ON THE SEARCH FOR FULL, VISIBLE CHRISTIAN UNITY

This is 1,700-year anniversary of the Council of Nicea, the ecclesial gathering that bequeathed to the Church the Nicene Creed. This creed is accepted by virtually all Christian denominations and the anniversary of the council is bringing a renewed impulse to efforts to work towards church unity. Professor Jeftic’ will speak of the particular responsibility the Commission of the Faith and Order, which he leads, has within the World Council of Churches in working towards Church unity. He will explain that, in some ways, the Commission addresses the “hard” issues of how Christians continue to differ on matters of doctrine (Faith) and of Church organization (Order.) He will be frank about how the “ecumenical Spring” that occurred after Vatican II can sometimes seem to have become an “ecumenical winter”, with some Christians even questioning whether “full visible unity” is desirable. Over against such attitudes Prof. Jeftic’ will speak both about the practical steps of progress being made in ecumenical dialogue and about the importance of the hope in unity as a characteristic of authentic Christian faith today.