A Reader In Ecclesiology

This Reader presents a diverse and ecumenical cross-section of ecclesiological statements from across the twenty centuries of the church's existence. It builds on the foundations of early Christian writings, illustrates significant medieval, reformation, and modern developments, and provides a representative look at the robust attention to ecclesiology that characterizes the contemporary period. This collection of readings offers an impressive overview of the multiple ways Christians have understood the church to be both the 'body of Christ' and, at the same time, an imperfect, social and historical institution, constantly subject to change, and reflective of the cultures in which it is found. This comprehensive survey of historical ecclesiologies is helpful in pointing readers to the remarkable number of images and metaphors that Christians have relied upon in describing the church and to the various tensions that have characterized reflection on the church as both united and diverse, community and institution, visible and invisible, triumphant and militant, global and local, one and many. Students, clergy and all interested in Christianity and the church will find this collection an invaluable resource.

This reader in Pentecostal ecclesiology provides key essays written by leading Pentecostal and charismatic scholars addressing the theology of the church, sacraments, and ministry.

This Reader presents a diverse and ecumenical cross-section of ecclesiological statements from across the twenty centuries of the church's existence. It builds on the foundations of early Christian writings, illustrates significant medieval, reformation, and modern developments, and provides a representative look at the robust attention to ecclesiology that characterizes the contemporary period. This collection of readings offers an impressive overview of the multiple ways Christians have understood the church to be both the 'body of Christ' and, at the same time, an imperfect, social and historical institution, constantly subject to change, and reflective of the cultures in which it is found. This comprehensive survey of historical ecclesiologies is helpful in pointing readers to the remarkable number of images and metaphors that Christians have relied upon in describing the church and to the various tensions that have characterized reflection on the church as both united and diverse, community and institution, visible and invisible, triumphant and militant, global and local, one and many. Students, clergy and all interested in Christianity and the church will find this collection an invaluable resource.

This evangelical and ecumenical ecclesiology survey text provides a comprehensive biblical, historical, and cultural perspective and addresses contemporary issues in church life.

"Wolfgang Vondey contends that the story of the church is a story of "the people of bread." The image of bread is one of the richest and, at the same time, one of the most neglected biblical images that speak to an ecumenical understanding of the church. Drawing from scripture, from writers of the early church, and from cutting-edge debates in contemporary scholarship, Vondey unfolds the social, moral, missiological, ecumenical, and eschatological dimensions of the church, based on the story of bread that far exceeds a eucharistic interpretation. People of Bread speaks to a growing interest in an understanding of the church by addressing the widespread revival of the theological imagination."--BOOK JACKET.

Throughout the biblical story, the people of God are expected to embody God's holy character publicly. Therefore, holiness is a theological and ecclesial issue prior to being a matter of individual piety. Holiness and Ecclesiology in the New Testament offers serious engagement with a variety of New Testament and Qumran documents in order to stimulate churches to imagine anew what it might mean to be a publicly identifiable people who embody God's very character in their particular social setting. Contributors: J. Ayodeji Adewuya Paul M. Bassett Richard Bauckham George J. Brooke Kent E. Brower Dean Flemming Michael J. Gorman Joel B. Green Donald A. Hagner Andy Johnson George Lyons I. Howard Marshall Troy W. Martin Peter Oakes Ruth Anne Reese Dwight Swanson Gordon J. Thomas Richard P. Thompson J. Ross Wagner Robert W. Wall Bruce W. Winter

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen provides an up-to-date survey and analysis of the major ecclesiological traditions, the most important theologians, and a number of contextual approaches to both the unity and the diversity of ecclesiastic understandings and practices.

Investigating Vatican II is a collection of Fr. Jared Wicks’ recent articles on Vatican II, and presents the Second Vatican Council as an event to which theologians contributed in major ways and from which Catholic theology can gain enormous insights. Taken as a whole, the articles take the reader into the theological dynamics of Vatican II at key moments in the Council’s historical unfolding. Wicks promotes a contemporary re-reception of Vatican II’s theologically profound documents, especially as they featured God’s incarnate and saving Word, laid down principles of Catholic ecumenical engagement, and articulated the church’s turn to the modern world with a new “face” of respect and dedication to service. From the original motivations of Pope John XXIII in convoking the Council, Investigating Vatican II goes on to highlight the profound insights offered by theologians who served behind the scenes as Council experts. In its chapters, the book moves through the Council’s working periods, drawing on the published and non-published records, with attention to the Council’s dramas, crises, and breakthroughs. It brings to light the bases of Pope Francis’s call for synodality in a listening church, while highlighting Vatican II’s mandate to all of prayerful biblical reading, for fostering a vibrant “joy in the Gospel.”