Ordering the Church: Ecumenism and the Three-Fold Ministry
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The shape of ordered ministry remains an ecumenical stumbling stone. There is a wide gap between churches ordered by the threefold ministry of bishop-priest-deacon and churches ordered by different patterns of ministry. It may be possible to narrow the gap by detecting a pervasive threefold ministry of episcope/keygma-didache/diakonos in both presbyterial and congregational ordered churches. That recognition can prompt ecumenical exchanges concerning the relationship between office and function. The case of Reformed and Presbyterian churches, among the least open to bishops, is examined, recovering the possibility of personal episcope that can open episcopal, presbyterial, and associational churches to deepening mutuality and forms of reconciliation.
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Ordering the Church: Ecumenism and the Three-Fold Ministry
In: EcclesiologySearch for other papers by Joseph D. Small in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
The shape of ordered ministry remains an ecumenical stumbling stone. There is a wide gap between churches ordered by the threefold ministry of bishop-priest-deacon and churches ordered by different patterns of ministry. It may be possible to narrow the gap by detecting a pervasive threefold ministry of episcope/keygma-didache/diakonos in both presbyterial and congregational ordered churches. That recognition can prompt ecumenical exchanges concerning the relationship between office and function. The case of Reformed and Presbyterian churches, among the least open to bishops, is examined, recovering the possibility of personal episcope that can open episcopal, presbyterial, and associational churches to deepening mutuality and forms of reconciliation.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 2592 | 81 | 6 |
| Full Text Views | 65 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 115 | 1 | 1 |
