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Systematic theologyWhat does it teach as a whole?

Ecclesiology

What is ecclesiology?

Ecclesiology is the part of theology that studies the church: what it is, where it comes from, how it is ordered, what marks it, and how it stands toward salvation, the kingdom and the world. Its name comes from the Greek ekklesia, an assembly of citizens, which the Septuagint used for the assembly of Israel.

  • 182Sources
  • 26Traditions
  • 16Dated entries
  • 19Minutes

Study v1.1, 15 October 2026

Ecclesiology

At a glance

Why it matters for reading Scripture

The doctrine of the church. It pairs with the study of the churches and denominations, which treats the same subject from history.

What the study found

The theology of the church's nature, origin, order and marks took its present shape in the twentieth century and is now a global field.

Where traditions divide

Traditions divide on what makes the church visible: communion with Rome, Eucharistic and conciliar continuity, Word and sacraments rightly given, or the gathered congregation; succession and primacy stay sharpest.

How the traditions compare

  • Catholic Church

    Teaches, in Lumen Gentium (21 November 1964), that the one Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter, and describes the Church as the People of God.

    The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the Church both visible and spiritual, a hierarchical society and the Mystical Body of Christ, and the universal sacrament of salvation. Dominus Iesus (2000) holds that churches with a valid episcopate and Eucharist are true particular Churches, while ecclesial communities lacking them are not Churches in the proper sense.

    Sources1–3

  • Eastern Catholic Churches

    Orientalium Ecclesiarum (21 November 1964) teaches that the Church is made up of separate Churches or Rites of equal dignity, and that their variety in no way harms its unity.

    The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches defines a Church sui iuris as a group of the faithful united by a hierarchy, which the supreme authority of the Church recognizes as such. As Catholic churches they confess the marks set out in the Catechism; recognition as sui iuris is a canonical status, not a mark of the church.

    Sources4–6

  • Eastern Orthodox Church

    The Encyclical of the Holy and Great Council (Crete, 2016) calls the Church a divine-human communion in the image of the Holy Trinity, and holds that the Orthodox Church is the authentic continuation of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

    The Russian Orthodox Church's Basic Principles (14 August 2000) call the Orthodox Church the true Church of Christ and reject the branch theory. The Council's standing is disputed: the Churches of Antioch, Russia, Bulgaria and Georgia did not take part.

    Sources7–9

  • Oriental Orthodox Churches

    The World Council of Churches' family profile lists the Ethiopian, Coptic, Armenian, Syrian, Indian and Eritrean churches, whose doctrine rests on the councils of Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381) and Ephesus (431), and which have no central institution.

    The churches' own pages ground their identity in foundation by a named apostle, a patriarchal or catholicosal line and the three councils, and describe the church in creedal terms rather than by a list of marks. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church considers itself to belong to the One, Holy, Universal and Apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ.

    Sources10–14

  • Assyrian Church of the East

    Its teaching is based on the faith of the universal Church as set forth in the Nicene Creed.

    Its head is the Catholicos-Patriarch on the apostolic see of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, and it grounds priesthood in apostolic succession and the laying on of hands.

    Sources15–17

  • Old Catholic Churches

    The Union of Utrecht describes itself as a union of independent local churches, all organized in episcopal-synodal form, with the International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference, founded in 1889, as its uniting organ.

    The World Council of Churches' family profile gives the Declaration of Utrecht (1889) as the doctrinal basis and records full communion with the Church of England since 1931.

    Sources18–20

  • Anglican Communion

    Calls itself a global family of churches united in a common mission.

    Article XIX of the Thirty-nine Articles defines the visible Church of Christ as a congregation of faithful men in which the pure Word of God is preached and the sacraments duly ministered. The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral (1886 and 1888) sets four terms for reunion, among them the historic episcopate, locally adapted, and the Communion's 41 provinces are autonomous, held together by four Instruments of Communion.

    Sources21–24

  • Lutheran

    Augsburg Confession Article VII defines the church as the congregation of saints in which the Gospel is purely taught and the sacraments correctly administered, and holds that agreement on these is enough for true unity.

    The Lutheran World Federation is a communion of churches whose members are united in pulpit and altar fellowship; polity varies by member church.

    Sources25–26

  • Reformed and Presbyterian

    The Westminster Confession distinguishes the invisible church, the whole number of the elect, from the visible church of all who profess the true religion, with their children.

    The Belgic (1561) and Scots (1560) Confessions add church discipline to Word and sacraments as a mark, and the Belgic Confession holds all ministers of equal authority because Christ is the only head. The Belhar Confession, formally adopted in 1986, confesses the unity of the church, reconciliation and God's justice against the background of apartheid.

    Sources27–31

  • United and uniting churches

    The World Council of Churches describes these as churches formed through the fusion of two or more separate churches, the episcopal type beginning with the Church of South India in 1947.

    The United Church of Christ (USA) makes the local church the basic unit of its life and calls itself a united and uniting church, and the United Reformed Church (UK) describes its forms as both catholic and reformed and works for the visible unity of the Church.

    Sources32–34

  • Anabaptist and Mennonite

    The Schleitheim articles of 24 February 1527 teach baptism of believers only, the ban, the breaking of bread for the baptized only, and separation from the world.

    The Dordrecht Confession (1632) describes a visible church known by its scriptural faith, doctrine, love and godly conversation, and the Mennonite Confession of 1995 calls the church the assembly of those who voluntarily commit themselves to follow Christ in life.

    Sources35–37

  • Brethren

    The Church of the Brethren dates its beginning to August 1708, when five men and three women gathered at the Eder River in Schwarzenau for baptism.

    It keeps the love feast, which combines communion with a fellowship meal and feet-washing, as the World Council of Churches' profile reports. Among the Plymouth Brethren, J. N. Darby placed the essential principle of unity in the work of the Holy Spirit and saw the historical church as a caricature of the New Testament church.

    Sources38–40

  • Baptist

    The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 of the Southern Baptist Convention defines a New Testament church as an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, with two offices, pastor/elder/overseer and deacon, and denies associations and conventions any authority over churches.

    The Second London Baptist Confession holds that the universal church consists of the whole number of the elect. Neither text binds Baptists as a whole: the Baptist World Alliance calls its own Beliefs Statement a partial and incomplete confession of faith.

