Ecumenical Studies (DU8000P)

Content

This unit explores the history of the ecumenical movement shaping twentieth-century Christianity. You will find yourself exploring some of the movement's key moments and achievements, including the formation of the Uniting Church in Australia. The unit will also invite you to consider a number of topics that continue to be significant in the challenges of ecumenical convergence, such as: what is the authority of T/tradition/s? How to imagine the 'marks' of the church (e.g. apostolicity, catholicity)? What issues--e.g. gender, inculturation, interfaith engagement--prove to be ongoing points of tension?

Learning outcomes

Pedagogy

Lecture, seminar, guided reading.

Indicative Bibliography

• Barreto, Raimundo Cesar. “The Challenge for Christian Unity and Reconciliation Today from a Decolonial Perspective.” International Review of Mission 111, no. 1 (2022): 70–87.
• Barreto, Raimundo Cesar. “How World Christianity Saved the Ecumenical Movement.” Protestantismo em Revista 46, no. 2 (2020): 222–42.
• Brinkman, Martien E. “From Ecumenical to Intercultural Theology,” In A Reformed Voice in the Ecumenical Discussion, 247–60. Brill, 2016.
• De La Torre, Miguel A. “Is Ecumenism Even Possible in the Context of World Christianity?” The Ecumenical Review 74, no. 1 (2022): 58–68.
• Gnanadason, Aruna. With Courage and Compassion: Women and the Ecumenical Movement. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2020.
• Jahnel, Claudia. “Vernacular Ecumenism and Transcultural Unity Rethinking Ecumenical Theology After the Cultural Turn.” The Ecumenical Review 60 (2008): 404–25.
• Neelankavil, Tony. “Louvain Revisited: Faith and Order Discussions on Intercultural Hermeneutics since 1971.” Exchange 28, no. 1 (1999): 60–84.
• Perry, Alan T. “Cutting Edge Ecumenism: Toward Ecumenism in the Mid-21st Century- Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 56, no. 2 (2021): 157–60.
• Simon, Benjamin. “Ecumenical Perspectives on Intercultural Theology,” In Dialogues and Dynamics – Interculturality in Theology and Religious Studies, edited by Fritz Heinrich, Cornelia Schlarb, Egbert Schlarb, and Ulrike Schröder, 99–1108. Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen, 2021.
• Williamson, Raymond K. Stages on the Way II: Documents from the Bilateral Conversations between Churches in Australia. Sydney: St Pauls Publications, 2007.

Assessment