Orthodoxy and Ecumenism

CONTENTS: Orthodoxy and the Orthodox - A fresh theological vision of ecumenism - Problems faced by Orthodoxy vis-à-vis ecumenism - Negotiating Orthodox discomfort towards ecumenism - A new Orthodox paradigm for approaching ecumenism - The consubstantial humanity.

Razvan Porumb is currently Lecturer in Ecumenism and Practical Theology and Vice-Principal of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (IOCS), Cambridge. He has taken his doctorate through the Cambridge Theological Federation and IOCS, where he has been as a researcher and a member of staff for more than twelve years.

«This is a sensitive, erudite and original essay on Orthodox attitudes to ecumenism. It deals very thoroughly with many of the contemporary anxieties expressed by the Orthodox about ecumenical involvement and offers a fresh and very rich theological perspective, deeply rooted in recent Eastern Christian thought (not least the theology of the great Fr Dumitru Staniloae), opening up new possibilities for understanding ecumenical dialogue without relativising or sacrificing fundamental commitments. It is a welcome and creative contribution to both ecumenical and Orthodox theology.» (The Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams, Magdalene College, Cambridge University, Former Archbishop of Canterbury)







«This is an invaluable resource for anyone wishing to better understand - from the inside - Orthodox theological tensions around ecumenism. But the book moves well beyond old stalemates. Razvan Porumb proposes that all Churches see themselves as part of a 'consubstantial humanity,' engaged with each other in all their diversity and journeying together on a transformational path toward theosis. A refreshing and hopeful vision of what the movement toward Christian unity could be.» (The Very Revd Dr John A. Jillions, St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Former Chancellor, Orthodox Church in America)