    Sources41–43

  • Congregationalist

    The Congregational Federation (UK) brings together independent free churches for mutual support, and the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (US) is an association of individual churches.

    The view of other churches in these texts is one of voluntary association rather than jurisdiction.

    Sources44–45

  • Moravian Church

    The Unitas Fratrum was organized in 1457 at Kunwald, holding that Christ is the church's true head, and by 1467 it had three orders: deacon, presbyter and bishop.

    Its motto, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love", expresses its stance toward other churches.

    Sources46

  • Methodist and Holiness

    United Methodist Article XIII keeps the Reformation definition of the visible church as a congregation in which the pure Word of God is preached and the sacraments duly administered.

    British Methodists belong to a local church and to a larger connected community, the Connexion, whose governing body is the Methodist Conference. The Church of the Nazarene and the Free Methodist Church define the church by confession, mission and holiness rather than by marks.

    Sources47–51

  • Quaker (Religious Society of Friends)

    In Britain Yearly Meeting, meetings for church affairs are also meetings for worship based on silence, in which Friends do not vote but accept the sense of the meeting as recorded in the minute.

    Membership is seen primarily in terms of discipleship, without strict doctrinal tests.

    Sources52–53

  • Stone-Campbell and Churches of Christ

    The World Council of Churches' family profile records that the founders sought the restoration of the faith and order of the New Testament church and held unity central to the gospel's credibility.

    The churches practice weekly Lord's Supper at an open table, believers' baptism by immersion and congregational autonomy, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) calls itself a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.

    Sources54–55

  • Pentecostal

    The Assemblies of God calls the Church the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with a fourfold purpose of evangelism, worship, discipleship and compassion.

    The Church of God in Christ describes itself as a church in which the word of God is preached, ordinances are administered and the doctrine of sanctification or holiness is emphasized. The Pentecostal World Fellowship is a cooperative body, not a governing body.

    Sources56–58

  • Evangelical and non-denominational

    There is no single official text for independent churches; the Lausanne Covenant (1974) holds that the Church's visible unity in truth is God's purpose.

    The World Evangelical Alliance and the National Association of Evangelicals confess the spiritual unity of all true believers, and on these texts the mark of the church is shared confession of the gospel rather than a particular order.

    Sources59–61

  • African Initiated Churches

    The Organization of African Instituted Churches describes them as homegrown African churches, founded originally during the colonial period.

    The Zion Christian Church told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on 19 November 1999 that it built a religion that was Afro-centric and not Eurocentric. The Church of the Lord (Prayer Fellowship) Worldwide, established in 1930 at Ogere, Nigeria, describes itself as biblical in pattern and Pentecostal in power.

    Sources62–64

  • Seventh-day Adventist Church

    Fundamental Belief 12 calls the church "the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour", the body of Christ of which Christ himself is the Head.

    Belief 13 distinguishes the universal church, composed of all who truly believe in Christ, from a remnant called out in the last days to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

    Sources65–66

  • Salvation Army

    The Salvation Army in the Body of Christ (2008) states that the Army belongs to and is an expression of the Body of Christ on earth, the Church universal.

    It does not practice formal sacraments, while acknowledging them as means of grace in other churches, and its officers, men and women, are duly ordained.

    Sources67–68

  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

    Teaches that after the apostles the fulness of the gospel was taken from the earth because of widespread apostasy and was restored through Joseph Smith; the church was organized on 6 April 1830.

    Doctrine and Covenants 1:30 calls it the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.

    Sources69–70

  • Jehovah's Witnesses

    Witnesses do not call their meeting place a church, because the biblical word refers to a group of worshippers.

    A body of elders supervises each congregation, and the Governing Body provides direction worldwide, its members holding that Jesus Christ is Head of the congregation.

    Sources71–73

  • Iglesia ni Cristo

    Its official magazine Pasugo describes the church that emerged in the Philippines in 1914 as the reestablishment of the Church founded by Christ, and holds that the early church apostatized after the apostolic period.

    It teaches that membership of the true Church is a prerequisite to receive salvation on Judgment Day, and its members owe obedience to the Church Administration.

    Sources74–76

How the field developed

  1. Early church
    c. 115

    By the time of Ignatius of Antioch, about 115, the three orders of ministry existed in many churches. His letter to the Smyrnaeans carries the first surviving use of the phrase "catholic church": "wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church".7778

  2. Early church
    c. 251

    Cyprian of Carthage writes On the Unity of the Catholic Church, holding that the episcopate is one, each part of which is held by each one for the whole. He can no longer have God for his Father, Cyprian writes, who has not the Church for his mother.7980

  3. Early church
    314 to 411

    A Roman council and then a council at Arles (314) condemn the Donatists, who called themselves the pure church of the martyrs and held that sacraments given by compromised ministers were invalid; the Conference of Carthage of 411 goes against them. Optatus and Augustine answer that sacramental grace comes from Christ and does not depend on the minister's holiness.81

  4. Late antiquity
    381

    The creed of Constantinople adds the clause "in one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church", from which the four notes of later theology come. Britannica describes the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed as the only ecumenical creed, recognized by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and major Protestant churches.8283

  5. Medieval
    1054

    Mutual excommunications mark the schism that, in Britannica's words, "precipitated the final separation between the Eastern Christian churches and the Western church". The sentences were lifted on 7 December 1965 by Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I, who committed them to oblivion.8485

  6. Medieval
    1302

    Boniface VIII's Unam Sanctam (18 November 1302) declares that outside the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins, and sets out the doctrine of the two swords. In the same conflict James of Viterbo writes De regimine christiano, which H.-X. Arquillière's 1926 edition called "the oldest treatise on the Church".8687

  7. Medieval
    1415

    The Council of Constance's decree Haec Sancta (6 April 1415) states that the council has power immediately from Christ and that everyone, even the pope, is bound to obey it in matters of faith, the ending of the schism and reform; its standing is disputed. Jan Hus, whose first condemned article called the one holy universal church the total number of those predestined to salvation, passed away at Constance on 6 July 1415.888990

