The attitude of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) towards the Papal Encyclicals after the year 1965. Its relations with the Roman Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. (ePub)

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2012 in the subject Theology - Historic Theology, Ecclesiastical History, grade: Summa cum laude, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (FACULTY OF THEOLOGY SCHOOL OF PASTORAL AND SOCIAL THEOLOGY), language: English, abstract: In summary the main points of this PhD thesis could be listed as follows:
- The Evangelical Church in Germany and the RC Church in Germany after 1965 are compared by an orthodox theologian.
- The structures of the Churches under investigation and the ecclesiastical institutions or coalitions are presented.
- Texts are studied, especially magazine articles and sources, mostly unknown to the orthodox theologians, for a period spreading from just before the Second Vatican Council up to the present.
- The relations of the protestants and the Roman Catholics of Germany are investigated and interpreted through the attitude of the Evangelical Church of Germany towards the encyclicals of the Pope of Rome after the conclusion of the Vatican Council (1965) and thereafter, as well as through the common papers of the bilateral dialogues and the recent ecumenical movement in Germany.
- The recent developments of the ecumenical movement in Germany and the main issues of the discussions.
- The theological areas of conflict or agreement of both sides on the basis of their texts and their general attitude on socio-moral issues.
- The recent developments on the formation of the ecclesiastical scene in Germany.
- The contribution of Orthodoxy in Germany at present and in the future.
- The formation of a consciousness 'ecumenical movement of the profiles' and the mitigation of the conviction for the actual unification of the Churches.