The Nature and Purpose of Ecumenical Dialogue

Ecumenical Review, The, July, 2000 by Konrad Raiser

* In its chapter on the one gospel in many contexts the study examines the relationship between contextuality and catholicity and offers criteria which are equally relevant for ecumenical dialogue. More important, however, is the final chapter which describes "the church as a hermeneutical community". Ecumenical dialogue then becomes an expression of this calling of the church on all levels of its life to "interpret texts, symbols and practices so as to discern the word of God as a word of life amid ever changing times and places. This hermeneutical task undertaken by the church, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is a condition for apostolic mission in and for the world. To speak of the church as a hermeneutical community is also to say that this community is a proper locus for the interpretation and the proclamation of the gospel" ([sections] 49). Ecumenical dialogue therefore becomes in itself an exercise of hermeneutics in the pursuit of visible unity. It cannot and must not be limited to experts and specialists, but is a task involving the whole people of God gathered in believing communities in diverse contexts. The hermeneutics of ecumenical dialogue refers in particular to the fact that the contributions of the partners in dialogue are shaped and conditioned by specific ecclesial, cultural, social, economic, geographical and historical backgrounds.

* The study finally addresses the issues of authority, mutual accountability and reception related to the hermeneutics of ecumenical dialogue. It emphasizes that the exercise of authority, in the sense of the ministry of oversight, must include a hermeneutical function. Within the church as a hermeneutical community, this responsibility is shared by the partners in dialogue who accept a mutual accountability and thus exercise for one another the ministry of oversight. Ecumenical dialogue ultimately aims at reception of the insights gained and the agreements reached, but reception goes beyond the official affirmation of common statements. It involves the mutual reception of the partners in dialogue as sisters and brothers in Christ. "It may require a transformation of one's own life and of relations with others" ([sections] 63).

I hope to have shown with these brief references to the Faith and Order study that the hermeneutical approach offers a new and rich perspective on the nature and purpose of ecumenical dialogue.

NOTES

(1) A Treasure in Earthen Vessels: An instrument for an Ecumenical Reflection on Hermeneutics, Faith and Order Paper no. 182, Geneva, WCC, 1998.

(2) Cf. "Scripture, Tradition and traditions", in The Fourth World Conference on Faith and Order, P.C. Rodger and L. Vischer, eds, Faith and Order Paper no. 42, London, SCM Press, 1964, pp.50-61.

* Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, gave this paper at the meeting of the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches in Antelias, Lebanon, 29 May 2000.