  8. Reformation
    1527

    The Schleitheim Articles, dated 24 February 1527 and generally attributed to Michael Sattler, are called by Britannica the first known Anabaptist confession. They describe the church as the community gathered by believers' baptism and separated from abomination.9192

  9. Reformation
    1530

    The Augsburg Confession is presented to Charles V; Article VII defines the church as the congregation of saints in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the sacraments rightly administered. For true unity, it holds, it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments.9394

  10. Modern
    1837

    The British Critic of January 1837 uses the word, spelled "ecclesialogy", for a science of the proper constitution and operation of the Church; the Cambridge Camden Society, founded in 1839, narrows it to the science of church building and decoration. The doctrinal sense came into wide use in the twentieth century, through dogmatic theologians such as T. F. Torrance and Karl Rahner.9596

  11. Modern
    18 July 1870

    The First Vatican Council's Pastor Aeternus teaches that the pope's jurisdiction is episcopal and immediate, and that ex cathedra definitions are irreformable of themselves, and not by the consent of the church.9798

  12. Modern
    1950

    The Toronto Statement of the World Council of Churches, whose First Assembly met at Amsterdam in 1948 with 147 member churches, holds that the Council is not and must never become a superchurch and does not prejudge the ecclesiological problem.99100

  13. Modern
    21 November 1964

    Lumen Gentium and Unitatis Redintegratio are promulgated: the constitution holds that the church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church, while many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside its visible structure. Avery Dulles calls the council the high point of Catholic ecclesiology.1101102

  14. Modern
    1982

    Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (Lima, January 1982), which the World Council of Churches describes as its most widely studied document, calls episcopal succession a sign, though not a guarantee, of the continuity and unity of the Church.103104

  15. Modern
    2013

    The Church: Towards a Common Vision, a convergence text rather than full consensus, holds that the local church is wholly Church, but not the whole Church.105106

  16. Modern
    2024

    On 13 June the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity publishes The Bishop of Rome, the first synthesis of the responses on primacy and synodality. The Synod on synodality's Final Document, published on 26 October, calls synodality the walking together of Christians with Christ and toward God's Kingdom.107108109

How to study ecclesiology

The questions it asks

  • Why did the first Christians take up ekklesia, the word for a civic assembly, and did they take it from the Septuagint or from the assemblies of Greek cities?110111
  • Did the historical Jesus found a church, or, as Gerhard Lohfink holds, is that the wrong question, since Jesus aimed to gather Israel in view of God's coming reign?112
  • Is the universal church prior to every particular church, or do local churches provide the basis for its existence?113
  • What makes the marks of the church visible: communion with the bishop of Rome, Eucharistic and conciliar continuity, the Word rightly preached and the sacraments rightly given, or the gathered congregation of believers?
  • Can the church as such sin, or is it sinless as the body of Christ?105
  • How does the church stand to salvation, to the kingdom of God, to Israel and to the political order?

Its method

Start

  1. Begin from the vocabulary: ekklesia, its Septuagint background in qahal and edah, and the English "church", which comes instead from kyriakon, "belonging to the Lord"114115.

  2. Read the biblical texts on the church, each of them read in more than one way: Matthew 16:18 and 18:17, 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians, the Pastorals, 1 Peter 2:9 and Hebrews.

  3. Follow the doctrine through its history, remembering that the church was a subject of theology long before it was a separate treatise, and that the traditions that inherit each controversy read it differently116.

  4. Describe each tradition from its own official texts, its conciliar documents, confessions, catechisms, canon law and books of discipline, and say where a description rests instead on another body's profile117.

  5. Put the same questions to each tradition: its self-understanding, key texts, polity and offices, its view of other churches, and what it takes to mark a true church.

  6. Weigh ecclesiology "from above" against ecclesiology "from below", which Roger Haight grounds in historical and sociological analysis while insisting that it remains theological118119.

  7. Study the church's actual practices through theologically informed ethnography, the "ecclesiological ethnography" for which Nicholas Healy called120121.

  8. Read the ecumenical texts for where the churches agree and for the points each side states as still open105122.

What to read

Its primary witnesses

  • The New Testament's 114 uses of ekklesia, of which Matthew 16:18 and 18:17 are the only ones in the Gospels123.
  • The apostolic fathers: 1 Clement, the Didache and the letters of Ignatius of Antioch12412578.
  • Irenaeus's Against Heresies III, Tertullian's Prescription against Heretics and Cyprian's On the Unity of the Catholic Church12612780.
  • Augustine's On Baptism, against the Donatists and The City of God128129.
  • The creeds and canons of the councils, from Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) to canon 28 of Chalcedon (451)13082131.
  • The medieval definitions: Lateran IV (1215), Unam Sanctam (1302) and the decrees of Constance and Florence1328688133.
  • The Reformation confessions: Schleitheim (1527), Augsburg (1530), the Scots and Belgic Confessions, the Thirty-Nine Articles and the Westminster Confession9193302922134.
  • Modern church documents, among them Pastor Aeternus (1870), Lumen Gentium (1964), the Russian Orthodox Basic Principles (2000) and the Encyclical of the Council of Crete (2016)97187.
  • The ecumenical texts: the Toronto Statement (1950), Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1982) and The Church: Towards a Common Vision (2013)99104105.

Standard reference works

  • The Oxford Handbook of Ecclesiology, edited by Paul Avis (Oxford University Press, 2018): 28 essays in four parts, from biblical foundations to contemporary movements135136.
  • The Routledge Companion to the Christian Church, edited by Gerard Mannion and Lewis S. Mudge (2008), in six parts137138.
  • The T&T Clark Handbook of Ecclesiology, edited by Kimlyn J. Bender and D. Stephen Long, in three parts: scriptural foundations, historical and confessional aspects, and contemporary themes139140.
  • Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen's An Introduction to Ecclesiology (IVP Academic, 2002; revised 2021), a widely used textbook141142.
  • Avery Dulles's Models of the Church (1974; expanded edition 1987)143.
  • Paul Minear's Images of the Church in the New Testament (1960), which identifies ninety-six images144145.
  • The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 748 to 975, on the Church2.
  • Ecclesiology: The Journal for Ministry, Mission and Unity, founded by Paul Avis in 2004, and Ecclesial Practices: Journal of Ecclesiology and Ethnography (Brill), with archival coverage from 2014146147148.
  • The Catholic Encyclopedia article "The Church" (1908), an older reference point, which gives Bellarmine's definition as the one Catholic theologians usually accept115.

