Introduction
Selected by Fr. Ernest Falardeau, SSS
Since the end of the Second Vatican Council the books, articles and documents published by the churches and by the World Council of Churches and national councils as well as by individual articles has grown to the size of a well-stocked library. These works are both official and theological, personal and unofficial, the work of commissions and bi- lateral dialogues at the international, national and local levels.
Trying to put together a meaningful and useful list of works that would be helpful to all who might want to develop understanding of the status and progress of the ecumenical movement at the present time is a tall order. Nevertheless, I believe by trying to give a short list of significant works that could help guide one forward, I am selecting and annotating some of the works and internet links that I believe can be useful.
Documentation Documents of Vatican II
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio) Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions(Nostra Aetate) Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae)
(These documents can be obtained online from the Vatican website. Austin Flannery, OP is the General Editor of the most quoted edition: Vatican Council II; the Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents. Northport, NY: Costello Publ.©1975, 1981.)
World Council of Churches (Convergence Documents)
Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry. Faith and Order Paper #111. Geneva, World Council of Churches, 1982.
Bi-lateral Dialogue Documents
Growth in Agreement Series (published by the Paulist Press) this series gathers together the agreed statements and papers of various dialogues especially between the Catholic Church and other dialogue partners (churches and ecclesial communities) beginning with the Orthodox conversations in the mid-1960’s to those of more recent years.
Tomos Agapis: Patriarch and Pope. Vatican/ Phanar 1958-1970 Rome.: Vatican City Press, 1971. .
(Tomos Agapis) Towards the healing of schism: the Sees of Rome and Growth in Agreement: Reports and Agreed Statements of Ecumenical Conversations on a World Level, ed. Harding Meyer and Lukas Vischer (Faith and Order Paper, no. 108; New York: Paulist Press; Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1984).
Growth in Agreement II: Reports and Agreed Statements of Ecumenical Conversations on a World Level, 1982-1998, ed. Jeffrey Gros, Harding Meyer, and William G. Rusch (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans; Geneva: WCC Publications, 2000).
Growth in Agreement III: International Dialogue Texts and Agreed Statements, 1998-2005, ed. Jeffrey Gros, Thomas F. Best, and Lorelei F. Fuchs (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans; Geneva: WCC Publications, 2007)
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, etc.
Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement. Edit. by Nicholas Lossky, et al. Geneva: WCC Publications, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.
O’Brien, T. C., Corpus Dictionary of Western Churches. Washington/Cleveland: Corpus Publications, 1970
Inroductions
Introduction to Ecumenics. By Jeffrey Gros, FSC, Eamon McManus and Ann Riggs. New York: Paulist Press, 1998. 256p.
Motterf, Alton M. Ecumenism 101 : A Handbook about the Ecumenical Movement. Cincinnati, OH: Forward Movement Publ.1997.
Falardeau, Ernest. That All May Be One: Catholic Reflections on Chrisitan Unity. New York, Paulist Press, 2000.
Constantinople : public statements and correspondence between the Holy See and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, 1958-1984 edited and translated by E.J. Stormon; introduction by Thomas F. Stransky. Published 1987 by Paulist Press in New York . Written in English.
Biography
Stjepan Schmidt, SJ. Augustin Bea: the Cardinal of Unity. transl. from the Italian by Leslie Wearne. New Rochelle, NY: New City Press, 1992.
Bonnot, Bernard R. Pope John XXIII: An Astute, Pastoral Leader. New York: Alba House, 1979.
Frossard, Andre and Pope John Paul II. “Be Not Afraid!”: Pope John Paul II speaks out on his life, his beliefs, and his inspiring visiton for humanity. Translated from the French by J.R. Foster. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1984
Internet Links: World/International Organizations
www.vatican/va (select curia, Pontifical Councils: Pontif. Council for Promoting Christian Unity). The documents to be found at this link are official statements of the PCPCU (formerly the Secretariat for Christian Unity) and include abundant material from all the major international statements of the Vatican and from Bi-lateral dialogues with a large number of international churches and ecclesial communities, etc.)
www.oikoumene.org (World Council of Churches resources, publications)
National Organizations
www.paulist.org/unity/koinonia (Newsletter of the Paulist Fathers published about four times a year and edited by Fr. Thomas Ryan, CSP.)
Eucharist and Unity
Congar, Yves M.R., OP. Lay People in the Church, translated by Donald Attwater, London: Chapman, 1965.
John Paul II, Pope. Ecclesia de Eucharistia. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2003 (English transl. Washington: USCC, 2003).
Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The Mystery of the Church and the Eucharist in the Light of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. Rome: Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, 1982.
Kasper, Walter Cardinal. Harvesting the Fruits: Basic Aspects of Christian Faith in Ecumenical Dialogue. New York/London: Continuum, 2009.
O’Gara, Margaret. The Ecumenical Gift Exchange. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1998.
Schillebeeckx, Edward, OP. Christ the Sacrament of the Encounter with God. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1963.
Smith, Gordon T., ed. The Lord’s Supper: Five Views. Kowner’s Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008.
Tillard, Jean, OP. The Eucharist: Pasch of God’s People. New York: Alba House, 1967.
Ware, Timothy. The Orthodox Church. New edition. New York/London: Penguin Books, 1997.
World Council of Churches. Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry. Faith and Order paper #111. Geneva: WCC, 1982.
World Council of Churches. Nature and Mission of the Church: A Stage on the Way to a Common Statement. Faith and Order paper #198, Geneva: 2005.
Zizioulas, John D. Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1985.
Communion and Otherness: Further Studies in Personhood and the Church. Edited by Paul McPartlan. London: T&T Clark, 2006.
Eucharist, Bishop, Church: The Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop During the First Three Centuries. Translated by Elizabeth Theokritoff. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2001.
