Numa Verse

Systematic theologyWhat does it teach as a whole?

Ecumenical theology

What is ecumenical theology?

Ecumenical theology is the study of how separated churches seek visible unity: the dialogues between them, the texts they agree, how those texts are received, and the theology of unity itself. Its texts, from agreements adopted by church synods to signed declarations, commission reports and private statements, carry different authority. Their reception varies, and none speaks for all churches.

  • 80Sources
  • 16Traditions
  • 16Dated entries
  • 14Minutes

Study v1.1, 6 November 2026

Ecumenical theology

At a glance

Why it matters for reading Scripture

How the churches talk to one another and where they have reached agreement.

What the study found

Over a century, named churches and official commissions have issued dated agreements on Christ, justification and baptism, and convergence texts on eucharist and ministry; their authority and reception vary, and none speaks for all.

Where traditions divide

They divide on papal primacy, Scripture and Tradition, the Filioque, infant baptism, shared communion, orders, women's ordination, sexuality, Mary and the form of visible unity.

How the traditions compare

  • Catholic Church

    Teaches that the Bishop of Rome holds a primacy with universal pastoral authority, exercised within the communion of bishops.

    The Second Vatican Council describes the communion between Catholics and other baptized Christians as real but "imperfect", and John Paul II called the Catholic commitment to ecumenism "irrevocable". It holds that "Eucharistic communion is inseparably linked to full ecclesial communion and its visible expression"; other Christians may receive from Catholic ministers only in danger of death or grave need when stated conditions are met. John Paul II taught in 1994 that "the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women".

    Sources1–4

  • Eastern Orthodox churches

    Recognize Rome's historical first place, a primacy of honor, but reject universal papal jurisdiction, and hold that primacy and synodality belong together.

    They keep the Creed's original wording and object to the Filioque as an addition made without an ecumenical council. They share the eucharist only within their communion. The Orthodox Church in America states that the Church "precludes the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopacy".

    Sources5–7

  • Oriental Orthodox churches

    Did not accept the formula of Chalcedon (451).

    Popes and the heads of the Syriac Orthodox, Coptic and Armenian churches declared a common faith in Christ between 1971 and 1996, without restoring full communion. The Anglican and Oriental Orthodox Agreed Statement on Christology (2014) rejects "monophysite" as misleading and uses "miaphysite". The Coptic Orthodox Church suspended its dialogue with Rome in 2024 over the blessing of same-sex couples and resumed it in 2026 after assurances.

    Sources8–13

  • Assyrian Church of the East

    Did not accept the Council of Ephesus (431).

    Its 1994 declaration with John Paul II treats "Mother of God" and "Mother of Christ our God and Saviour" as expressions of the same faith. Guidelines of 2001 allow Chaldean Catholic and Assyrian faithful to receive communion in each other's churches when necessity requires, as a pastoral provision, not full eucharistic communion.

    Sources14–15

  • Anglican Communion

    Leo XIII's Apostolicae Curae (1896) declared Anglican ordinations "completely null and void"; Anglicans hold that they keep the historic episcopate and apostolic ministry.

    The Anglican Consultative Council in 2016 "welcomes and affirms the substance" of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and commended the 2014 Christology statement to the churches as part of an ongoing process of reception. Anglican churches differ among themselves on ordaining women as priests and bishops.

    Sources16–17

  • Lutheran World Federation

    Signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Catholic Church in 1999, in which Lutherans say the Christian is "at the same time righteous and sinner".

    Its joint commission with the Orthodox suggested in 2024 that the Creed be used in the Greek original "without the Filioque". In 2010 it asked forgiveness from Mennonites for the persecution of Anabaptists, a one-sided act of repentance.

    Sources18–21

  • Confessional Lutherans outside the Federation

    The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod has not signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.

    Confessional Lutherans practice closed communion.

    Sources22

  • Reformed churches

    The World Communion of Reformed Churches associated itself with the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 2017.

    Reformed churches entered church fellowship with Lutheran and United churches in the Leuenberg Agreement (1973), and in the United States the Formula of Agreement (1997) joined the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with the PCUSA, the RCA and the UCC.