Scholarship referenced in this study

The works below shaped the field and are cited in this study, from the earliest to the most recent. Hover over a book, or select it, to see its author and the sources behind it.

  • c. 251De unitate ecclesiaeCyprian of CarthageDe unitate ecclesiae (c. 251)Cyprian of Carthage (passed away 258)Sources79
  • 1378 to 1379De ecclesiaJohn WycliffeDe ecclesia (1378 to 1379)John Wycliffe (passed away 31 December 1384)Sources149–150
  • 1586 to 1589Disputationes de ControversiisRobert BellarmineDisputationes de Controversiis (1586 to 1589)Robert Bellarmine (passed away 17 September 1621)Sources151–152
  • 1825Die Einheit in der KircheJohann Adam MöhlerDie Einheit in der Kirche (1825)Johann Adam Möhler (passed away 12 April 1838)Sources153
  • 1930Sanctorum CommunioDietrich BonhoefferSanctorum Communio (1930)Dietrich Bonhoeffer (passed away 9 April 1945)Sources154–155
  • 1937Chrétiens désunisYves CongarChrétiens désunis (1937)Yves Congar (passed away 22 June 1995)Sources156–157
  • 1974Models of the ChurchAvery DullesModels of the Church (1974)Avery Dulles (passed away 12 December 2008)Sources158–159
  • 1985Being as CommunionJohn D. ZizioulasBeing as Communion (1985)John D. Zizioulas (passed away 2 February 2023)Sources160–162
  • 1993Church in the RoundLetty M. RussellChurch in the Round (1993)Letty M. Russell (passed away 12 July 2007)Sources163–164
  • 2000Church, World and the Christian LifeNicholas M. HealyChurch, World and the Christian Life (2000)Nicholas M. HealySources165
  • 2002An Introduction to EcclesiologyVeli-Matti KärkkäinenAn Introduction to Ecclesiology (2002)Veli-Matti KärkkäinenSources141–142166
  • 2022Synodality: A New Way of Proceeding in the ChurchRafael LucianiSynodality: A New Way of Proceeding in the Church (2022)Rafael LucianiSources167

Listed because this study draws on their published work; no association with or endorsement of Numa Verse is implied. Suggest a correction.

Key terms

The words that carry the most weight in this field, each defined from the sources of this study. Turn a card over to read its definition.

The Greek word for an official assembly of citizens, which the Septuagint used for the assembly of Israel; it occurs 114 times in the New Testament114123.

One, holy, catholic and apostolic: the clause of the creed of Constantinople (381), whose words the traditions share but read through their own accounts of the church82.

The pure preaching of the Word and the right administration of the sacraments, by which the Reformers asked where the true church may be found; the Reformed confessions add church discipline2529.

The distinction, in its classic Reformed form in the Westminster Confession, between the invisible church of the whole number of the elect and the visible church of all who profess the true religion168.

The continuity of ministry from the apostles: Lumen Gentium 20 holds that bishops by divine institution have succeeded to the place of the apostles, while Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry calls episcopal succession a sign, though not a guarantee, of the Church's continuity and unity1104.

An ecclesiology built on koinonia; Communionis notio (1992) holds that communion lies at the heart of the Church's self-understanding, with a vertical dimension, with God, and a horizontal one, among people169.

The view that the church is most fully itself in the eucharistic assembly, set out by Nicholas Afanasiev and developed by John Zizioulas170171.

The phrase of Lumen Gentium 8, that the church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church; the 2007 Responses read subsistence as perduring, historical continuity and the permanence of all the elements instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church1172.

From the Slavonic word rendering "catholic" in the creed, related to sobor, "council": a unity of many persons within the organic fellowship of the Church, each keeping full freedom and personal integrity173.

The walking together of Christians with Christ and toward God's Kingdom, in the words of the 2024 Final Document; the International Theological Commission calls it a constitutive dimension of the church109174.

Where it sits

Builds on

Ecclesiology

Leads to

Questions people ask

From the Greek ekklesia, an assembly of citizens114. The English word goes back to The British Critic of January 1837, where it was spelled "ecclesialogy" and meant the science of the constitution of the church; the Cambridge Camden Society narrowed it to church building and decoration, and the doctrinal sense came into wide use in the twentieth century9596. The treatise on the church is older than the word: James of Viterbo's De regimine christiano (1302) has been called the oldest treatise on the Church87.

Cyprian of Carthage wrote that there is no salvation out of the Church, and Lateran IV (1215) and Unam Sanctam (1302) made the axiom conciliar and papal definition17513286. The Westminster Confession places it in the visible church, outside which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation168. Lumen Gentium holds the Church necessary for salvation, and holds that those who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel or the Church can attain salvation1. The Russian Orthodox Basic Principles (2000) state that salvation can be attained only in the Church of Christ, which they identify as the Orthodox Church8.

Not on the same terms: the Toronto Statement (1950) does not require member churches of the World Council of Churches to regard one another as churches in the true and full sense of the word99. Dominus Iesus (2000) calls churches with a valid episcopate and Eucharist true particular Churches, and communities without them not Churches in the proper sense3. The Council of Crete (2016) accepts the historical name of non-Orthodox churches, and the Russian Orthodox Basic Principles hold that separated communities have never been viewed as fully deprived of the grace of God1768.

The traditions differ: Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (1994) holds that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women, while the 2024 Synod's Final Document says the question of the diaconate remains open177109. The ordination of women is practiced by many Lutheran churches, though the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod keeps a male-only pastoral office178179. The Baptist Faith and Message limits the office of pastor to men, the Mennonite Confession of 1995 calls gifted men and women to leadership, and Salvation Army officers, men and women, are duly ordained413768.

At Ravenna in 2007 the joint commission agreed that the bishop of Rome was first among the patriarchs, but recorded that the two sides disagree on the interpretation of the historical evidence about his prerogatives180. The Moscow Patriarchate holds universal primacy to be one of honor and rejects universal governing authority181. John Paul II's Ut Unum Sint (1995) asked church leaders and theologians to help find a way of exercising the primacy that is open to a new situation182.

