Roots of Ecumenism

The roots of this awakening, however, go much further back. Although the nineteenth century is often remembered for its theological controversies and denominational schisms, it was not without some important cooperative developments. The evangelical revivals were responsible for stripping away many denominational distinctive, and nurturing a concern for eradicating the divisions within the Christian faith. As early as 1801, Presbyterians and Congregationalists devised a Plan of Union that ultimately failed, but did lead to 50 years of cooperative work on the frontier. Other new American denominations such as the Disciples of Christ were born in the hope of providing a pattern for Christian unity--and though that hope was frustrated--the concern for union continued. Many of the national voluntary benevolence societies which had been formed in the early 19th century drew their memberships from Christians of various denominations, providing channels for co-operation and stimulating interest in fuller Christian unity.

One such effort was the American Sunday School Union in 1824. This represented a cooperative effort that cut across denominational lines in the field of religious education. In 1875, a series of International Sunday School Councils convened which led to further contacts across denominational lines.

Lutherans played a major role in this effort. Samuel S. Schmucker, a Lutheran seminary professor and president published in 1838 a Fraternal Appeal to the American Churches: With a Plan for Catholic Union. Philip Schaff (1819-93), a Lutheran Church historian and theologian, was another. He addressed the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 on "The Reunion of Christendom."

William Huntington (1838-1918), an Episcopal clergyman, also put forward a platform of essentials upon which churches could unite. This plan was adopted by Episcopalians in 1886, and called for the restoration of Christian unity on these terms: (1) The Holy Scriptures as the rule and ultimate standard of faith; (2) The Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creeds as a sufficient statement of the Christian faith; (3) the two sacraments of Baptism and the Supper of the Lord; and (4) The historic Episcopate.

This interest in cooperation led to a working out of formal arrangements between churches and church institutions, and to denominational participation in various councils of churches. In 1893, the mainline denominations began to coordinate their efforts in foreign missions. By 1908, this program was extended to home missions. In December of that year, 30 American denominations created the Federal Council of Churches to express the fellowship and catholic unity of the Christian church, and bring the various denominations into a united service for Christ and the world.

This American quest for Christian unity was influenced by developments in the larger world.

Missions

The brokenness of the Church had been of serious concern to Protestants ever since the Reformation. But the rise of the modern ecumenical movement was intimately related to the great missionary thrust which began at the close of the eighteenth century. Missionaries soon discovered that competitive denominationalism presented serious obstacles to their cause.

On mission frontiers, Christian workers would meet on occasion for fellowship and discussion. These meetings evolved into World Missionary Conferences. One of these was held in Edinburgh in 1910. This meeting came to be recognized as a major turning point in ecumenical history. There the leaders of the major Protestant denominations caught a vision of Christian cooperation and unity which was to guide them for the rest of their lives. This vision they carried vision back to their respective denominations.

In subsequent gatherings, these leaders sought to identify the essence of the Christian message. One group emphasized the Gospel's uniqueness, maintaining that a convert must renounce completely his former system of religious belief, and any practice associated with it. The other appealed to the comparative study of religions, and saw elements of value in non-Christian faiths, viewing Christianity as the fulfillment of some truths already possessed in part by other faiths.

The divisions within this mission movement were bridged by a man named William Temple who was an Anglican. Temple's solution was: "Our message is Jesus Christ. He is the revelation of what God is and of what man through him may become. In Him, we come face to face with the Ultimate Reality of the Universe; He makes known to us God as Father, perfect and infinite in love and in righteousness; for in him we find God incarnate, the final, yet ever-unfolding, revelation of the God in whom we live and move and have our being." Or to put it in terms that most of us might understand, "Jesus is the final answer, but our perception of who he is and what he taught is still unfolding." Statements such as this gave major support to ecumenical dialogue in America.

Youth Work

Another source of the ecumenical impulse was the Young Men's Christian Association founded in 1844 in London to provide a basis for religious activity among young men on a non-denominational basis. The YWCA followed in 1855. Both soon established branches throughout the world. A similar organization was the Student Christian Foundation founded in Sweden in 1895 by John R. Mott. In each case, there was a willingness to experiment with new groupings and arrangements. In fact, many leaders in the Ecumenical movement came out of these organizations.

Life and Work/Faith and Order

As the rise of Neo-Orthodoxy offered more fuel for the rising interest in Church unity, one of the significant new developments was the advent of Life and Work Conferences. The focus of these Conferences was on Christian service and ethical action. This was attractive to many Americans, because they had come to believe that "dogma divides, service unites." Many Americans believed it was best to let sleeping dogmas lie.

The other significant development was the rise of the Faith and Order movement. This movement was the opposite of the Life and Work movement. It represented a frank confrontation with the crucial theological differences between the churches. The original unity discussions in the sixteenth century had broken down on doctrinal points. At first, there was a great deal of hesitation about raising these issues again lest they disrupt the emerging harmony between denominations. Again Episcopalians led the way. The first Faith and Order Conference met in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1927. One hundred denominations were represented, and a surprisingly large amount of agreement was achieved. These various currents brought about the awakening of Christian unity in 1930, and led to the formation of both a National Council of Churches and a World Council of Churches.