    Sources23–25

  • Methodist churches

    The World Methodist Council associated itself with the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 2006.

    The Methodist and Catholic dialogue runs from Denver (1971) to God in Christ Reconciling (Gothenburg 2022). United Methodists approved full communion with the Episcopal Church on 30 April 2024; the Episcopal vote is due in 2027, and the agreement is not yet in force.

    Sources2326–27

  • Evangelicals

    The Lausanne Covenant holds that "the Church's visible unity in truth is God's purpose" but that organisational unity "does not necessarily advance evangelism", and that "evangelism is primary".

    Evangelicals differ: some take part in formal dialogue, as the World Evangelical Alliance does with the Catholic Church; some favor cooperation without merger; some reject conciliar ecumenism on doctrinal grounds. Independent churches have no body that can sign for them.

    Sources28–29

  • Pentecostals

    Many Pentecostal churches are outside membership of the World Council of Churches, though some Chilean Pentecostal churches joined in the 1960s.

    No world body governs Pentecostalism; the Pentecostal World Fellowship had 76 member churches from 47 nations in 2022. The Catholic and Pentecostal dialogue has run since 1972 and has covered baptism in the Spirit, charisms, worship and evangelization.

    Sources30–32

  • Churches that baptize only believers

    Hold back from mutual recognitions of baptism such as the one eleven churches in Germany signed at Magdeburg on 29 April 2007.

    Sources33

  • Councils formed against the World Council of Churches

    Carl McIntire founded the American Council of Christian Churches in 1941 and the International Council of Christian Churches at Amsterdam in 1948 against the World Council of Churches.

    Sources34

  • Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

    Formed on 14 April 1994 by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church, which adopted the Belhar Confession in 1986, and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa, though more than 140 congregations stayed out.

    For this church, Belhar states binding convictions on unity, reconciliation and justice.

    Sources35–36

  • Dutch Reformed Church

    Its General Synod resolved in 2011 to make Belhar part of its confessional basis, and in 2013 proposed amending article 1 of its church order, which required a two-thirds majority in every regional synod and church council.

    Only three of the ten regional synods voted in favor, and the General Synod accepted the negative result in 2015. Within the church, views on Belhar's status and on the procedure differ.

    Sources36–38

  • African Instituted Churches

    Are not one doctrinal family.

    The Organisation of African Instituted Churches grew from a 1978 Cairo meeting called by Pope Shenouda III and does not speak for every such church. In South Africa the Council of African Instituted Churches of Southern Africa, with ten member associations, joined the World Council of Churches in 1998.

    Sources39–40

How the field developed

  1. Late antiquity
    431 and 451

    After the Council of Ephesus (431) the Church of the East does not accept the council, and after Chalcedon (451) the Oriental Orthodox churches do not accept its formula. Both breaks are later addressed by signed declarations.14

  2. Medieval
    7 May 1274

    The Second Council of Lyons opens; union with the Greeks is declared in its fourth session, imposed by Emperor Michael VIII against most Greek clergy, and does not last. The council defines that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son "not as from two principles, but as from one principle".41

  3. Medieval
    6 July 1439

    The decree of union, Laetentur caeli, is signed at Florence by Eugene IV, 116 Latins, Emperor John VIII and 32 Greeks; Mark of Ephesus does not sign. The union is proclaimed in Constantinople only on 12 December 1452, months before the city fell, and does not last.42

  4. Reformation
    1595 to 1596

    At Brest, Ruthenian bishops seek union with Rome, and the synod of October 1596 splits into two that anathematize each other. In 1993 the Catholic and Orthodox commission's Balamand statement says that "uniatism" can no longer be accepted as a method or a model, while the Eastern Catholic churches "have the right to exist".4344

  5. Modern
    1910

    The World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh is the usual starting point of the modern movement. On 19 October the Episcopal Church's General Convention, moved by Charles Brent, calls for a world conference on faith and order, which met at Lausanne in 1927.4546

  6. Modern
    10 June 1925

    Methodist and Congregational churches and about 70 percent of Presbyterians form the United Church of Canada. In the same year the Life and Work movement meets at Stockholm.4745

