Francesca Aran Murphy and Christopher Asprey, editors, Ecumenism Today: the Universal Church in the 21st Century.

Fisher, Peter

Francesca Aran Murphy and Christopher Asprey, editors, Ecumenism Today: the Universal Church in the 21st Century, Aldershot, UK & Burlington, USA, Ashgate, 2008, 222 pp, GB 55 [pounds sterling]

The essays in this collection are presented as (in the words of Christopher Asprey's Introduction) "ventures in a particular type of ecumenical theology ... exercises in 'straight talking'", intended to address the current "ecumenical winter" in fresh ways.

It sounds like the beginning of something interesting. We might expect to hear unfamiliar and, maybe, forceful voices in conversation. We might encounter distinctive approaches to ecumenical theology, approaches rooted in the specific traditions of the writers. Sometimes the collection fulfils this expectation and stimulates new avenues of enquiry.

However, the reader should be aware that there is another theme underlying many of these essays: Pope John Paul II's encyclical letter, Ut Unum Sint. Of the thirteen pieces assembled here, seven are explicit reflections on this key ecumenical text. Indeed, Eric Puosi, in Chapter 11 goes so far as to say that the book as a whole is "dedicated" to Ut Unum Sint. Yet there is no reference to such a dedication either on the title page or in the Introduction. Indeed, several of the essays make no reference to the encyclical. Time spent theorizing as to why the collection has ended up as it has might be enjoyable, but is probably not well spent. So let it suffice to say that the book is weighted towards issues that arise in dialogue between Roman Catholics and other ecumenists, as well as offering diverse reflections on Ut Unum Sint itself. The remaining essays somehow "happen to be there" and, in some cases, we may be glad that they are.

In the first chapter, Philip Ziegler argues that a break-through in the "ecumenical ice-jam" will be best achieved by looking beyond the issues that arise within ecumenical ecclesiology. The church (like the moon, in a memorable image of the then Cardinal Ratzinger) is to be accounted for in terms of a light and power not its own: so ecumenical progress on ecclesiology requires a dialogue about wider, underlying theological issues. This can only be successful through patient thinking and speaking of God, and patient waiting on God's Word.

John Webster's essay is the first to address Ut Unum Sint, and it does so in a characteristically generous spirit. A clear and positive outline of the text is offered, along with notes on Anglican responses (Professor Webster occupying, himself, a "cross-bench Anglican" stance). He goes on to offer a concise critique of Communion Ecclesiology--the default ecclesiology of much modern ecumenism--and of the Roman Catholic stance on the necessity for unity of acknowledging Roman primacy.

Francesca Aran Murphy explores the emergence of Communion Ecclesiology (from Mohler to Ratzinger) with sympathy. Her detailed narrative touches on von Balthasar's unease about models of the church which too closely identify its human members with the divine Logos: "The church really is someone other than Christ" (p.56). This valuable historical exploration leads to a review of critical questions about Communion Ecclesiology, but here the essay begins to ramble and disappoints--disappoints this reviewer, at least.

Two briefer and more quirky pieces follow. Susan Frank Parsons reflects on the "Ut" of Ut Unum in a spiritual mode which this reviewer found difficult to penetrate. David Bentley Hart offers what can only be described as a voice of Orthodox nonconformity, offering some sharp insights which do not easily relate to workaday ecumenism. The response of Donald McLeod--of the Free Church of Scotland--to Ut Unum has none of the flavour of ancient acrimony, but skims the surface of some deep issues. Charles Morerod's investigation of "The Ecumenical Meaning of the Petrine Ministry" takes George Lindbeck as an ally in arguing the necessity for infallible authority in faith. Vigen Guroian, an Armenian Orthodox, shows from liturgical texts in his tradition that there is a basis for agreement on Petrine primacy--albeit a pastoral rather than juridical primacy.

Nicholas Thompson's contribution is a slice of careful Reformation history, examining "The Treatment of Papal Primacy in the Worms Book (1540)". It shows that, at the margins of Reformation debate, figures like Martin Bucer were ready to allow more room than we might expect for a pragmatic justification of some kind of Petrine ministry of unity in the church.

Peter Donald and Eric Puosi both focus on the eucharist, from Presbyterian and Catholic viewpoints, respectively. The latter argues that the understanding of the church, the sacraments and the Lord's Supper in Calvin's Institutes and in The Westminster Confession afford many common elements with Catholic understanding and open the way to a fruitful path to reconciliation. Peter Donald's essay goes some way to demonstrating the validity of this claim: as a Presbyterian he pleads that this "sacred meal" might be seen as "the generator of unity" (p.180). As someone with considerable experience of Faith and Order work he can say with feeling, "The fragile yield of work that demands patience and humility, being a listening and learning task, is precious" (p.177).

The two concluding pieces, by John Pontifex and Robin Gibbons, point to the reality of persecution among contemporary Christians and reflect on the bearing of that reality on ecumenical progress. Without reaching any startling conclusions, these essays succeed in setting the rest of the book in a wider and more urgent context.

Collections of essays are by definition patchy. Often, too, one wishes that there were closer engagement between different writers dealing with the same themes. Both observations can be made of this book. Its main value will be to those specifically interested in ecumenical questions around papal primacy and in the contemporary approach of Rome to dialogue. Beyond that it demonstrates two things: that a wide and varied debate on ecumenical theology still continues in the academy as well as the churches, not least in Scotland, and that the discussion remains fragmentary and inconclusive.

Peter Fisher

Canon Peter Fisher is a priest of the Church of England working in parish ministry in Birmingham. He has for some time been involved in Faith and Order work both in England and more widely.