Pathways for Ecclesial Dialogue in the Twenty-First Century ─ Revisiting Ecumenical Method

While, historically, most attention has focused on Catholic-Protestant relations in Ireland, there continue to be important dialogues between Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans and Anglicans, and Presbyterians and Baptists. With increased globalization, doctrinal shifts and expansion, migration, evangelism, and declining membership, the relations between and among Christian denominations have become increasingly dynamic and important. New forms of dialogue as well as reinvigoration of the old patterns of sharing and communication are vital to renewing and updating ecumenical and interfaith movements. This volume revolves around Intra and Inter-Church Issues and features representative essays from scholars, clergy, and laity across many different denominations and cultural identities. The contributors to Pathways for Ecclesial Dialogue in the Twenty-First Century identify myriad obstacles currently standing in the way of dialogue both within churches and between churches. They dissect the problems that often prevent churches from moving toward a realization of important common ground. They then move on to discuss how these obstacles might be dissolved or circumvented. In short, this volume explores all the ways through which ecclesial dialogue can be re-energized and adapted for a new century.

Mark D. Chapman is Vice-Principal of Ripon College, Cuddesdon, Oxford, UK. He is also Reader in Modern Theology at the University of Oxford, UK, and Assistant Priest in his local Church of England parish. He has written widely in the fields of Ecclesiology, Anglicanism, and Church history. His latest books are The Fantasy of Reunion: Anglicans, Catholics, and Ecumenism, 1833-1882 (2014) and Theology and Society in Three Cities: Berlin, Oxford and Chicago, 1800-1914 (2014).


Miriam Haar has submitted her dissertation Apostolicity in Dialogue: A Study of Multilateral and Bilateral Ecumenical Dialogues at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. She studied in Germany, Switzerland, and Lebanon, and received a Master of Philosophy Degree in Ecumenics from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, having previously been awarded a Graduate Degree in Protestant Theology from the University of Tubingen, Germany.