  7. Modern
    1948

    The Faith and Order and Life and Work movements together form the World Council of Churches, which has 147 member churches at its Amsterdam assembly. It defines itself as a fellowship of churches "which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the scriptures".464849

  8. Modern
    5 June 1960

    John XXIII founds the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity under Cardinal Bea. It invites observers to the Second Vatican Council and prepares the decree on ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, promulgated on 21 November 1964.501

  9. Modern
    7 December 1965

    Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I lift the mutual excommunications of 1054, resolving to "commit these excommunications to oblivion". They note that the censures were aimed at persons, not churches, and that the gesture does not by itself end the differences.51

  10. Modern
    May 1968

    The South African Council of Churches is founded; that year's Message to the People of South Africa calls separation "the most complete refusal of the truth".52

  11. Modern
    1971 to 1996

    Popes and the heads of the Syriac Orthodox, Coptic, Assyrian and Armenian churches declare a common faith in Christ, saying the divisions were due "in large part to misunderstandings". None of the declarations restores full communion.89531410

  12. Modern
    January 1982

    The Faith and Order Commission adopts Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry at Lima and sends it to the churches for response. The text calls its result "theological convergence", not consensus, and the World Council of Churches calls it "the most widely-distributed and studied ecumenical document".5455

  13. Modern
    25 May 1995

    In Ut Unum Sint John Paul II calls the Catholic commitment to ecumenism "irrevocable" and invites other churches to help find a way of exercising papal primacy open to a new situation.2

  14. Modern
    31 October 1999

    The Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation sign the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification at Augsburg. The World Methodist Council associates itself with it in 2006 and the World Communion of Reformed Churches in 2017.1823

  15. Modern
    29 November 2025

    Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew confess the Nicene faith together and pledge to work for a common date of Easter. The declaration speaks for its two signatories.56

  16. Modern
    5 October 2026

    The third Anglican and Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) approves its statement While They Were Talking and Discussing: Learning to Do Moral Discernment in Communion, announced on 15 October. Its text is not yet public, and approval by the commission is not adoption by either communion.5758

How to study ecumenical theology

The questions it asks

  • Is a result convergence, consensus or differentiated consensus, and has it been received?55182
  • Who signed or adopted a text, and does it bind churches or only the commission that wrote it?59
  • Has each church received the text separately, through its governing bodies and its people?2
  • On the eucharist, is the question agreement on doctrine, recognition of another church's sacraments and ministry, admission of individuals in exceptional cases, mutual eucharistic hospitality, or full communion?3
  • What divides named churches today, and for what stated reasons?
  • What form should visible unity take?60
  • What can each church learn from the others?61

Its method

Start

  1. Read the agreed statements themselves, on official church and dialogue sites first6263.

  2. Identify the exact proposition agreed and the paragraphs in which it appears.

  3. Classify the text by kind: adopted by the governing synods or assemblies of named churches, a declaration signed by named heads of churches, a commission text submitted to the churches, an unofficial statement by individuals or a private group, or a one-sided act of a church or council.

  4. Record the issuing body, who authorized the participants, and who signed or voted, and when.

  5. Record reception by each party separately (accepted, commended, under study, qualified, rejected or unknown) and the practical effect (none, pastoral provision, mutual recognition, church fellowship or full communion).

  6. Record the reservations, the absent churches and the remaining differences.

  7. Where a text records a shared core with two explanations, as the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification does on sin after baptism, set out the shared core first and then how each church explains it19.

  8. Do not stretch an agreement beyond its parties or its proposition: a Western agreement is not projected onto the Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Pentecostal or independent churches.

  9. Where churches divide, name each church, use its own name for itself and its view, and give each side; do not invent a symmetrical disagreement where one side has an adopted position and the other has none on record.

