freedom can be maintained and truthful speech preserved only at the cost of unity. Others assume that Christian unity can be attained only if freedom and truthful speech are narrowly circumscribed in their proper exercise. Christian division issues from the all too familiar individualistic accounts of church, freedom, and speech that have haunted modernity and clouded the proclamation of the gospel. This book shows that here, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is imperative that Christians attend to this crucial interrelationship and its source in the God of the gospel. Hutter discusses the meaning, role, and importance of each concept in turn, engaging along the way a wide range of classical and contemporary voices in theology, philosophy, and culture that reveal in different ways how church, freedom, and truthful speech support one another."Bound to Be Free" is a groundbreaking work that challenges common approaches to ecumenism and points a fruitful new course ahead.

Christianity and Natural Law

Christianity and Natural Law PDF Author: Norman Doe
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316949567
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
Historically, natural law has played a pivotal role in Christian approaches to the law, and a contested role in legal philosophy generally. However, comparative study of natural law across global Christian traditions is largely neglected. This book provides not only the history of natural law ideas across mainstream Christian traditions worldwide, but also an ecumenical comparison of the contemporary natural law positions of different traditions. Its focus is not solely theoretical: it tests the practical utility of natural law by exploring its use in the legal systems of the churches studied. Alongside analysis of the assumptions underlying the concept, it also proposes a jurisprudence of Christian law itself. With chapters written by distinguished lawyers and theologians across the world, this book is designed for those studying and teaching law or theology, those who practice and study ecumenism, and those involved in the practice of church law.

Church Law and Church Order in Rome and Byzantium

Church Law and Church Order in Rome and Byzantium PDF Author: Clarence Gallagher
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351951580
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
This book presents a comparative study of church order in the East and West of the Christian world. It deals with the development of canon law from the 6th century, the time of Dionysius Exiguus and John Scholastikos, up to the period of Balsamon and Gratian. While the focus is upon Rome and Constantinople, the author includes in his discussion the churches under Islamic rule, in Syria and Persia, and describes the beginnings of Slavonic canon law in Moravia. The issues of church government, the discipline of the clergy (married or celibate), and the question of divorce and re-marriage are key themes. By illustrating how these were faced in the canon law of the Christian churches of late antiquity and the earlier Middle Ages, the book highlights questions of unity and diversity within the Christian tradition.