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  1. 1Lumen Gentium (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2Catechism of the Catholic Church, 751 to 780 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P27.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Dominus Iesus (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4Orientalium Ecclesiarum (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_orientalium-ecclesiarum_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 27 (IntraText)https://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG1199/_PR.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6Catechism of the Catholic Church, 811 to 870 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7Encyclical of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church (Holy and Great Council)https://www.holycouncil.org/-/encyclical-holy-council (opens in a new tab)
  8. 8Basic Principles of the Attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church toward the Other Christian Confessions (orthodox.cn)https://www.orthodox.cn/contemporary/20000814basicprinciples/bodyen.htm (opens in a new tab)
  9. 9Holy and Great Council concludes on the Sunday of All Saints (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/news/headline-news/holy-and-great-council-concludes-on-the-sunday-of-all-saints (opens in a new tab)
  10. 10Orthodox churches (Oriental), church family (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/church-families/orthodox-churches-oriental (opens in a new tab)
  11. 11Coptic History (Coptic Orthodox Church)https://copticorthodox.church/en/coptic-church/coptic-history/ (opens in a new tab)
  12. 12Faith (Pontifical Legation of Western Europe, Armenian Apostolic Church)https://www.armenian-church.eu/en/faith/ (opens in a new tab)
  13. 13History (Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate)https://syriacpatriarchate.org/history/ (opens in a new tab)
  14. 14The Issue between Monophysitism and Dyophysitism (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)https://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/english/dogma/monodyo.html (opens in a new tab)
  15. 15Faith (Assyrian Church of the East)https://acote.church/faith (opens in a new tab)
  16. 16Catholicos-Patriarch (Assyrian Church of the East)https://acote.church/catholicos-patriarch (opens in a new tab)
  17. 17Sacraments (Assyrian Church of the East)https://acote.church/sacraments (opens in a new tab)
  18. 18Utrechter Union, home (Utrechter Union)https://www.utrechter-union.org/ (opens in a new tab)
  19. 19Über uns (Utrechter Union)https://www.utrechter-union.org/uber-uns/ (opens in a new tab)
  20. 20Old Catholic churches, church family (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/church-families/old-catholic-churches (opens in a new tab)
  21. 21What is the Anglican Communion? (Anglican Communion)https://www.anglicancommunion.org/structures/what-is-the-anglican-communion.aspx (opens in a new tab)
  22. 22Article 19: Of the Church (Church Society)https://www.churchsociety.org/resource/article-19-of-the-church/ (opens in a new tab)
  23. 23The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral (Anglican Communion)https://anglicancommunion.org/the-chicago-lambeth-quadrilateral/ (opens in a new tab)
  24. 24Instruments of Communion (Anglican Communion)https://www.anglicancommunion.org/structures/instruments-of-communion.aspx (opens in a new tab)
  25. 25Augsburg Confession, Article VII (Book of Concord, Concordia Publishing House)https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/augsburg-confession/chief_articles/article_vii (opens in a new tab)
  26. 26Constitution of the Lutheran World Federation (Lutheran World Federation)https://lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/lwf_constitution_en.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  27. 27Westminster Confession, chapter 25 (creeds.net)https://www.creeds.net/reformed/Westminster/c25.htm (opens in a new tab)
  28. 28Westminster Confession of Faith (Orthodox Presbyterian Church)https://www.opc.org/wcf.html (opens in a new tab)
  29. 29Belgic Confession (Christian Reformed Church in North America)https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/belgic-confession (opens in a new tab)
  30. 30The Scots Confession 1560 (Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland)https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/about-us/important-documents/the-scots-confession-1560/ (opens in a new tab)
  31. 31The Belhar Confession (Reformed Church in America)https://www.rca.org/about/theology/creeds-and-confessions/the-belhar-confession/ (opens in a new tab)
  32. 32United and uniting churches, church family (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/church-families/united-and-uniting-churches (opens in a new tab)
  33. 33What We Believe (United Church of Christ)https://www.ucc.org/what-we-believe/ (opens in a new tab)
  34. 34Statement concerning the Nature, Faith and Order of the URC (United Reformed Church)https://urc.org.uk/who-we-are/what-we-believe/statement-concerning-the-nature-faith-and-order-of-the-urc/ (opens in a new tab)
  35. 35Schleitheim Confession of Faith (Baptist Center for Theology, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary)https://www.nobts.edu/baptist-center-theology/confessions/Schleitheim_Confession_of_Faith.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  36. 36The Dordrecht Confession of Faith (The Reformed Reader)https://www.reformedreader.org/ccc/dcf.htm (opens in a new tab)
  37. 37Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective (Mennonite Church USA)https://www.mennoniteusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Confession-of-Faith-In-a-Mennonite-Perspective.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  38. 38History (Church of the Brethren)https://www.brethren.org/about/history (opens in a new tab)
  39. 39Church of the Brethren, member profile (World Council of Churches)https://oikoumene.org/id/node/15822 (opens in a new tab)
  40. 40John Nelson Darby (Brethren Archive)https://www.brethrenarchive.org/people/john-nelson-darby/ (opens in a new tab)
  41. 41Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (Southern Baptist Convention)https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/ (opens in a new tab)
  42. 42Second London Baptist Confession, chapter 26 (the1689confession.com)https://www.the1689confession.com/1689/chapter-26 (opens in a new tab)
  43. 43Beliefs Statement (Baptist World Alliance)https://baptistworld.org/beliefs/ (opens in a new tab)
  44. 44Congregational Federation (Congregational Federation)https://www.congregational.org.uk/ (opens in a new tab)
  45. 45About Us (National Association of Congregational Christian Churches)https://www.naccc.org/about-us/ (opens in a new tab)
  46. 46The Moravian Church (Moravian Church in North America)https://www.moravian.org/the-moravian-church/ (opens in a new tab)
  47. 47Articles of Religion (The United Methodist Church)https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion (opens in a new tab)
  48. 48The Connexion (Methodist Church in Britain)https://www.methodist.org.uk/about/what-is-distinctive-about-methodism/the-connexion/ (opens in a new tab)