Denominational Unions

As Christian churches became better acquainted with one another through serving together in ecumenical endeavors, it became increasingly clear that the range of doctrinal differences among them was far narrower than they had believed. But if the range of differences was far narrower than had been supposed, such was not the case where the depth theological differences was concerned. Tensions between the denominations appeared with greatest force at two points: the nature of the ministry (Apostolic or Evangelical), and the theory and practice of the sacraments (Real Presence or Memorial).

Despite these differences, some unions have taken place. Old and New School Presbyterians reunited in 1869-70. In 1918, three Lutheran denominations united to form the United Lutheran Church in America. In 1930, three more Lutheran synods formed the American Lutheran Church. In 1939, three Methodist groups formed The Methodist Church. In 1958, another Presbyterian group joined the first union to form the United Presbyterian Church in the USA. And in 1957 the United Church of Christ came about as the result of the merger of four denominational traditions: Congregational, Christian, Lutheran and Reformed, and two polities-- congregational and presbyterian--into one church. In 1969, the United Methodists resulted from a merger of Methodists and the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

From its early days, the ecumenical movement has had its critics. Some of them have come from the ranks of liberals who believed ecumenical theology to be too traditional and church union to involve too much centralization. Others have spoken on behalf of denominations where the understanding of the nature of the church does not permit unqualified recognition of other Christian bodies as true churches and therefore as they see it, does not allow them to participate in ecumenical endeavor. (Southern Baptists and Missouri Synod Lutherans). The most vigorous criticism of this movement, however, has come from the ranks of fundamentalists who saw the Federal, National, and World Councils of Churches as instruments of the modernists, and have been suspicious of them and their efforts. As a result some fundamentalists have formed the American Council of Christian Churches.

An Ecumenical and Liturgical Awakening

One aspect of ecumenism that I have not talked about is the role played by the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church was invited to attend the World Conference on Faith and Order at Lausanne, but it was declined by Pope Pius XI, who asserted that Christian unity already exists and the Roman Catholic Church is the center and source of that unity. He declared in an encyclical that "The Apostolic See can by no means take part in these assemblies, nor is it in any way lawful for Catholics to give to such enterprises their encouragement or support. If they did no, they would be giving countenance to a false Christianity quite alien to the one Church of Christ...All true followers of Christ, therefore, will believe the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God with the same faith as they believe the mystery of the august Trinity, the infallibility of the Roman Pontiff in the sense defined by the Oecumencial Vatican Council with the same faith they believe the Incarnation of our Lord." (Mortalium animos, 1928)

For Catholics, the movement toward dialogue with Protestants began in 1924 with the publication of Karl Adam's book Das Wesen des Katholizismus. In this volume Adam offered up the Biblical symbol of the Body of Christ as the best expression of the reality of Church, instead of the more traditional vision of the Kingdom of God. This new symbol (but one rooted in the Scriptures) offered a new way of thinking about the nature of the Church, and created an opportunity for discussions between Catholics and Protestants to make a fresh start.

At first, this fresh new approach to ecclesiology (the doctrine of the Church) was criticized by more traditional theologians, particularly Catholic thinkers shaped by the teaching of Pius XI. But in 1943, Pope Pius XII accepted this symbol, and made it the theme of his "great encyclical, Mystici Corporis Christi." According to Pius XII, the phrase "body of Christ" could be used to describe "the Body of the Church, which is the society whose Head and Ruler is Christ, from his physical Body which born of the Virgin Mother of God now sits at the right hand of the Father, and rests hidden under the Eucharistic veil." In 1949, the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office issued an "Instruction on the Ecumenical Movement" which affirmed the earlier encyclical, but allowed observers to go and report back on what was taking place at the various ecumenical gatherings.

This Catholic interest in viewing the church as the Body of Christ, has been reciprocated by Protestants. Within Protestantism, itself, there is considerable differences of opinion as to the nature of the Church. For instance, Quakers see much of what passes for Church as a human inventions, and worship in "meetings" where they gather in silence until the Spirit moves one to speak. While Anglo-Catholics in the Episcopal Church utilize a high liturgy that many Roman Catholics would be comfortable with.

The Neo-Orthodox movement has also fueled a renewed interest in worship and liturgy. In the Roman Catholic Communion, liturgical reform has been particularly pronounced. In the United States, Latin has been replaced in the liturgy with English as a result of the Second Vatican Council, and other reforms have been undertaken. A new lectionary has been prepared, and much energy has been invested in such expressions of worship as liturgical dance, and new forms of music.

A similar movement has also taken root in Protestant Churches. Almost every major denomination has issued new hymnals, and new books of worship. These have been designed to help enrich congregational worship, to make it more alive and vital.

Unfortunately, the movement towards a unified church may have reached its zenith. The National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches are becoming increasingly pressed financially, and lay-offs have occurred on a national level in these ecumenical agencies. There seems to be less interest today in ecumenism even though such breakthroughs as shared participation in ordinations are occurring. Methodist and Lutheran bishops--for instance--have carried out such ordinations. But if modern ecumenism is failing on an institutional level, it may be succeeding on a local level. For many people, denominations are becoming largely irrelevant. Instead, the focus is on finding a congregation of whatever denomination that meets a person's particular needs.