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‘Ordered Ministries’ for a Missionary and Global Church: The Contribution of Richard R. Gaillardetz Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-10-27 Susan K. Wood
Richard R. Gaillardetz’ theology of ecclesial re-positioning and ‘ordered ministries’ developed throughout his career, originating in a 1997 article on the lay-clergy distinction and culminating in a 2021 article on the synodal shape of church ministry and order. This development shows the potential of the concept to support Pope Francis’s agenda for the reform of the Roman Catholic Church grounded
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Richard R. Gaillardetz: An Appreciation of the Ecclesiologist and his Work Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-10-27 Dennis M. Doyle
This tribute to Richard R. Gaillardetz was given as a lecture on September 24, 2022 at a conference held at Boston College honoring his contributions to the field of Ecclesiology. Gaillardetz, who is terminally ill, had delivered his own ‘last lecture’ the previous evening. This essay gives an overview of Gaillardetz’s work with a focus on the topic of authority in the Roman Catholic Church. Gaillardetz’s
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Synod and Synodality: Understandings from Acts of the Apostles Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-10-27 P. A. McGavin
Across this paper, the endeavour has been to read the meaning of the Lukan author in his depiction of church life and governance. This depiction highlights behavioural governance more than structural governance. This may be expressed in the crucial perspective that suffuses the Lukan narrative – namely, in praxis terms that the apostolic ministry is not situated over, above, and apart from the church
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Against the Anglican ‘Conscience’: The Analytical Tool from Churches and Moral Discernment Applied to the Discussions About Homosexuality at the Lambeth Conferences 1978–2022 Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-10-05 Alexander S. Jensen
In the recently published document Churches and Moral Discernment the Faith and Order Commission of the wcc offers an analytical tool for moral discernment processes and introduces the concept of the ‘conscience’ of the Church. Applying this tool to the moral discernment processes in the Anglican Communion leading up to the 1998 Lambeth Conference and its Resolution I.10 ‘Human Sexuality’ indicates
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The Dialectics of Place and Pastoral Practice Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-10-05 Aden Cotterill
This paper examines theologically how the concept of place – particularly the dialectics of place – might shape pastoral ministry of the church. It firstly surveys a body of literature that argues that the church and its pastors ought to be committed to emplacement, a politics of inhabitation (Inge; Rumsey; Berry; Kemmis; Hauerwas; Quash; Williams). Secondly, it engages other interlocutors (O’Donovan;
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Does the Anglican Communion have a Promise? A Response to The Promise of Anglicanism by Heaney and Sachs Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-10-05 Khee-Vun Lin
The Promise of Anglicanism by Heaney and Sachs reframes Anglicanism from the perspective of mission, offering a positive and hopeful portrayal of an Anglican Communion presently riven by conflict. However, upon scrutiny, its notions of ‘catholicity from below’, its perception of ‘mission’, and its proposed ‘community of practice’ embody an understanding of individuality that can hinder the cultivation
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Ecclesiological Anthropology Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-10-05 Radu Bordeianu
The Eastern Orthodox Church has a long history of women’s ordination to the diaconate. Equally consistent is the absence of female priesthood and female episcopate. This article inquires – theoretically, as it is not a call to action – whether there are any theological reasons for this latter absence, or whether it is based exclusively on precedent and practice. Such an inquiry first presupposes an
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The Charism of Infallibility: Re-Receiving Pastor Aeternus’ Teaching on Papal Infallibility in Light of Iuvenescit Ecclesia’s Teaching on Charismatic Gifts Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-03-13 John Stayne
More than 150 years since Vatican I, the definition of papal infallibility continues to be a major obstacle in the work for Christian unity. In response to ecumenical and historical objections, Roman Catholic scholars have tended to downplay claims of a priori certainty by stressing the epistemological role of ecclesial reception. The present essay argues that this approach can be greatly strengthened
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Ekklēsia: Contending for Church as ‘People’ Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-03-13 Phil Zarns
This article investigates the presumed identity of the present-day Church while seeking parity in terms and meaning with the identity of the early church. The phrase, ‘The church is not a building; the people are the church’, displays the existence of multiple perceived identities of what/who is known as the church within Western culture. New Testament Scripture best defines the church of Jesus Christ
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Semper Purificanda: Accounting for Ecclesial Deformity with Bernard Lonergan Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-03-13 Eugene R. Schlesinger
The Christian churches often not only fall short of their noble ambitions, but actively perpetuate harm. This reality must be squarely faced, and a cogent theological account of this deformity must be forthcoming, otherwise the ecclesiological enterprise will fail. This essay turns to the thought of Bernard Lonergan in order to develop a theological account of ecclesial deformity, by articulating a
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Sign and Ministry in the Finnish Lutheran – Catholic Document Communion in Growth Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2023-03-13 Heta Hurskainen
Communion in Growth: Declaration on the Church, Eucharist and Ministry (cg 2017), a report from the Lutheran – Catholic Dialogue Commission for Finland, continued at the national level the ecumenical request to work on the themes. The aim of the article is to determine how Communion in Growth understands the concept ‘sign’ in connection with ministry. In the report, ministry itself, especially episcopal