  49. 49What is the Methodist Conference? (Methodist Church in Britain)https://www.methodist.org.uk/about/structure-and-governance/the-methodist-conference/what-is-the-methodist-conference/ (opens in a new tab)
  50. 50Articles of Faith, 2023 Manual (Church of the Nazarene)https://nazarene.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/ArticlesOfFaith%28English%29.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  51. 512023 Book of Discipline (Free Methodist Church USA)https://fmcusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023-Book-of-Discipline-Interactive-PDF-FINAL.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  52. 52Quaker faith & practice, chapter 3 (Britain Yearly Meeting)https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/3/ (opens in a new tab)
  53. 53Quaker faith & practice, chapter 11 (Britain Yearly Meeting)https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/11/ (opens in a new tab)
  54. 54Disciples of Christ / Churches of Christ, church family (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/church-families/disciples-of-christ-churches-of-christ (opens in a new tab)
  55. 55Our Identity (Christian Church (Disciples of Christ))https://www.disciples.org/our-identity/ (opens in a new tab)
  56. 56Statement of Fundamental Truths (Assemblies of God USA)https://ag.org/Beliefs/Statement-of-Fundamental-Truths (opens in a new tab)
  57. 57Our History (Church of God in Christ)https://www.cogic.org/about-us/our-history/ (opens in a new tab)
  58. 58Pentecostal World Fellowship (Pentecostal World Fellowship)https://www.pentecostalworldfellowship.org/ (opens in a new tab)
  59. 59The Lausanne Covenant (Lausanne Movement)https://lausanne.org/statement/lausanne-covenant (opens in a new tab)
  60. 60Statement of Faith (World Evangelical Alliance)https://worldea.org/who-we-are/statement-of-faith/ (opens in a new tab)
  61. 61Statement of Faith (National Association of Evangelicals)https://www.nae.org/statement-of-faith/ (opens in a new tab)
  62. 62Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC)https://www.oaic.org/ (opens in a new tab)
  63. 63TRC hearing transcript, Zion Christian Church, 19 November 1999 (University of Cape Town, RICSA archive)https://humanities.uct.ac.za/media/542109 (opens in a new tab)
  64. 64Church of the Lord (Aladura) Worldwide, member profile (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/church-of-the-lord-aladura-worldwide (opens in a new tab)
  65. 65The Church, Fundamental Belief 12 (Seventh-day Adventist Church)https://www.adventist.org/the-church/ (opens in a new tab)
  66. 66The Remnant and Its Mission, Fundamental Belief 13 (Seventh-day Adventist Church)https://www.adventist.org/remnant-and-its-mission/ (opens in a new tab)
  67. 67Ecclesiology (The Salvation Army International)https://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/ecclesiology (opens in a new tab)
  68. 68The Salvation Army in the Body of Christ (The Salvation Army International Headquarters)https://www.salvationarmy.org/sites/default/files/2025-06/The%20Salvation%20Army%20in%20the%20Body%20of%20Christ.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  69. 69Restoration of the Church, Gospel Topics (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/restoration-of-the-church?lang=eng (opens in a new tab)
  70. 70Doctrine and Covenants, section 1 (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1?lang=eng (opens in a new tab)
  71. 71Why Don't Jehovah's Witnesses Call Their Meeting Place a Church? (jw.org)https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovahs-witnesses-church-kingdom-hall/ (opens in a new tab)
  72. 72How Are Jehovah's Witnesses' Congregations Organized? (jw.org)https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/congregations-organized/ (opens in a new tab)
  73. 73What Is the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses? (jw.org)https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/governing-body-jw-helpers/ (opens in a new tab)
  74. 74The Founder of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Pasugo: God's Message)https://www.pasugo.com.ph/?p=125426 (opens in a new tab)
  75. 75Dumaguete City evangelical mission highlights importance of the true Church (Pasugo)https://pasugo.com.ph/?p=131448 (opens in a new tab)
  76. 76An Administration of God, by God, and for God's people (Pasugo)https://www.pasugo.com.ph/?p=35831 (opens in a new tab)
  77. 77Presbyter (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/presbyter (opens in a new tab)
  78. 78Ignatius, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm (opens in a new tab)
  79. 79St. Cyprian of Carthage (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04583b.htm (opens in a new tab)
  80. 80Cyprian, On the Unity of the Church, trans. R. E. Wallis (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050701.htm (opens in a new tab)
  81. 81Donatists (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05121a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  82. 82First Council of Constantinople, creed and canons (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3808.htm (opens in a new tab)
  83. 83Nicene Creed (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nicene-Creed (opens in a new tab)
  84. 84East-West Schism (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/event/Schism-of-1054 (opens in a new tab)
  85. 85Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration, 7 December 1965 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/speeches/1965/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19651207_common-declaration.html (opens in a new tab)
  86. 86Unam Sanctam (Papal Encyclicals Online)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/bon08/b8unam.htm (opens in a new tab)
  87. 87James of Viterbo, Antoine Côté (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/james-viterbo/ (opens in a new tab)
  88. 88Council of Constance, decrees (Papal Encyclicals Online)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum16.htm (opens in a new tab)
  89. 89Conciliarism (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/conciliarism (opens in a new tab)
  90. 90Jan Hus (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jan-Hus (opens in a new tab)
  91. 91The Schleitheim Articles, trans. W. R. Estep (German History in Documents and Images)https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/from-the-reformations-to-the-thirty-years-war-1500-1648/ghdi:document-4315 (opens in a new tab)
  92. 92Schleitheim Confession (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/print/article/1582085 (opens in a new tab)
  93. 93Augsburg Confession, in Schaff, Creeds of Christendom III (CCEL)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds3.iii.ii.html (opens in a new tab)
  94. 94Augsburg Confession, Article VII (Book of Concord)https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/article-vii/ (opens in a new tab)
  95. 95Ecclesiology (The Victorian Web)https://victorianweb.org/religion/eccles.html (opens in a new tab)
  96. 96Toni Davidson Kelly, The Manna of Ecclesiology (Church Service Society Record)https://mail.churchservicesociety.org/sites/default/files/journals/2006-29007-42-Winter-3.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  97. 97Pastor Aeternus, Latin text (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-ix/la/documents/constitutio-dogmatica-pastor-aeternus-18-iulii-1870.html (opens in a new tab)
