ABSTRACT
This study began with a question: has modern ecumenism developed in such a way as to create the reasonable expectation of sustainable convergence amongst the separated denominations on the doctrine of the Church – the essential requirement of the movement’s ultimate goal of Christian reconciliation and benchmark of its success or failure? Such convergence, we argued, would require a credible account of the empirical phenomenon of multiple Churches in relation to one another, given that all mainstream Churches now have come more explicitly than ever before to acknowledge the genuinely ecclesial character of Christian worshipping communities beyond their own immediate jurisdiction or communion: given, that is, the recognition that each separated denomination has at least some legitimate claim to authentic ecclesial status. The kind of thought required would also need to explain credibly the multiplicity of Churches in light of the unity of God’s people in Christ – their common life in the una sancta as proclaimed in scripture, tradition, creed and worship. How successfully, in other words, has modern ecumenism handled the problem of identifying the authentic People of God, the true Church of Christ, in and amongst these multiple worshipping communities and how successfully has it characterized the means through which the authority to proclaim the Gospel is realized and exercised within this context?