What to read

Its primary witnesses

  • Declarations signed by heads of churches, such as the common declarations on the person of Christ of 1971 to 1996 and the 2025 declaration of Leo XIV and Bartholomew8953141056.
  • The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999)18.
  • Faith and Order's convergence texts, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1982) and The Church: Towards a Common Vision (2013), and the church responses, such as the Catholic response of 1987556465.
  • The documents of the Catholic and Orthodox Joint International Commission, from Munich (1982) to Alexandria (2023)59.
  • The statements of the Anglican and Roman Catholic International Commission and the official Catholic response of 1991666768.
  • Union and full communion agreements, among them Leuenberg, Meissen, Porvoo, Called to Common Mission and Reuilly2469707172.
  • Church teaching on ecumenism, such as Unitatis Redintegratio (1964), Ut Unum Sint (1995) and the Catholic Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism (1993)123.
  • Assembly texts of the World Council of Churches, such as the New Delhi statement on unity (1961) and Called to Be the One Church (2006)6073.
  • Evangelical statements, among them the Lausanne Covenant and Evangelicals and Catholics Together (1994)2874.
  • Common texts in use across churches: the English Language Liturgical Consultation's texts of the Lord's Prayer and the creeds (Praying Together, 1990) and the Revised Common Lectionary (1992)75.

Standard reference works

  • The Centro Pro Unione index of about sixty bilateral and multilateral dialogues, in Rome62.
  • The dialogue documents published by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, which runs the Catholic dialogues63.
  • Walter Kasper's Harvesting the Fruits (2009), which gathers what the Catholic dialogues with Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Reformed had agreed76.
  • George Lindbeck's The Nature of Doctrine (1984), which proposed a "cultural-linguistic" account of doctrine77.
  • The standard journals: The Ecumenical Review, the Journal of Ecumenical Studies and One in Christ.

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.

  • 1896Apostolicae CuraeLeo XIIIApostolicae Curae (1896)Leo XIIISources16
  • 1964Unitatis RedintegratioSecond Vatican CouncilUnitatis Redintegratio (1964)Second Vatican CouncilSources1
  • 1982Baptism, Eucharist and MinistryFaith and Order CommissionBaptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1982)Faith and Order CommissionSources54–55
  • 1984The Nature of DoctrineGeorge LindbeckThe Nature of Doctrine (1984)George LindbeckSources77
  • 1994Evangelicals and Catholics TogetherCharles ColsonEvangelicals and Catholics Together (1994)Charles Colson, with Richard John NeuhausSources74
  • 1995Ut Unum SintJohn Paul IIUt Unum Sint (1995)John Paul IISources2
  • 2009Harvesting the FruitsWalter KasperHarvesting the Fruits (2009)Walter KasperSources76

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 churches have moved towards each other on a question; the Lima text calls its result "theological convergence", not consensus55.

The churches hold the same view on a question.

Agreement on basic truths, accepting that the remaining differences of explanation do not undo it: the method of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, associated with Harding Meyer of the Strasbourg Institute, who also spoke of "reconciled diversity"1878.

The step after signature, when the churches' governing bodies adopt a text and their people come to know it; Ut Unum Sint holds that dialogue results "must become a common heritage"2.

A text agreed by an official dialogue commission and submitted to the churches; it is a statement of the commission, not a church decision59.

Mutual recognition of preaching, sacraments and ministry without merger, the terms of Porvoo and Leuenberg7024.

The Latin confession that the Spirit proceeds "from the Father and the Son"; the Orthodox keep the Creed's original wording and object to the addition as made without an ecumenical council41.

In the 1997 definition of the World Council of Churches, drawing Christians from one church to another by means that contradict Christian love79.

Named by the Second Vatican Council "the soul of the whole ecumenical movement"1.

Paul Murray's approach at Durham, asking what each church can learn from the others, framed against an "ecumenical winter"61.

Where it sits

Builds on

Ecumenical theology

Questions people ask

Over a century, named churches and official commissions have issued dated agreements on Christ, justification and baptism, and convergence texts on eucharist and ministry; their authority and reception vary, and none speaks for all8183355. Unions and full communion agreements, from the United Church of Canada (1925) to Called to Common Mission (2001), are the strongest form of agreement4771.

The Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 1999: "By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God"18. The remaining differences "do not destroy the consensus", and Lutheran teaching as presented "does not fall under the condemnations" of Trent18. Methodists and Reformed associated themselves later and Anglicans welcomed it, while the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, outside the Federation, has not signed231722.

