Growth in Agreement IV: International Dialogue Texts and Agreed Statements, 2005-2013, Volume 1 (Faith and Order Paper) - Softcover

The textual fruits of ecumenical dialogue over the last decade are presented here in complete documents. The vast yield is here collected in two volumes, incorporating bilateral and multilateral dialogues of the churches across the Christian confessions-Orthodox, Catholic, and Reformation traditions-and evinces not only agreements and disagreements but also the new insights that dialogue itself reveals. Also included are the key documents from the Faith and Order Commission during these years, especially the ecclesiological documents that ultimately have yielded The Church: Towards a Common Vision, the 2013 convergence statement now being responded to by the churches. The texts are divided into five sections: * Part A, Volume 1 - Eastern and Oriental Orthodox-related texts * Part B, Volume 1 - Dialogues and Declarations with Roman Catholic participation * Part C, Volume 2 - Texts from traditions emerging from the Reformation * Part D, Volume 2 - WCC texts from its Faith and Order Commission * Part E, Volume 2 - Texts from the WCC and from the Joint Working Group between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church The 37 documents gathered here reflect new dialogue partners and a wider circle of churches dialogically committed to reconciliation, further dialogue on questions of personal and social ethics, deeper exploration and use of the koinonia concept, stronger use of the insights of the early writers of the church, and new insights into the dialogical process itself, including reception. Educators, preachers and church leaders have here a rich resource for promoting this work of the Holy Spirit through their ministry.

Rev. Dr. Thomas F. Best, editor of this volume, is a pastor of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and retired as Director of Faith and Order, World Council of Churches, in November 2007. Sister Lorelei Francis Fuchs, SA, is a member of the Society of the Atonement, Graymoor, serving as the Ecumenical Liaison for the Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement. For decades Sr. Lorelei has been a member of the NCC's Faith and Order Commission, as well as on local dialogues and bilateral dialogues for the Catholic Church. She is co-editor of Encounters for Unity and of Growth in Agreement III and author of Koinonia and the Quest for an Ecumenical Ecclesiology. John Gibaut is Director for Unity, Faith and Order of the Anglican Communion. He was formerly Director of Faith and Order for the World Council of Churches. Jeffrey Gros, a Christian Brother, was an internationally renowned Catholic ecumenist and theologian. An American and a member of the De La Salle Christian Brothers. He served for many years as Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Despina Prassas is Assistant Professor of Theology at Providence College, Rhode Island, USA. Within historical theology, her work has centered on writers of the Patristic period.