  98. 98First Vatican Council, decrees (Papal Encyclicals Online)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum20.htm (opens in a new tab)
  99. 99Toronto Statement (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/toronto-statement (opens in a new tab)
  100. 100History (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/about-the-wcc/history (opens in a new tab)
  101. 101Unitatis Redintegratio (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  102. 102Avery Dulles, A Half Century of Ecclesiology (Theological Studies)https://theologicalstudies.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/50.3.1.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  103. 103Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, Faith and Order Paper No. 111 (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/baptism-eucharist-and-ministry-faith-and-order-paper-no-111-the-lima-text (opens in a new tab)
  104. 104Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, the Lima text (Anglican Communion)https://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/102580/lima_document.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  105. 105The Church: Towards a Common Vision (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/sites/default/files/Document/The_Church_Towards_a_common_vision.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  106. 106The Church: Towards a Common Vision, publication page (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/publications/the-church-towards-a-common-vision (opens in a new tab)
  107. 107The Bishop of Rome: A new document of the DPCU (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/news/2024/2024-06-13-il-vescovo-di-roma-nuovo-documento-dpuc.html (opens in a new tab)
  108. 108Synod on Synodality final document summary (America Magazine)https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2024/10/26/synod-synodality-final-document-summary-249122 (opens in a new tab)
  109. 109Final Document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, working translation (USCCB)https://www.usccb.org/resources/ENG---Documento-finale_traduzione-di-lavoro.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  110. 110Joan Ferrer Costa, La comunitat dels congregats (Scripta Biblica, RACO)https://raco.cat/index.php/ScriptaBiblica/article/download/348778/439998 (opens in a new tab)
  111. 111Philip F. Esler, The Adoption and Use of the Word ekklesia (Ecclesiology, University of Gloucestershire eprints)https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/9366/1/9366-Esler-%282021%29-The-Adoption-and-Use-of-the-Word-Ekklesia.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  112. 112Lohfink, Jesus and Community (Fortress Press)https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9780800618025/Jesus-and-Community (opens in a new tab)
  113. 113The Kasper and Ratzinger debate (America Magazine)https://www.americamagazine.org/node/134774 (opens in a new tab)
  114. 114Church, Christianity (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/church-Christianity (opens in a new tab)
  115. 115The Church (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03744a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  116. 116Search results for "ecclesiology", abstracts of Oxford reference works (Oxford Reference)https://www.oxfordreference.com/search?q=ecclesiology&searchBtn=Search&isQuickSearch=true (opens in a new tab)
  117. 117Orthodox churches (Eastern), church family (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/church-families/orthodox-churches-eastern (opens in a new tab)
  118. 118Jill Raitt, review of Haight (Catholic Books Review)https://w.catholicbooksreview.org/2005/haight1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  119. 119Robert Imbelli, Preserving the Church's Identity, review of Haight (America Magazine)https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2005/02/07/preserving-churchs-identity/ (opens in a new tab)
  120. 120Review of Healy, Church, World and the Christian Life (Boston University Center for Practical Theology)https://www.bu.edu/cpt/?p=1838 (opens in a new tab)
  121. 121Review of Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ethnography (Practical Matters)https://practicalmattersjournal.org/2013/03/13/perspectives-on-ecclesiology (opens in a new tab)
  122. 122Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (Lutheran World Federation)https://lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/original_jddj_english.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  123. 123Strong's Greek 1577, ekklesia (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/greek/strongs_1577.htm (opens in a new tab)
  124. 1241 Clement (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm (opens in a new tab)
  125. 125Didache (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm (opens in a new tab)
  126. 126Irenaeus, Against Heresies III.3 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103303.htm (opens in a new tab)
  127. 127Tertullian, The Prescription against Heretics (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm (opens in a new tab)
  128. 128Augustine, On Baptism, against the Donatists, Book I (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/14081.htm (opens in a new tab)
  129. 129Augustine, City of God, Book XX (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/120120.htm (opens in a new tab)
  130. 130First Council of Nicaea, creed and canons (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3801.htm (opens in a new tab)
  131. 131Council of Chalcedon, Canon XXVIII with notes (Internet Sacred Text Archive)https://sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/214/2140346.htm (opens in a new tab)
  132. 132Fourth Lateran Council, constitutions (Papal Encyclicals Online)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum12-2.htm (opens in a new tab)
  133. 133Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence, decrees (Papal Encyclicals Online)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum17.htm (opens in a new tab)
  134. 134Westminster Confession, chapter XXV, in Schaff, Creeds of Christendom III (CCEL)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds3.iv.xvii.ii.html (opens in a new tab)
  135. 135The Oxford Handbook of Ecclesiology (Oxford Academic)https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/38553 (opens in a new tab)
  136. 136A. T. B. McGowan, review of The Oxford Handbook of Ecclesiology (Themelios)https://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/the-oxford-handbook-of-ecclesiology (opens in a new tab)
  137. 137The Routledge Companion to the Christian Church (Routledge)https://www.routledge.com/products/9780203936078 (opens in a new tab)
  138. 138The Routledge Companion to the Christian Church (Taylor & Francis eBooks)https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9780203936078/routledge-companion-christian-church-gerard-mannion-lewis-mudge (opens in a new tab)
  139. 139T&T Clark Handbook of Ecclesiology, product page (Regulator Bookshop)https://www.regulatorbookshop.com/book/9780567699053 (opens in a new tab)
  140. 140T&T Clark Handbook of Ecclesiology (New Books Network)https://newbooksnetwork.com/t-t-clark-handbook-of-ecclesiology (opens in a new tab)