Yes: on 7 December 1965 Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I resolved to "commit these excommunications to oblivion", noting that the censures had been aimed at persons, not churches51. The gesture did not by itself end the differences or restore communion51.

No. Catholic theologians have been full members of the Faith and Order Commission since 1968, and a Joint Working Group with the World Council of Churches was agreed at Enugu in January 196525080.

Papal primacy, Scripture and Tradition, the Filioque, infant baptism, shared communion, orders, women's ordination, sexuality, Mary and the form of visible unity, each dividing named churches for stated reasons. On primacy, the Catholic Church teaches that the Bishop of Rome holds a primacy with universal pastoral authority, while Orthodox churches recognize Rome's historical first place but reject universal papal jurisdiction56.

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  1. 1Unitatis Redintegratio, 21 November 1964 (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)
  2. 2Ut Unum Sint, 25 May 1995 (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)
  3. 3Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, 1993 (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/documenti/testo-in-inglese.html (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 22 May 1994 (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)
  5. 5Synodality and Primacy during the First Millennium, Chieti 2016 (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-inglese1.html (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6Alexandria 2023 communique (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/fr/dialoghi/sezione-orientale/chiese-ortodosse-di-tradizione-bizantina/commissione-mista-internazionale-per-il-dialogo-teologico-tra-la/sessioni-plenarie/2023-session-pleniere.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7Ordination of women (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/questions/priesthoodmonasticism/ordination-of-women (opens in a new tab)
  8. 8Common Declaration of Paul VI and Mar Ignatius Jacoub III, 27 October 1971 (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/speeches/1971/october/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19711027_dichiarazione-comune.html (opens in a new tab)
  9. 9Common Declaration of Paul VI and Shenouda III, 10 May 1973 (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/speeches/1973/may/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19730510_dichiarazione-comune.html (opens in a new tab)
  10. 10Common Declaration of John Paul II and Karekin I, 13 December 1996 (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1996/december/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19961213_dichiarazione-comune.html (opens in a new tab)
  11. 11Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Agreed Statement on Christology, Cairo 2014 (Anglican Communion)https://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/103502/Anglican-Oriental-Orthodox-Agreed-Statement-on-Christology-Cairo-2014.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  12. 12Coptic Church suspends dialogue, 2024 (Catholic Culture)https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=61588 (opens in a new tab)
  13. 13Holy Synod meeting statement, 22 May 2026 (Coptic Orthodox Church)https://copticorthodox.church/en/2026/05/22/holy-synod-meeting-statement/ (opens in a new tab)
  14. 14Common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, 11 November 1994 (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1994/november/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19941111_dichiarazione-cristologica.html (opens in a new tab)
  15. 15Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, 2001 (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi/sezione-orientale/chiesa-assira-dell-oriente/altri-documenti/testo-in-inglese.html (opens in a new tab)
  16. 16Apostolicae Curae, 1896 (IARCCUM)https://iarccum.org/doc/?d=622 (opens in a new tab)
  17. 17ACC-16 resolutions (Anglican Communion)https://www.anglicancommunion.org/acc-16-resolutions/ (opens in a new tab)
  18. 18Joint 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)
  19. 19Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, 2019 edition (Lutheran World Federation)https://lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/joint_declaration_2019_en.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  20. 20Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Statement on the Filioque, 2024 (Lutheran World Federation)https://lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/Lutheran-Orthodox-Joint-Statement-Filioque-EN.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  21. 21Action on the Anabaptists, LWF Assembly 2010 (Lutheran World Federation)https://2010.lwfassembly.org/experience/lwi-assembly-news/news-detail/article/489/8/neste/5/index.html (opens in a new tab)
