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Unity in Faith: Exploring Church, Ministry, and Spirituality

This insightful exploration delves into the concept of unity within Christianity, focusing on ecumenism, church ministry, and spirituality. Discussing the foundations of unity in the Trinity and shared practices like baptism, it examines contemporary issues such as women's ordination and collaborative ministry. The text also touches upon spiritual movements shaping modern faith practices, as well as significant developments in Orthodox Christianity. With a rich array of topics covering church unity, ministry roles, and spiritual practices, this resource offers a comprehensive perspective on navigating the complexities of faith in today's world.

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Unity in Faith: Exploring Church, Ministry, and Spirituality

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  1. Church Ecumenism, ministry , spirituality

  2. Ecumenism • Unity – an unnecessary ideal? • All Christian churches carry out: • Evangelism • Service to the world

  3. Ecumenism • Theologically it seeks to: • Make manifest the Kingdom of God amongst all peoples • To work out God’s purposes of redemption and salvation through out the world Has been interpreted as ‘you-come-in-ism’ by Catholics!

  4. Forms of Unity • Of origin: in the Trinity • Of nature: the Church in the body of Christ • In baptism: the validity of baptism is generally recognised so we are all incorporated into Christ • In the Spirit: all those being saved have within them the Spirit and so they are united

  5. Unity - • In charity: where there is charity and love, there is God • Of life: we share many common structures and organisations across the Christian spectrum • Of destiny: we are heading for the same destiny, may one day be in the same ‘saved’ state so in a sense we are already unified.

  6. ARCIC • Anglican and Roman Catholic study groups on various topics • Very little significant difference pinpointed • The ordination of women intervened to prevent further unification between Catholics and CoE • For some, not so much the ordination of women as the way in which the decision was reached

  7. The Church and Ministry • All Christians have a ministry • ‘The common priesthood of the faithful’ • And the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood • LG: ‘these differ essentially and not only in degree’ N10 • These ministries are interrelated • Each shares in the priesthood of Christ

  8. Ordained women? - For • Exclusion violates human dignity and baptismal mandate to participate in the Church’s mission • Deaconesses in the early church (1 Tim 3:8-13; 5:2;) • Nothing positively excludes ordination of women • Women have demonstrated a capacity to fulfil this role

  9. And: • ‘the tradition’ – said to exclude women - may well be in its infancy! • Exclusion of women on the basis of gender assumes a radical inferiority • Jesus called no one to ordained priesthood as distinct from discipleship and apostolate • The cultural context is vastly different • The growing requirement of the Eucharist to be celebrated

  10. Women's’ ordination: arguments against • The tradition has consistently been against it • Jesus did not call women to priesthood, even his mother • The ordained priest acts in the name of Christ and must be able to represent him physically as well as spiritually. • No one has a right to ordination • Some ambiguity about the ordination of women called deaconesses in the NT

  11. Collaborative ministry • ‘The Sign We Give’ 1989 • Ordained and lay working together • Result? Poor to middling • Ministry may be an area where Vat 2 hasn’t yet made a difference

  12. Spirituality in the Church today • The role of the parish: a spiritual flame? • Vatican emphasis (General Directory for Catechesis n257) • Movements today: many, varied and increasing • And generally outsideof the parish • A response to the world?

  13. Spiritual Movements today • Taize, Iona, Northumbria • Focolare • Ascent • L’Arche • Youth 2000 • St Egidio • Many third orders • These are just examples- there are hundreds more

  14. Pope Francis on Taize..Dec 2014 • Speaking of the search for full communion between the Churches in Istanbul he cited 3 voices calling particularly for unity: the poor, victims of conflict and the young. • “The young people today who implore us to make progress toward full communion....[for example] come together through the Taize community. They do not do this because they are not aware of the differences....but because they are able to see beyond them; they are able to embrace what is really important and what already unites us” • Taize website 12/14

  15. Orthodox developments • 20c movements with the fall of communism • Re-establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church (165 million of 250 million Orthodox Christians) • Currently 14 autocephalous churches • Arguments about who should be considered autocephalous – Council May 2016 • In Ukraine 2 new churches because of political upheaval - should they be recognised? • World conflict now preventing further rapprochement between Orthodox and Catholicism • Is Putin the saviour of Christians in the Middle East?

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