  141. 141An Introduction to Ecclesiology, Kärkkäinen (IVP)https://ivpress.com/an-introduction-to-ecclesiology (opens in a new tab)
  142. 142Wilburn T. Stancil, review of Kärkkäinen (Catholic Books Review)https://catholicbooksreview.org/2021/veli.html (opens in a new tab)
  143. 143Robert P. Imbelli, Model of the Church (Commonweal)https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/model-church (opens in a new tab)
  144. 144Summary of Minear, Images of the Church (Life and Leadership)https://lifeandleadership.com/book-summaries/minear-images-of-the-church/ (opens in a new tab)
  145. 145Minear, Images of the Church in the New Testament (Accordance)https://www.accordancebible.com/product/nt-library-images-of-the-church-in-the-new-testament/ (opens in a new tab)
  146. 146Ecclesiology: The Journal for Ministry, Mission and Unity (Brill)https://brill.com/view/journals/ecso/ecso-overview.xml (opens in a new tab)
  147. 147Rev Dr Paul Avis (IARCCUM)https://iarccum.org/name/365 (opens in a new tab)
  148. 148Ecclesial Practices, ISSN record (ISSN Portal)https://portal.issn.org/resource/issn/2214-4471 (opens in a new tab)
  149. 149John Wycliffe (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Wycliffe (opens in a new tab)
  150. 150John Wyclif, Alessandro Conti (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wyclif/ (opens in a new tab)
  151. 151St. Robert Francis Romulus Bellarmine (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02411d.htm (opens in a new tab)
  152. 152St. Robert Bellarmine (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Robert-Bellarmine (opens in a new tab)
  153. 153Johann Adam Möhler (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Adam-Mohler (opens in a new tab)
  154. 154Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dietrich-Bonhoeffer (opens in a new tab)
  155. 155Sanctorum Communio, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works vol. 1 (Fortress Press)https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9780800683016/Sanctorum-Communio (opens in a new tab)
  156. 156Yves Congar (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yves-Congar (opens in a new tab)
  157. 157Jürgen Mettepenningen, Yves Congar and the "Monster" of Nouvelle Théologie (Horizons, Cambridge Core)https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/horizons/article/yves-congar-and-the-monster-of-nouvelle-theologie/7B17720ADF374012B8B6840F73E73067 (opens in a new tab)
  158. 158Fordham mourns the death of Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (Fordham University)https://now.fordham.edu/faith-and-service/fordham-mourns-the-death-of-avery-cardinal-dulles-s-j/ (opens in a new tab)
  159. 159James T. Keane, Avery Dulles, a giant of American Catholic theology (America Magazine)https://www.americamagazine.org/?p=196236 (opens in a new tab)
  160. 160CT9609T Spirit, Church and World (University of Divinity)https://ums.divinity.edu.au/unit/CT9609T/public (opens in a new tab)
  161. 161Brief biographical note (official site of Metropolitan John Zizioulas)https://www.zizioulas.org/person/biography/brief-biographical-note (opens in a new tab)
  162. 162In memoriam Metropolitan Elder John of Pergamon (1931-2023) (Ecumenical Patriarchate Permanent Delegation to the WCC)https://www.ecupatria.org/2023/02/27/in-memoriam-metropolitan-elder-john-of-pergamon-1931-2023/ (opens in a new tab)
  163. 163Russell, Church in the Round, catalogue record (College of the Holy Cross Library)https://library.holycross.edu/Record/b1325593/Details (opens in a new tab)
  164. 164Letty Russell, liberationist and churchwoman (The Christian Century)https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2007-08/letty-russell-liberationist-and-churchwoman (opens in a new tab)
  165. 165Healy, Church, World and the Christian Life, introduction (Cambridge Core)https://core-prod.cambridgecore.org/core/books/church-world-and-the-christian-life/introduction/62F906475A99373D0CB9D0D86AD643E9 (opens in a new tab)
  166. 166Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, faculty page (Fuller Theological Seminary)https://www.fuller.edu/faculty/veli-matti-karkkainen/ (opens in a new tab)
  167. 167Rafael Luciani, faculty page (Boston College)https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/stm/faculty/faculty-directory/rafael-luciani.html (opens in a new tab)
  168. 168Westminster Confession of Faith (Orthodox Presbyterian Church, opc.org)https://opc.org/wcf.html (opens in a new tab)
  169. 169Communionis Notio (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_28051992_communionis-notio_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  170. 170Peter C. Phan, review of Afanasiev, The Church of the Holy Spirit (Catholic Books Review)https://catholicbooksreview.org/2013/afanasiev.html (opens in a new tab)
  171. 171Pantelis Kalaitzidis, In Memoriam Metropolitan John D. Zizioulas (Political Theology Network)https://politicaltheology.com/in-memoriam-metropolitan-john-d-zizioulas-and-the-journey-of-theology-toward-the-future/ (opens in a new tab)
  172. 172Responses to Some Questions regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  173. 173Search results for "sobornost" (Oxford Reference)https://www.oxfordreference.com/search?q=sobornost&searchBtn=Search&isQuickSearch=true (opens in a new tab)
  174. 174Synodality in the life and mission of the Church, International Theological Commission (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_cti_20180302_sinodalita_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  175. 175Cyprian, Epistle 72 to Jubaianus (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050672.htm (opens in a new tab)
  176. 176Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World (Holy and Great Council, Crete 2016)https://www.orthodoxcouncil.org/decisions/-/asset_publisher/f1JDEVkdg6TH/content/rest-of-christian-world/3574532803f.html (opens in a new tab)
  177. 177Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1994/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_19940522_ordinatio-sacerdotalis.html (opens in a new tab)
  178. 178From Conflict to Communion, Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity (Katholieke Vereniging voor Oecumene)https://www.oecumene.nl/files/2013/06/From_Conflict_to_Communion.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  179. 179Doctrine FAQs (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod)https://www.lcms.org/about/beliefs/faqs/doctrine (opens in a new tab)
  180. 180Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church, Ravenna 2007 (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi/sezione-orientale/chiese-ortodosse-di-tradizione-bizantina/commissione-mista-internazionale-per-il-dialogo-teologico-tra-la/documenti-di-dialogo/testo-in-inglese.html (opens in a new tab)
  181. 181Position of the Moscow Patriarchate on the problem of primacy in the Universal Church (Pravmir)https://www.pravmir.com/?p=21441 (opens in a new tab)
  182. 182Ut Unum Sint (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25051995_ut-unum-sint.html (opens in a new tab)

Page record

Reviewed and approved by Duane Herholdt, BA (Theology), Chief Executive Officer, Numa Verse

Study version: v1.1, 15 October 2026 (theology map v1.27)

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

How these pages are made

  • 9 November 2026: First draft from the approved assessment v1.1.