Unification Flashcards
What does ecumenical mean?
Inhabited world
what is the ecumenical movement?
The quest for unity.
What do many Bible passages show?
The conviction that all Christians are in a deep fellowship with God and therefore can and should live in a deep fellowship with each other.
Why are the four gospels different?
They each have different perspectives on the life and teachings of Jesus.
What could be seen as the most important challenge to the Ecumenical movement?
The question of what churches need to agree on and what they can surrender as ‘non essential’.
What can the ecumenical movement be traced back to?
The Edinburgh world missionary conference of 1910.
What makes the Edinburgh world missionary conference so outstanding?
It brought together an unprecedented number of Christian groups and after led to the formation of Church organisations which are now the world council of churches.
What happened at the EWMC?
1200 missionaries from 160 missionary boards gathered for 10 days to consider reports about various aspects of missionary work.
What was the goal of the EWMC?
To bring into being a self governing and self supporting church in each ‘non Christian nation’.
What progress needed to be made according to the EWMC?
Stop focusing on disputed theological questions and focus on the need felt by all Churches to spread the Christian message.
What was the only resolution from the EWMC?
A committee should carry on coordinating missionary activity.
Why could the EWMC be viewed as a breakthrough for the cause of ecumenism?
There was an acceptance of one another despite different denominational labels, a willingness to work together and a commitment to further gatherings.
Why could the EWMC be seen as exclusive?
Soley an evangelical Protestant gathering and no Roman Catholic or Orthodox churches were invited.
What did the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople do in 1920?
Proposed the ‘league’ of churches as a response to God’s desire for Church unity.
When was the International Missionary Conference founded?
1921
What did the International missionary conference do?
Extended the work of 1910 by bringing together Church leaders from around the world to consider issues such as the Christian message in a secular world.
What is the Life and Work Movement?
Met in 1925 and focused on the promotion of social responsibility amongst Christians.
Who are the Faith and Order Movement?
Met in 1927 to consider matters of doctrinal divisions between churches.
What was the most comprehensive merger?
Formation of the Church of South India in 1947, it merged Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational, lutheran and Reformed Churches in one denomination.
Who proposed the World Council of Churches?
In 1937, leaders from the Life and Work and Faith and Order movements met together and proposed it.
When and where was the first assembly of the World Council of Churches?
Amsterdam in 1948.
What does the WCC define itself as?
‘a fellowship of churches which accept our Lord Jesus Christ as our God and Saviour.’
How often is the WCC meetings?
Every 7 years is a general assembly.
What was significant about the 1961 WCC assembly?
- WCC revised its definition to include reference to scriptures and to the Trinity.
- The first Pentecostal Christian Church joined the WCC
- The first Roman Catholics attended as official observers
According to the WCC, what does the visible unity of the Church include?
- A common confession of the apostolic faith
- A common sacramental life
- Mutual recognition of all members and their ministries.
- Common service to the world so all might believe.
What are the three areas that the WCC work in?
- Unity, mission and ecumenical relations
- Public witness and Diakonia
- Ecumenical formation
What does diakonia mean?
Activities aimed at justice and peace for the poor and oppressed.
How did the Catholic Church respond to the growth of the ecumenical movement?
Church did not react positively in the 1920s.
What did Pope Pius do in 1928?
Published a letter which declared that the only way to realise the will of Christ for the Church unity was for all Christians to simply return to the Church of Rome.
What did Pope Pius fear?
That agreements between churches would lead to watered down doctrines and eventually irreligion.
What did the Roman Catholic Church do in 1948?
Refused to join the WCC and forbade its members from attending as observers.
When was the new Pope elected and what did this mean?
1958, Pope John was elected meaning that a new approach was taken to ecumenism.
What happened in 1960 and why was it significant?
The Pope met the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first time the Archbishop had visited the Vatican in 600 years.
Who was appointed by the Pope in 1960?
A secretariat for promoting Christian unity with the purpose if developing an ecumenical spirit in the Catholic Church.
