The anthropology of the heart as a way to ecumenical dialogue

The article describes, taking as its main starting point the encyclical Fides et ratio, the importance of the way of thinking appropriate to the culture of the Christian East in the relationship between reason and faith. The encyclical of John Paul II has many different aspects, including the not often emphasised ecumenical and dialogical aspects. The Pope, who held Eastern (Orthodox) Christianity in high esteem and appreciated the Slavic cultural code, also positively points to this method of discovering the truth. In this context, the anthropology of the heart is particularly important (metaphysics of the heart, mysticism of the heart or spirituality of the heart), which enriches and complements the Western way of thinking and of discovering anthropological and theological truth. The anthropology of the heart also appears in the West and for this reason it has an ecumenical significance which is important for the dialogue between Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

Az úrvacsorával való élés vörös fonala az ószövetségi páskától a mai gyakorlatig

Guidelines to the Eucharistic Practice from the Passover until Nowadays. The current writing is a summarizing paper on the second sacrament of the Reformed Church, which, according to our faith, was appointed by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. This can be even seen in the Old Testament during the events of the Exodus, namely the Passover/Pesach, which is the predecessor of the Christian communion. After a short historical overview, I outline the various beliefs about this sacrament in different denominations, namely in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and the Reformed Churches. After introducing these ideas, I will approach this sacrament from a practical side, which is the liturgical perception. In this part, I introduce the liturgical viewpoints of some reformers as Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli and additionally I name those practices that should be kept in nowadays’ practice of faith. In the last chapter, I explain the eschatological meaning of communion, which is a predecessor of the Messianic Feast. Keywords: Eucharist, communion, Last Supper, sacrament, ecumenical dialogue

Denominating “Justification” and “Faith”: Catholics, Lutherans, and a North American Baptist's Response to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification

That the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Unity attempted a joint declaration on the doctrine of justification is worthy of commendation. The resulting Joint Declaration constitutes some of the best contemporary efforts at ecumenical dialogue in the spirit of Christian union. This essay outlines the development of both medieval Catholic and subsequent Protestant conceptions of justification that led to disunion in the Western Church, reviews the initial points of division on the doctrine during the era of the Reformation for the purpose of grasping more fully the ecumenical feat of the JDDJ, and seeks to clarify what issues appear to remain unclear or unresolved in the document. The article also outlines the history of how Baptists in America have understood the doctrine of justification in order to consider how such Baptists might perceive the promise and potential lingering challenges or questions regarding the joint declaration.

Apostolicity – The question of Continuity and Authority

This article was presented as a research paper for the Ecumenical Theology Course at the Ecumenical Institute Bossey in Switzerland. Apostolicity and the relation to the apostles and the early Christians is a big discussed topic in several ecumenical dialogues. First the article analysis the method and context of five different ecumenical dialogue documents. It goes from multilateral Faith and Order documents like “Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry” and “The Church Towards a Common Vision” over the “Porvoo Common Statement” to two Lutheran/Roman-Catholic documents. Then it identifies some characteristic dimensions of apostolicity and brings the results from the dialogues together. A reading of apostolicity as narrative of continuity and authority in relation to god and Jesus Christ occurs through the chapters. Especially in the question of ministry apostolicity plays an important and differentiated role. The article focusses in the end on the episcopal ministry and develops the differentiation of horizontal and vertical apostolic continuity. Apostolicity is described as a gift of god and becomes obviously through gods action in the ordination act. Finally, the article summarises all results, ideas and new approaches.

Moral Disagreement in Anglican – Roman Catholic Relations

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 or disagreement is difficult to chart with precision. It is not embodied in a formulation of moral doctrine, since moral reason functions on two planes, that of evaluative description and that of deliberation and decision. Disagreement is phenomenologically present as offence, which has its own dynamic of expansion. Addressing offence, a task involving lay, theological and episcopal contributions, is the primary way in which moral agreement has to be sought and defended.

Spiritual Synchronicity: Icon Veneration in Evangelical and Orthodox Religious Practices in the 21st Century

Much scholarship in the dialogue between evangelical and Orthodox believers focuses on doctrinal compatibility. This article contributes to that literature by giving an example of a spiritual practice (icon veneration) that creates additional space for ecumenical dialogue and unity. Some US-evangelicals in the 21st century have incorporated the use of icons into their personal faith practices. Icon veneration is ripe with ecumenical potential for evangelical–Orthodox relations because of its prominence in Orthodox communions while at the same time appealing to a growing number of evangelicals. This article considers three sites of evangelical icon use in turn: the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia (EBCG), Icons of Black Saints, and an evangelical ministry called “Heart of the Artist”. Each site adopts a slightly unique understanding of icons that may appeal to evangelical believers. Although Orthodox and evangelical believers may understand theologies of icon veneration differently, the emergence of icon veneration among evangelicals remains a spiritual synchronicity, and ought to be recognized as such. Evangelicals continue to receive the gift of icon veneration from their Orthodox siblings in ways in line with the EBCG, Black Orthodox icons, and Heart of the Artist, so icon veneration has potential to further resource ecumenical dialogue.

Ecumenical Convergences: Romanian Evangelicals Exploring Orthodoxy

Historically, in Romania, the relations between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the evangelical communities have been characterized by tension and mutual distrust. That is why, unfortunately, there has been no official dialogue between the two communities so far. The present article investigates the theoretical possibility for such an ecumenical dialogue to occur by analysing the contributions of several evangelical theologians who published research studies on theological topics specific to Eastern orthodox theology. Their positions were analysed from the perspective of an inclusive theology which allowed us to identify some common themes for both traditions: the authority in interpreting the Scriptures, salvation as a process, and the Church understood through the application of a perichoretic model. All these convergent themes could constitute the basis for a future official ecumenical dialogue between the evangelicals and the orthodox from Romania.

Practexological dimension of ecumenism and its main dialogue form

The article analyzes the elements of theoretical and methodological knowledge on the successful functioning of the ecumenical paradigm and attempts to actualize them in the context of interfaith dialogue, which would be marked by concretized productivity. A short historical digression was also made in order to consider the influence of educational philosophical and ideological tendencies on the formation of the modern ecumenical paradigm.Examples of key elements that contribute to the effectiveness of the main dialogical forms of ecumenism are given. The explication of the concept of such a component of the ecumenical concept as "spiritual ecumenism" provides an opportunity to outline its significance as an integral element in the integrity of Catholic ecumenism and proves the practical benefits of this component for the ecumenical movement. It was found that the Second Vatican Council made adjustments to the Catholic understanding of ecclesiology, and the focus of the Catholic Church's teaching government on "Eucharistic ecclesiology." Also in the article, based on official documents of the Catholic Church, the attitude of modern Catholicism to the issue of restoring Eucharistic communion with the participants in the ecumenical dialogue is revealed. The main purpose of the article is to analyze the historical and cultural impact on the formation of the praxeological element of the ecumenical paradigm, the correlation of controversial views on the functionality and effectiveness of key forms of ecumenical dialogue. In the course of the research, such research tasks were achieved as the analysis of the historical formation of the main aspects of the ecumenical movement; a comparative analysis of the polar views of researchers and theologians on the ecumenical concept in general; a comparative analysis of the main vectors of ecumenism development under the influence of socio-cultural transformations; the common religious elements of Christian denominations, which are key in the process of constructing the main dialogical forms, were highlighted.