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Amish Ecclesiology: Plural-Elder Congregationalism, Governing Lines of Fellowship, and Envisioning the Church Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-11-11 Christopher G. Petrovich
Amish ecclesiology is a plural-elder model of congregationalism that exhibits significant variation across the six non-communing affiliations that constitute the present Amish tradition in North America. The first section describes the ordination customs and structure of the ministry, the authority of tradition, the role of church leaders with strong personality types, and the egalitarian tendencies
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A Comparison of the Porvoo, Waterloo, and Called to Common Mission Agreements from the Perspective of Transitivity Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-11-11 Tomi Karttunen
The Anglican-Lutheran Porvoo Declaration (1996) has implications for global Anglican-Lutheran relations. It nurtured ecumenical processes which resulted in ‘full communion agreements’ between Lutherans and Episcopalians in the United States of America (1999), and in Canada between Lutherans and Anglicans (2001). Although the Porvoo Declaration influenced the later documents, regional bilateral agreements
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A Notable Anniversary: Sources chrétiennes and Roman Catholic – Orthodox Relations Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-11-11 Paul McPartlan
Marking the eightieth anniversary of the founding of the celebrated series of patristic texts, Sources chrétiennes, the article considers the place and role of the series in the patristic renewal that occurred in the Roman Catholic Church in the twentieth century, and the many connections and resonances between that renewal and the patristic renewal that occurred contemporaneously in the Orthodox Church
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Ordained Ministry: Divine Calling or Career Choice? Is there Anything Distinctive About a Vocation to Ordained Ministry? Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-11-11 Cara Lovell
This article addresses current ambiguities and potential confusion around the language and nature of vocation to ordination, focusing specifically on the process by which that vocation is discerned by the individual and by the church. It suggests that the particular shape of ordained ministry differentiates the process of vocational discernment to ordination from career choice. Drawing on the Ordination
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Between the Universal Church and the Local Church Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-07-07 Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke
This article examines the ecclesiological tension caused by the nature of the Church as a singular and plural entity. As a singular entity, the Church is universal or catholic; in a plural designation, we speak of local or particular churches. The relationship between the universal and the local has generated many debates that have caused paradigm shifts within ecclesiology, from the hierarchical to
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The Christian-Ecumenical Imagination of Avery Dulles, S.J. Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-07-07 Cyril Orji
This paper puts the spotlight on the seminal contribution of Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., (1918–2008) on Church reform. When many post-Conciliar theologians were caught in the binary poles of fidelity to tradition or innovation, Dulles embraced a creative middle ground of both-and, devoting much of his writings to the corporate reform of the Church as an institution. In honouring his legacy, this paper
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Sacrifice, Violence, and Eucharistic Theology Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-07-07 John R. Meyer
This article examines the moral implications of the Eucharist and its relationship to the love of God and one’s neighbour in the context of the violent treatment of suspected malefactors. It defends the sacrificial character of the Mass by arguing that the death of Jesus ushered in a new notion of participation in the love of God. It asserts that attempts to expunge the idea of sacrifice from the eucharistic
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Yeast in the Dough: Marginal Ecclesial Communities in Contemporary El Salvador Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-07-07 Laurel Marshall Potter
Ecclesial base communities and other marginal ecclesial communities are still an active and significant part of the Roman Catholic church in El Salvador and elsewhere in Latin America. However, instead of being the ‘nucleus’ of their church structures, as in the bishops meeting at Medellín in 1968 put it, these contemporary ecclesial communities identify more strongly with being ‘yeast in the dough
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Richard Cross, (2019) Communicatio idiomatum: Reformation Christological Debates Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Risto Saarinen
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Andrew Atherstone, Mark P. Hutchinson and John Maiden (eds), (2021) Transatlantic Charismatic Renewal c. 1950–2000 Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Martyn Percy
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Donald W. Norwood, (2019) Democracy and the Christian Churches: Ecumenism and the Politics of Belief Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Christopher Hill
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The Roles of the Ecclesial Orders in the Governance of the Church Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Paul Avis
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Christopher Landau, (2021) A Theology of Disagreement: New Testament Ethics for Ecclesial Conflicts Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Jeremy Worthen
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Chris Maunder (ed.), (2019) The Oxford Handbook of Mary Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Karen O’Donnell
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Nicholas Wolterstorff, (2018) Acting Liturgically: Philosophical Reflections on Religious Practice Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 David Grumett
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The Archbishops of Canterbury and their Advisors: A Personal Retrospect Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Robin Gill
