Apostolicity Then and Now explores apostolicity from its origin to today. Apostolicity is a fundamental mark of the church, referring to Jesus' faith given to, carried on, and taught?unaltered?by a continuous line of apostles. This book primarily focuses on how apostolicity pertains to the church as a whole and views apostolic succession in light of how apostolicity is applicable to the church. Scriptural, historical, theological, and ecumenical contexts provide a thorough study that includes worldviews and their impact on apostolicity. Chapters are "Who Were the Apostles?" ?Why the Early Churches Understood Themselves as Apostolic,? ?Apostolicity in History,? ?Apostolicity and the Theologians,? ?Apostolicity and the Classical and Modern Worldviews,? ?Apostolicity in a Postmodern World,? ?Apostolicity in Ecumenical Dialogue,? and ?Apostolicity in an Ecumenical Church.?

At the heart of the ecumenical discussions over the past century lies the issue of what constitutes the apostolicity of the church. In an attempt to forge structural agreements, these discussions have ignored the diversity of world Christianity. In this groundbreaking study, John Flett presents a bold account of an apostolicity that embraces plurality.

Apostolic, ecumenical and radical: these are the ecclesial characteristics highlighted by Gesa E. Thiessen while explaining her vision of the church. The author focuses on the meaning of each of these marks as well as on their intrinsic connections,an approach that leads her to delve deep into the history of the church, and to draw a wide span between the apostolic past and a radical perspective on the present and future ecumenical church. Apostolic and Prophetic studies the concept of apostolicity emerging in patristic theology and examines this concept as it has been developed in select Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and Anglican ecumenical documents.

While taught by Vatican II, the “sense of the faith” (sensus fidei) has had little official impact in the Catholic Church. What would the church look like if it took this conciliar teaching to heart? To address this neglect, John Burkhard locates the historical roots of the teaching and its emergence at Vatican II. It attempts to better understand the “sense of the faith” in the light of other fundamental teachings of the council and challenges the hierarchical church to invite all the faithful to rightfully participate in the prophetic ministry of the whole church, closely allied with Pope Francis’s call for a more synodal church.

Tilling the Church is a theology for the pilgrim church. In this book, Richard Lennan shows how the ecclesial community looks toward the fullness of God’s reign but lives within the flux of history, the site of its relationship to the trinitarian God. In this way, God’s grace “tills” the church, constantly refreshing the tradition of faith and prompting the discipleship that embodies the gospel. Tilling the Church explores the possibilities for a more faithful, just, and creative church, one responsive to the movement of grace. Fruitful engagement with grace requires the church’s conversion, the ongoing formation of a community whose words and actions reflect the hope that grace engenders.

This is a rich collection of fifteen articles by European, North American and Asian theologians who are concerned with the concept, life, unity and future of the church. It offers a wealth of broad perspectives on ecclesiology by scholars from Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox backgrounds. The first section, 'Perspectives on Ecumenical Ecclesiology', comprises reflections on postmodern ecclesiologies as well as on the development and problems concerning ecumenical methods and models of unity. The second section, 'Communion Ecclesiology and Otherness', provides some pertinent deliberations on how an ecclesiology of communion can integrate otherness. In particular, Zizioulas' communion ecclesiology is critically examined, the possibility for a retrieval of Eucharistic theology between Catholics and Orthodox is put forward, and Tillard's communion ecclesiology is appraised as offering resources for innerdenominational otherness. The final section, 'Ecclesiology in Global Contexts', considers critically the possibility of evangelical ecclesiology as an answer to ethnic impaired Christian community. The role of the (Catholic) Church and its values in Europe and vis-à-vis the European Constitution is examined. The Church of Nigeria's Constitutional Revision (2005) and its ecclesial- ecumenical implications comes into focus, and three notable concepts of unity, as developed by three Indian scholars, S.K. George, John Sadiq and Karem David, are evaluated. Finally, the Japanese diaspora in the States is appraised as a place where a particular Japanese Christian vision could emerge through the "internationalist ecclesiology" developed by Japanese Christian missionaries.

Are apostles amongst us today? According to a growing section of the church, the answer is yes. This book investigates and appraises the idea, seeking answers to the following questions in the context of the church in Britain and the USA: Is there arobust scriptural justification for the charismatic apostolate (CA) that most charismatic groups are proclaiming? How widespread is this belief and why has it become more commonplace? What kind of apostles are being advocated by influential popular teachers? What does church history and tradition have to offer to this idea? Is there a way to endorse and embrace the CA ecumenically? Does the CA have a future in the universal church? These are important questions to answer for the sake of the church's mission and health.

Pascal D. Bazzell brings the marginal ecclesiology of a Filipino ecclesial community facing homelessness (FECH) into contemporary ecclesiological conversation in order to deepen the ecumenical understanding of today's ecclesial reality. He contributes relevant data to support a theory of an ecclesial-oriented paradigm that fosters ecclesial communities within homeless populations. There is an extensive dialogue occurring between ecclesiologies, church planting theories or urban missions and the urban poor. Yet the situation with the homeless population is almost entirely overlooked. The majority of urban mission textbooks do not acknowledge an ecclesial-oriented state of being and suggest that the street-level environment is a place where no discipleship can occur and no church should exist. By presenting the FECH's case study Bazzell emphasizes that it is possible to live on the streets and to grow in the faith of God as an ecclesial community. To be able to describe the FECH's ecclesial narrative, Bazzell develops a local ecclesiological methodology that aims to bridge the gap between more traditional systematic and theoretical (ideal) ecclesiology and practical oriented ecclesiology (e.g. congregational studies) in order to hold together theological and social understandings of the church in its local reality. He articulates a theological framework for the FECH to reflect on who they are (the essence of identity studies), who they are in relationship to God (the essence of theological studies), and what that means for believers in that community as they relate to God and to each other in ways that are true to who they are and to who God intends them to be (the essence of ecclesial studies). The research provides a seldom-heard empirical tour into the FECH's social world and communal identity. The theological findings from the FECH's hermeneutical work on the Gospel of Mark reveal an understanding of church being developed as gathering around Jesus that creates a space for God's presence to be embodied in their ordinary relationships and activities and to invite others to participate in that gathering. Moreover, it addresses ecclesial issues of the supernatural world; honor/shame values; and further develop the neglected image of the familia Dei in classical ecclesiology that encapsulates well the FECH's nature, mission and place.

A Land Like Your Own explores the ways the Bible has reused previous traditions and has subsequently been reused by both Jews and Christians. The ten essays included cover a broad range of topics in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and subsequent traditions, but they all highlight the many ways in which the traditions associated with Israel have impacted communities. A Land Like Your Own will interest anyone involved in biblical studies (students and scholars alike) through its wide-ranging array of topics, highlighting how interconnected the many biblical studies subdisciplines truly are.

Pro Ecclesia is a quarterly journal of theology published by the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology.