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Cites the report of a consultation at the Irish School of Ecumenics in Dublin, Ireland in 1974 on problems of interchurch marriages. Anticipatory value of interchurch marriage; Theological aspects of interchurch marriages; Problem of mixed marriages in Ireland; Social and political factors affecting mixed marriages.

Discusses the nature of the quest for an African Christian theology and fundamental articles of the Christian faith in Africa. Reasons for the failure to create relevant and meaningful theologies; Sources for the development of African Christian theologies; Future agenda for the quest for African Christian theologies.

Focuses on the role of the Church and the Christian community in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Theme of assembly of the World Council of Churches at Nairobi; Congregation in the GDR and the ecumenical movement; Reasons for difference between the relationship of Christian faith to socialism before the revolution and after the seizure of power.

Suggests the importance of distinction and effectiveness of the World Council of Church as a council of the common people of God in ecumenical movements in the world. Role of study in fulfilling the stewardship of mankind; Aspects of transfer of power from limited to larger constituencies; Need for willingness to identify different criteria for authentic study.

Focuses on the traditional forms and transforming stages of the indigenous cultural energies in Asia. Sources of indigenous energies; Assessment of universalistic and particularistic element in Asian traditional culture; Innovation of traditional value systems in continuation of old symbols; Influence of Mahatma Gandhi on Sukarno.

Focuses on the theme of liberation in Africa. Colonization as form of alienation in Africa; Difference of the form of slavery from the one liberated by Jesus Christ; Arguments against violence in the national and international liberation movements and non-violence of Jesus Christ.

Analyzes the theme of the fifth assembly of the World Council of Churches in Nairobi, Kenya. Assessment of Christian freedom from the wrath of God, sin and death; Relation of Christian freedoms with political freedoms; Problem of the truth claims of religions and ideologies, and cultural relativity.

Editorial. Introduces a series of articles focusing on topics discussed in the fifth assembly of the central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC). Participants from various situations and different occupations; Problem on attitudes of address and response in the assembly; Expectations of various churches from assembly to be held in Nairobi.

Presents about several movements in the field of education in the world ecumenical movement. Formation of the World Student Christian Federation; World alliance of Young Men's Christian Associations; Role of World Council of Churches in educational movements.

Reports developments within the ecumenical movement as of January 1975. Obituary for David G. Moses, a former president of the World Council of Churches; Award of the Nelson Medal by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to bishop Helmut Frenz of the Lutheran Church in Chile; Celebration of the birth centenary of Bishop V.S. Azariah.

Presents statements from organizations within the ecumenical movement in 1974. Significance of Christmas; Condemnation of the summary execution of former ministers, officials and military officers in Etiopia; Threat to peace from the international economic order.

Reflects on structures of human captivity and the lines of human liberation. Patterns of human captivity; Relation between the churches and the poor; Servitude and servanthood of the Church; Implications for ecumenical structures.

The article offers news briefs on the World Council of Churches (WCC). The Fifth Assembly of the Council will be held in Nairobi, Kenya in 1975. The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches launches the Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society (EDCS) in 1974. The Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches pioneers the "Affirmation of Hope in Christ" study in 1975.

The table of contents for the Volume 9, Number 1, 1974 issue of the "Journal of Ecumenical Studies" is presented.

The table of contents for several issues of Ecumenical journals is presented including the 1973 issue of "The Ecumenist," the 1974 issue of the "International Review of Mission," and the 1974 issue of "Istina."

The article attempts to describe the unity of the Catholic Church confessed in the Creed and to understand it theologically in relation to Latin America's historical situation. Evidence shows the regrouping of the Christian community with people in different families being connected, loosely related, or ignorant of each other. It outlines important points to be studied about the tasks and possible steps in the struggle for the reconstitution of the church as part of the ecumenical movements.

The article presents update on the ecumenical movement. A review process was initiated by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, the parent the Theological Education Fund. The WCC Committee of the Unit on Justice and Service could debate on advertising and other recruitment practices in South Africa. A consultation on the study "The Bearing of Biblical Interpretation on Christian Attitudes to the Situation in the Middle East" took place in January 1974.

The article explores the role of the World Confessional Families (WCF) in the ecumenical movement and in the service of unity of the Catholic Church. It looks at the bilateral dialogues in the sense of theological conversations taken by churches, traditions, or confessional families, and their contribution to the search for unity. It considers the adoption of catholicity as a perspective to address questions affecting the WCFs.

An essays is presented on the unity of the church based on a Roman Catholic perspective of the Decree of Ecumenism. It considers five themes of the Decree of Ecumenism, which are Christ as the center of ecclesial communion, the ecumenical dialogue on equality, the end and the means toward unity, the indispensability ecclesial conversion, and the Church's statements of the faith. It looks into the process for achieving Christian communion and the important role of local churches in ecumenism.

The article reflects on the unity of the Church towards the Fifth Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The tension between the call to fellowship and the conflicting convictions of the churches is said to be important for the ecumenical movement. It states that a study of the concepts of unity and models of union might help advance toward the movement's goal.

An overview of various articles published within the issue of the journal related to the ecumenical movement is presented, including a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the whole church union movement, the dimensions of church unity, and the procedural, diplomatic equality of churches within the ecumenical movement.

This article summarises five theses presented and discussed at the fifth World Congress of Sociology, held at Evian, September 1966. The object of these theses is to trace the outlines of a non-theological and multi-disciplinary science of ecumenics. The author considers the set of relations (irenic or polemic) of different confessions and religions to each other, to be the proper object of ecumenology. After a critical examination of the main works and articles on the history and sociology of ecumenics, the autor draws attention to the need of differentiating inter-religious relations, and proposes a number of principles of classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining a list of eleven ecclesiastical denominations in three population groups the author posed the question of the possibility of salvation according to their faith, and their membership of the general body of Christians. The combination of replies enabled three categories to be distinguished; ecumenical, mixed (possibility of salvation for others outside the fold but rejection of ecumenicism), and anathematising of the non-member. The subjects interviewed represented one range of pentecostal ministers and another of 'traditional protestant' ministers, each comprising a distinct pastoral type relevant to a contrasting denominational type. A third group examined was composed of students of the Evangelical Faculty of Theology (Buenos Aires) which constituted a sub-type as a variant of that of the protestant pastors. The results confirm the principal hypothesis, that pentecostals are more categorical in their judgements and are more readily inclined to use anathema as a condemnation. At the same time, both pentecostals and protestants work together ecumenically and join together in rejecting Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons. A distinction in attitude is evident towards the Catholic Church; it is condemned under the same head as the preceding groups by the pentecostals, included in the general body of Christians by the students, and regarded in a variety of ways by the protestant ministers. The author considers this 'sociography of the ecumenical spirit' as a 'sociology of ecumenical practice'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed marriage is not only a pastoral problem but equally an ecumenical problem of the greatest importance. After showing that the present law is the final point of a long evolution since the Reformation, the author shows us the numerical importance of mixed marriage and demonstrates that it is not a source of more frequent divorce. In view of the serious obstacle that the present legislation on mixed marriage places in the way of the development of the Ecumenical Movement, a revision of this legislation ought to be undertaken by the Council in order to adapt it to the new situation caused by social and religious change. This legislation is only part of ecclesiastical law and so is in principle always open to review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on the few sociologically-informed studies of ecumenism that have been done are generally speculative rather than empirical. The most common hypotheses relate ecumenism to threats to organized religion, the decline in importance of church membership, and to a loss of concern for traditional Christian doctrines. This study of the membership of seven churches in a New England suburb investigates whether these factors are related, to attitudes of active church members toward ecumenism. The present study does not directly test the hypotheses linking ecumenism to threats to organized religion, the diminishing significance of church membership, and to a loss of belief in traditional Christian doctrines, but investigates whether these and other variables are related to attitudes toward ecumenism held by active church members. The data were obtained through questionnaires mailed to a randomly selected fourth of the membership of all the Protestant and Catholic churches in Lexington, Massachusetts.

A conference paper on the attempt of the Catholic Church to restore the unification between Catholics and Protestants through involvement in the Council of Trent is presented. It describes two approaches used by the Council to unite the two groups which include entrusting the cause of unity to the forum of the teaching Church and deliberating as a corporate body. It also mentions the significance of bringing out the full meaning of the papal invitations to attend the Council for both groups.

Stark and Glock, among others, argue that there is a general tendency in this country for persons to switch to denominations more liberal, theologically, than those of their parents. A closer look at their own data using a factor analytic technique, however, suggests that this hypothesis may be too simple. Denominational switching occurs essentially without reference to the liberal or conservative stance of the denominations involved, and changes of denomination are made in such a way as to preserve similarity along other dimensions. These other dimensions include a Protestant-Catholic cleavage, accessibility (in both the geographic and social status senses), and liturgy. No net intergenerational change in one direction or the other is observable along any of these dimensions. While switching does occur so as to maintain similarity along these dimensions, the direction of change along any one of them is essentially random. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights SODEPAX and its efforts to address the needs of the world. SODEPAX was born from the collaboration of the Catholic Church and the Protestant and Orthodox Churches together with the World Council of Churches to triumph social justice, development and peace. Integral development, rights of both men and women in the society and the development before and during evangelization are some of the issues discussed in SODEPAX conferences.

The table of contents for several ecumenical journals published in January 1974 is presented, which includes "The Ecumenist," "Mid-Stream" and "Sobornost."

The table of contents for several ecumenical journals is presented including the vol. 11, no.2 1973 issue of "The Ecumenist," the vol. XLVI, no. 2 1973 issue of "Irenikon," and the July 1973 issue of the "International Review of Mission."

The article presents updates concerning the ecumenical movement. It describes provisions of the Leuenberg Agreement finalized by Reformation Churches in Europe during a meeting held by delegates on March 16, 1973. Details of the April 1973 memorandum on arms trade issued by the Standing Committee of the French Episcopate and the Council of the French Protestant Federation are outlined. The proposed ecumenical initiative to encourage prayers for peace in Ireland is also discussed.

The author explores the goal of the ecumenical movement. Since the World Council of Churches (WCC) is deemed as a movement of churches, he stresses that the movement is focused on both the unity of the church and mankind. Pursuing real unity is part of the Gospel and signifies realization of God's Kingdom in Jesus Christ. He also explains the dangers associated with thinking that togetherness is already unity of the church itself and disappointment in the defensive disposition of togetherness.

The author explores the commitment of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to ecumenical fellowship. She discusses highlights of a debate concerning ecumenism, human issues and unity held during a WCC Central Committee meeting in Utrecht, Netherlands. She stresses that change within the fellowship is essential particularly with the involvement of absent constituencies. Committing to a community wider than ecclesiastical bounds is also considered a possibility in the context of fellowship.

The author explores issues relating to church institutionalism and the ecumenical movement. He addresses criticisms raised against the World Council of Churches (WCC) including allegations that the Christian fellowship institutional form is equivalent to betrayal of the Gospel. Due to the fact that the church is made up of imperfect human beings, institutional elements which include rules and agreed arrangements are deemed essential to guide them in performing functions imposed by the Gospel.

The author discusses guidelines to be considered in the quest of the ecumenical movement for authentic fellowship. With obedient faith, he cites that Christians should seriously participate in the mission of spreading the Gospel at both local and national levels. Maintaining a deep commitment to church service and proclamation of the Gospel is also expected from Christians. The need to develop additional forms of conciliarity such as the establishment of local ecumenical councils is also noted.

The author explores the mutual commitment of the ecumenical movement to fellowship. He discusses highlights of a previous debate held by World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and WCC Central Committee members over the purpose and commitment of the movement. He asserts that there is a measure of self-concern within the ecumenical fellowship aside from its concern for the integrity and liveliness of the organization. He also describes said commitment as self-regarding and all-embracing.

The author explores issues relating to conflict and reconciliation within the Christian community. He observes that since people involved in the ecumenical movement belong to different races and nationalities, conflict between them seems to come naturally. Although Christians tend to be involved in wars, he asserts that reconciliation is still possible. He also explains why it is important to expect and acknowledge that conflict is a part of the internal life of the Christian community.

The article discusses highlights of several 1973 meetings concerning ecumenism. Official representatives of Reformation Churches in Europe attended the Preparatory Assembly held in Switzerland for the drafting of an agreement between the churches. Human rights issues in Latin America were deliberated in a consultation held by church leaders in March 1973. Concerns over churches' advocacy of social development were addressed during the Conference on Power and Development in Puerto Rico.

The author explains how ecumenism became the test case of religious faith. He asserts that being ecumenical allows one to practice unity, holiness and apostolicity while expressing peace. With regard to the deficit of peace, he cites faith, love and hope as its important prerequisites. He also stresses the irrelevance of a Christianity that not only lacks credibility but also fails to relate to the increasing need of peace of mankind.

This section offers news briefs on the global ecumenical movement. A delegation of the Faith and Order Commission spent ten days in Yugoslavia in December 1972 for meetings with members of the Theological Faculty in Belgrade, Yugoslavia on the subject of "The Priesthood in the Church." A conference on the theme "Education for Mission... Slogans and Realities" was jointly convened by the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches on November 17-21, 1972.

The article presents an excerpt from a lecture by Jean-Marc Chappuis about the role of the French-speaking community in the ecumenical movement, on the occasion of the opening of the exhibition of ecumenical books and journals in French on October 5, 1972.

An introduction to the issue is presented wherein the author discusses various articles on topics including approaches to the general theme of institutional change, the role of the French-speaking community in the ecumenical movement, and World Council of Churches (WCC).

The table of contents of significant ecumenical journals is presented.

The article discusses a report presented to the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee in August 1972 in Utrecht, Netherlands. He provided information on Netherlands in terms of its involvement in the ecumenical movement and expounds why such country is a good choice for a WCC meeting. He also discussed various WCC issues including the importance of the Council to God and Man, the Roman Catholic Church and its relationship with WCC, and kairos.

This section offers news briefs on the ecumenical movement. The 12th session of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCR) met in Rome, Italy from May 29 to June 2, 1972. The West African Church Conference on Science, Technology, and the Future of Man and Society was held at the University of Ghana on March 24-30, 1972.

The article presents an update on the ecumenical movement. The Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) held a meeting in New Zealand on February 8-12, 1972. Members of the WCC Executive Committee visited member churches in Auckland, New Zealand and in Australia. A symposium sponsored by the WCC at an Evangelical Academy near Frankfurt, Germany asked the Council to block international financial aid to the Cunene River Scheme projected for Angola and Namibia.

The article analyzes the ecumenical thinking of theologian John Wesley in terms of Christian faith, unity, evangelism and mission. It looks into the basic principles of ecumenical action proposed by Wesley, including the distinction between true religion and opinions. It examines the factors in the life and thought of Wesley which proved solvents of his initial bigotry. It also investigates his translation of ecumenism from objective doctrine to Christian experience and practice.

A list of articles on Christian theology and ecumenical issues that were published in other journals in 1971 is presented which includes the "Communicating the Bible," by Paul D. Fueter in the "International Review of Mission," "Shared Church Premises," by Walter J. Hollenweger in the "One in Christ," and "Church and Society---Three Reports" in the "Study Encounter."

The article presents the speech by World Council of Churches' (WCC) General Secretary Eugene Carson Blake delivered at the Meeting of the Commission on Faith and Order in August 1971 in Louvain, Belgium. Blake spoke about the structure of the WCC. He responded to critics of the ecumenical movement. He also discussed the work of the Faith and Order movement.

The article details some of the issues discussed by the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order during its meeting in August 1971 in Louvain, Belgium. One is the response to the request of the Central Committee for a clarification of the idea suggested by the WCC Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden in 1968 regarding the conciliarity among WCC member churches. Another is the debate concerning the nature and future of the ecumenical movement.