Using the recollections of Bishop Richard Harries and myself, this article describes some of the ways that Archbishops of Canterbury Robert Runcie, George Carey and Rowan Williams were variously advised about theology, medical ethics, mission and safeguarding. The work of two Archbishop’s Advisory groups – on theology and on medical ethics – is outlined, together with key individual advisors, especially
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Diaconates in Transition: Enriching the Roman Catholic Permanent Diaconate from the Experience of the Church of England and British Methodism: A Receptive Ecumenical Approach Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Gareth L. M. Rowe
The Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England and the British Methodist Church have retained or restored the diaconate. These diaconates remain distinctive and capable of further change. This article uses a receptive ecumenical approach to ask what the Roman Catholic Church can learn or receive with integrity from the diaconate in the Church of England and British Methodism. The first section examines
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Equality as a Theological Principle within Roman Catholic Ecclesiology Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Thomas O’Loughlin
As the Roman Catholic Church aspires ‘to embrace a synodal way’, some old questions about its ecclesial vision return. One such question is the equality of all the baptised within the church. This question is particularly fraught because of the church’s long history of viewing the itself as a society of unequals, its hierarchical structures, and its culture of top-down authority modelled on pre-modern
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‘Live Bread for the Starved Folk’: Some Perspectives on Holy Communion Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Jason Goroncy
This essay argues that ecclesial existence involves learning to view the world and to move in it in ways informed by the Christian community’s sacramental practices. Of particular concern here is the practice of Holy Communion. This looking and moving is not about one thing; it is rather about many things. Frequently, such discussions are exhausted by fruitless debates about the metaphysics of the
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(Re)Imagining the Church Through the Ordination Liturgy: Towards an Armenian Ressourcement Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2022-02-07 Arman Gregory Shokhikyan
This case study of the presbyteral ordination service of the Orthodox Church of Armenia aims to uncover some aspects of the Armenian ecclesiological vision that lie buried under the neoscholastically-framed manuals of theology. By analyzing liturgical texts and comparing them with two theology manuals that are still influential, the paper, in the spirit of ressourcement, challenges the unexamined presuppositions
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The Holy Sinful Church: Towards a More Realistic Catholic Ecclesiology Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-10-19 Rajmund Porada
This article demonstrates that in Roman Catholic ecclesiology, it would be more justifiable and realistic to fully accept the concept of the sinfulness of the Church as a whole, not only that of its individual members. The piece begins with a short review and commentary on the doctrinal position of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) that provides a doctrinal basis for adopting and developing the
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Infant Baptism and Church Membership: Issues and Ambiguity Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-10-19 Ryan Faber
People are initiated into the church by baptism. But what does it mean when baptism is administered to an infant? What does it mean that a baptised child is a member of the church? What privileges and responsibilities accompany that membership? This article explores discussions of and decisions about the admission of baptised members to the Lord’s Supper and the discipline of baptised member in the
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Reconciled Community: On Finding a Soteriology for Fresh Expressions Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-10-19 Stefan Paas, Hans Schaeffer
Recent experience suggests that there is insufficient reflection on the ‘why’ of mission among missionary pioneers, that is, on the soteriology that underpins missional practices in the West. This article argues, first, that a social view of salvation is the best way to make theological sense of missional community formation (mcf). Second, this implied soteriology is further developed as an integrative
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Paul Avis, (2020) Jesus and the Church: The Foundation of the Church in the New Testament and Modern Theology Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-10-19 David R. Law
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Principles and Pragmatics in the Structure of Anglicanism Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-10-19 Christopher Hill
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Lisette Larsen-Miller, (2016) Sacramentality Renewed: Contemporary Conversations in Sacramental Theology Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-10-19 Stephen Platten
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Elizabeth Welch, (2021) The Holy Spirit and Worship: Transformation and Truth in the Theologies of John Owen and John Zizioulas Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-10-19 Susan Durber
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Al Barrett, (2020) Interrupting the Church's Flow: A Radically Receptive Political Theology in the Urban Margins Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-10-19 John Williams
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W. Bradford Littlejohn and Scott N. Kindred-Barnes (eds), (2017) Richard Hooker and Reformed Orthodoxy Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-10-19 Peter Sedgwick
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Fresh Challenges and Possibilities in Lutheran – Roman Catholic Ecumenical Relations Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-10-19 Susan K. Wood
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Dignity, Autonomy, and Assisted Suicide: An Ecumenical Perspective on the German Context Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Nikolaus Knoepffler, Martin O’Malley