  22. 22Maxwell on why the LCMS has not signed the JDDJ, 2009 (Concordia Seminary)https://scholar.csl.edu/ccdogm2/93 (opens in a new tab)
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  24. 24History of the Leuenberg Agreement (Community of Protestant Churches in Europe)https://www.leuenberg.eu/about-us/history/ (opens in a new tab)
  25. 25Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)https://elcamediaresources.blob.core.windows.net/cdn/wp-content/uploads/03b_Ecumenical_and_Inter-Religious_Relations_20130528e.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  26. 26Methodist-Catholic dialogue (Centro Pro Unione)https://www.prounione.it/dialogues/m-rc/ (opens in a new tab)
  27. 27Full communion with Episcopalians gets closer, 2024 (UM News)https://www.umnews.org/news/full-communion-with-episcopalians-gets-closer (opens in a new tab)
  28. 28The Lausanne Covenant (Lausanne Movement)https://lausanne.org/statement/lausanne-covenant (opens in a new tab)
  29. 29Catholic-Evangelical report, Scripture and Tradition and the Church in Salvation (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi/sezione-occidentale/evangelici/dialogo/documenti-di-dialogo/testo-in-inglese.html (opens in a new tab)
  30. 30Pentecostal churches (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/pentecostal-churches/ (opens in a new tab)
  31. 31Pentecostal World Conference 2022 (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/news/2022/2022-10-17-pentecostal-world-conference.html (opens in a new tab)
  32. 32Pentecostal-Catholic dialogue (Centro Pro Unione)https://www.prounione.it/dialogues/pe-rc/ (opens in a new tab)
  33. 33Mutual Recognition of Baptism, Magdeburg 2007 (EKD)https://www.ekd.de/en/Mutual-Recognition-291.htm (opens in a new tab)
  34. 34Carl McIntire papers (University of Michigan)https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-bhl-88538 (opens in a new tab)
  35. 35Van Rooi, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 39(1) (SciELO South Africa)https://scielo.org.za/pdf/she/v39n1/08.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  36. 36Fortein, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 47(1), 2021 (Unisa Press)https://unisapressjournals.co.za/index.php/SHE/article/download/9068/4992/48294 (opens in a new tab)
  37. 37Theron, Stellenbosch Theological Journal 7(1), 2021 (SciELO South Africa)https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S2413-94672021000100045&script=sci_arttext (opens in a new tab)
  38. 38Modise, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 42(2), 2016 (SciELO South Africa)https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1017-04992016000200003 (opens in a new tab)
  39. 39Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC) (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/african-instituted-churches/oaic (opens in a new tab)
  40. 40Council of African Instituted Churches of Southern Africa (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/council-of-african-instituted-churches-of-southern-africa (opens in a new tab)
  41. 41Tanner, introduction to the councils of Lyons II and Florence (EWTN)https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/ecumenical-council-of-florence-1438-1445-1468 (opens in a new tab)
  42. 42Gill, Florence, Council of, New Catholic Encyclopedia (Encyclopedia.com)https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/florence-council (opens in a new tab)
  43. 43Church Union of Berestia (Encyclopedia of Ukraine)https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pages%5CC%5CH%5CChurchUnionofBerestia.htm (opens in a new tab)
  44. 44Balamand document, 1993 (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-lingua-inglese.html (opens in a new tab)
  45. 45Christianity: Ecumenism since the start of the 20th century (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/Ecumenism-since-the-start-of-the-20th-century (opens in a new tab)
  46. 46Gibaut, Faith and Order at 100 (archive.wfn.org)https://archive.wfn.org/2010/10/msg00071.html (opens in a new tab)
  47. 47History (United Church of Canada)https://united-church.ca/community-and-faith/welcome-united-church-canada/history-united-church-canada (opens in a new tab)
  48. 48Previous assemblies (WCC 2006 assembly site)https://wcc2006.info/en/about-the-assembly/previous-assemblies.html (opens in a new tab)
  49. 49About the WCC (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/about-the-wcc (opens in a new tab)
  50. 50Presentation (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dicastero/presentazione/presentazione.html (opens in a new tab)
  51. 51Common Declaration of Paul VI and Athenagoras I, 7 December 1965 (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)
  52. 52History (South African Council of Churches)https://sacc.org.za/history/ (opens in a new tab)
