Is the Bible a source of unity between Catholics and Reformed Christians? As I shall explain, the answer is ‘yes and no.’ The Bible is a source of unity, albeit an imperfect source of unity, if by ‘unity’ we mean ‘of one mind.’ To those of us who have spent time staring across the divide [...]
Few figures loom as large in the history of Calvinism, and yet are at the same time so unknown by Calvinists, as St. Francis De Sales. St. Francis, born in 1567 to a wealthy family, led an interesting life, the details of which are too great to expound here, but I recommend the Catholic Encyclopedia [...]
Towards the end of Leo Tolstoy’s literary masterpiece, Anna Karenina, we find Konstantin Levin, the book’s male protagonist, grasping his way towards an explicit faith in God. Along the way, Levin considers the faith of the Church, but finds himself unable to fully accept her testimony to divine truth.
Non-Catholics (and yes, even the Eastern Orthodox) do not enjoy the ecclesial unity Saint Paul prescribed for the Church of Jesus Christ. Saint Paul is resolute in his conviction that the Church of Christ must be one. Most of his epistles specifically speak against disunity within the Church. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians seems [...]
The Church Unity Octave (eight days), also called the “Week of prayer for Christian unity” begins on January 18. This will be the 102 annual week of prayer for Christian unity. January 18th was originally chosen as the first day of the Octave because it was one of the two feast days of the Chair [...]
This post originally appeared at the Canterbury Tales blog. Let me begin by saying that I am honored to have received a response from N.T. Wright in Christianity Today last month. He is a giant and he has probably influenced me more than any other living theologian (yes, even more than Ratzinger/Benedict XVI). At the [...]
Tim Troutman interviews Taylor Marshall, former Episcopal priest, and Andrew Preslar, formerly studying for Anglican orders, on the subject of the new Anglican Ordinariates and what that means for Christianity and ecumenism. Download the mp3 here.
There are fundamentally two different types of ecumenicism. The more well-known type seeks some general agreement about doctrine, and also seeks increased cooperation in charitable social activities such as caring for the poor and the homeless.
It takes a lot of hard work from all parties to a discussion to agree on even a narrow proposition and, depending on the work committed, ecumenical discussion can either be a labor of love or a waste of time.