A 2020 decision by Germany’s highest court dramatically shifted the national discussion on assisted suicide. The decision stressed the ‘right to a self-determined death’ which must ‘be respected by state and society as an act of personal autonomy and self-determination’. Moreover, it clarified the non-criminality of assistance for suicides by third parties. The reaction of the main churches in Germany
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‘A Lantern On the Way’: Pope Francis’ Signposts for Ecclesial Ethics Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Sigrid Müller
Pope Francis’ way of doing ecclesial ethics is not easy to understand at first glance. It is often unconventional and does not meet the expectations of the faithful who do not wish to see changes in the church, nor does it satisfy those who want rapid change. But if we look more closely at how the Pope understands the church, his approach to ecclesial ethics seems to derive naturally from that. The
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Moral Disagreement in Anglican – Roman Catholic Relations Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Oliver O’Donovan
The belief that the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches were divided by moral disagreements came to prominence in the early 1980s and affected the direction of ecumenical dialogue. But no moral disagreements go back to the Reformation era, and the perception of moral difference has undergone many changes since that time, especially reflecting differences of social and political setting. A moral agreement
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Natural Law in the Teaching of Christian Ethics Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Robin Gill
This article looks at the ways that Thomas Aquinas’ classic and highly influential understanding of natural law ethics has been criticised by students coming from a number of different faith traditions. It suggests that the way that natural law ethics was deployed in Pope Paul vi’s encyclical Humanae Vitae has not typically been found to be persuasive even among Roman Catholic students. It then looks
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Tensions in Anglican – Roman Catholic Dialogue Doctrinal and Moral Absolutes 1980–2020 Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Peter Sedgwick
The article surveys Anglican – Roman Catholic ecumenical relationships from 1980–2020. It examines the belief in doctrinal and moral absolutes in official statements of the cdf, and the impact this had on documents from arcic. This was different from statements from the pcpcu, especially in relationship to wcc texts. The article concludes by looking at the changes since the election of Pope Francis
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Pieter Vos, (2018) Liturgy and Ethics: New Contributions from Reformed Perspectives Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Elizabeth Welch
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Ethics and the Church: A Roman Catholic–Anglican Encounter Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 David Grumett
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Norman Doe (ed.), (2020) A New History of the Church in Wales: Governance and Ministry, Theology and Society Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Andrew Chandler
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Mark D. Chapman and Vladimir Latinovic (eds), (2021) Changing the Church: Transformation of Christian Belief, Practice, and Life Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Richard Gaillardetz
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David Jasper and Jenny Wright (eds), (2019) Truth and the Church in a Secular Age Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Katherine Price
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Gabrielle Thomas and Elena Narinskaya (eds), (2020) Women and Ordination in the Orthodox Church: Explorations in Theology and Practice Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Richard Clutterbuck
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Kate Tyler, (2019) The Ecclesiology of Thomas F. Torrance: koinōnia and the Church Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Eugene R. Schlesinger
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Kimberly Hope Belcher, (2020) Eucharist and Receptive Ecumenism: From Thanksgiving to Communion Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Risto Saarinen
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Mary Doak, (2020) A Prophetic Public Church: Witness to Hope Amid the Global Crises of the 21st Century. Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Neil Dhingra
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Alexander Knox: Neglected Progenitor of the Oxford Movement Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-07-12 Peter Nockles
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The Adoption and Use of the Word ἘΚΚΛΗΣΊΑ in the Early Christ-Movement Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-04-15 Philip F. Esler
This article engages with two recent monographs and three shorter publications to offer a fresh approach to the origin and some aspects of the use of the word ἐκκλησία in the Christ-movement of the first century ce. It argues that the word was first used as a collective designation by mixed groups of Greek-speaking Judean and non-Judean Christ-followers who were persecuted by Paul. Their intimate table-fellowship
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The Church as an Ecological Community: Practising Eco-Ecclesiology in the Ecological Crisis of Indonesia Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-04-15 Yusak Budi Setyawan
Given the ecological crisis in Indonesia, the churches must implement an ecclesiological reconstruction based on the church as an ecological community and on the understanding that the churches are an inseparable part of Indonesian society and cultures which emphasise respect for nature, while at the same time reconstructing their identity in the Christian faith tradition rooted in the Triune God,
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Discipleship in Three Dimensions: A Critical Examination of John Wesley’s Doctrine of Holiness and its Implications for Contemporary Small Group Discipleship Ecclesiology Pub Date : 2021-04-15 Philip Fellows
This paper critically examines John Wesley’s understanding of holiness, and the system he created to encourage it, in order to begin to understand its implications for contemporary small group discipleship. First, it is argued that Wesley understood holiness primarily as a transformation of the affections that required response from the believer. Wesley’s discipleship system was designed to facilitate