  53. 53Common Declaration of John Paul II and Zakka I, 23 June 1984 (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1984/june/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19840623_jp-ii-zakka-i.html (opens in a new tab)
  54. 54Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (Faith and Order Paper No. 111, the Lima text) (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)
  55. 55Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, Faith and Order Paper No. 111 (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/sites/default/files/Document/FO1982_111_en.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  56. 56Joint Declaration of Leo XIV and Bartholomew, 29 November 2025 (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/travels/2025/documents/20251129-dichiarazione-congiunta.html (opens in a new tab)
  57. 57Completion of the work of ARCIC III, 15 October 2026 (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/news/2026/2026-10-15-completion-of-the-work-of-the--anglican-roman-catholi.html (opens in a new tab)
  58. 58Archive record of While They Were Talking and Discussing (IARCCUM)https://iarccum.org/doc/2271 (opens in a new tab)
  59. 59Catholic-Orthodox Joint International Commission, dialogue documents (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.html (opens in a new tab)
  60. 60New Delhi statement on unity, 1961 (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/new-delhi-statement-on-unity (opens in a new tab)
  61. 61Receptive Ecumenism (Durham University)https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/catholic-studies/research/constructive-catholic-theology-/receptive-ecumenism-/project-1 (opens in a new tab)
  62. 62Dialogues index (Centro Pro Unione)https://www.prounione.it/dialogues/ (opens in a new tab)
  63. 63Dialogues (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi.html (opens in a new tab)
  64. 64The Church: Towards a Common Vision, 2013 (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/the-church-towards-a-common-vision (opens in a new tab)
  65. 65Catholic response to BEM, 1987 (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/dam/unitacristiani/Relazioni%20ecumeniche/Sezione%20occidentale/Dialogo%20multilaterale/COE/Faith_and_Order/BEM%20EN%20%20A%20Catholic%20Response_OCR.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  66. 66ARCIC I documents (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi/sezione-occidentale/comunione-anglicana/dialogo/arcic-i.html (opens in a new tab)
  67. 67ARCIC II documents (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi/sezione-occidentale/comunione-anglicana/dialogo/arcic-ii.html (opens in a new tab)
  68. 68Catholic response to the ARCIC I Final Report, 1991 (IARCCUM)https://iarccum.org/doc/18 (opens in a new tab)
  69. 69The Meissen Declaration, Kirchliches Amtsblatt 1991 (EKD)https://kirchenrecht-ekd.de/kabl/35618.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  70. 70The Porvoo Communion (porvoocommunion.org)https://www.porvoocommunion.org/ (opens in a new tab)
  71. 71Commentary on Called to Common Mission, 2002 (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)https://resources.elca.org/wp-content/uploads/Commentary_on_Called_to_Common_Mission.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  72. 72Déclaration de Reuilly (Unité des Chrétiens)https://unitedeschretiens.fr/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/OEC-ANG-LUTH-REF-INT-2001-Declaration-de-Reuilly-FP.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  73. 73Called to Be the One Church, as adopted, 2006 (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/called-to-be-the-one-church-as-adopted (opens in a new tab)
  74. 74Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium, 1994 (First Things)https://www.firstthings.com/article/1994/05/evangelicals-catholics-together-the-christian-mission-in-the-third-millennium (opens in a new tab)
  75. 75Historical introduction (English Language Liturgical Consultation)https://www.englishtexts.org/historical-introduction (opens in a new tab)
  76. 76Kasper, Harvesting the Fruits (Catholic Books Review)https://catholicbooksreview.org/2010/kasper.htm (opens in a new tab)
  77. 77Higton on Lindbeck (Durham Research Online)https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/OutputFile/1412875 (opens in a new tab)
  78. 78New prize to recognize commitment to ecumenical relations, the Harding Meyer prize (Lutheran World Federation)https://lutheranworld.org/news/new-prize-recognize-commitment-ecumenical-relations (opens in a new tab)
  79. 79Towards Common Witness, 1997 (World Council of Churches)https://oikoumene.org/resources/documents/towards-common-witness (opens in a new tab)
  80. 80Joint Working Group (Centro Pro Unione)https://www.prounione.it/dialogues/JWG/ (opens in a new tab)

Page record

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

Study version: v1.1, 6 November 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.