Ecumenical Dialogues
Ecumenical dialogues are official theological talks between two or more churches or families of churches aimed at overcoming the inherited divergences, often related to doctrine and church order, that separate them.
Through international bilateral and multilateral dialogues, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches helps to foster deeper understanding and broader cooperation among different church families and to make available to the whole church of Christ the gifts of Reformed faith and life. Here is an overview of the ecumenical work accomplished by the Alliance in the past decades. The reports of ecumenical dialogues are available for download here or in the Ecumenical Reformed Library.
| Report: |
| Publications: "Report of the International Theological Dialogue between the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches", Reformed World, 55(1), March 2005, pp. 28-37. |
| Report: |
| Publications: "Christianity in the African Context", Reformed World, 55(1), March 2005, pp. 38-54. |
| Final Report: God's Reign and Our Unity |
| Publications: God's Reign and Our Unity - The Report of the Anglican-Reformed International Commission 1981-1984, London-Edinburgh, SPCK-Saint Andrews, 1984, 90 pp. God's Reign and Our Unity - The Report of the Anglican-Reformed International Commission 1981-1984, in J. Gros et al. Growth in Agreement II, Geneva-Grand Rapids, WCC-Eerdmans, 2000, pp. 114-154. |
| Final Report: Report of theological conversations sponsored by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Baptist World Alliance |
| Publications: Report of theological conversations sponsored by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Baptist World Alliance, 1973-77, Geneva-Washington, WARC-BWA, 21 pp. Report of theological conversations sponsored by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Baptist World Alliance, 1973-77, in H. Meyer and L. Vischer (eds), Growth in Agreement, New York-Geneva, Paulist-WCC, 1984, pp. 131-151. |
| Report: Towards Closer Fellowship |
| Publications: A. Sell (ed.), Reformed and Disciples of Christ in Dialogue, Geneva, WARC, 1985, 63 pp. "Report of the International Disciples of Christ/Reformed Dialogue held in Birmingham, United Kingdom, March 4-11, 1987", Reformed World, 39(8), December 1987, pp. 829-841. Towards Closer Fellowship - Report of the Dialogue between Reformed and Disciples of Christ, Geneva, WARC, 1988, 16 pp. Towards Closer Fellowship - Report of the Dialogue between Reformed and Disciples of Christ, in J. Gros et al. Growth in Agreement II, Geneva-Grand Rapids, WCC-Eerdmans, 2000, pp. 176-186. |
| Reports: |
| Publications: "Consultation between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council", Executive Committee Minutes 2002, Geneva, WARC, 2002, p. 36. "Report and Recommendation - Consultation between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council", Executive Committee Minutes 2003, Geneva, WARC, 2003, pp. 43-45. |
| Reports: |
| Publications: "Communiqué of Lutheran-Reformed Joint Study Committee", The Reformed and Presbyterian World, 30(1), March 1968, p. 29. "Report of the Lutheran/Reformed Joint Committee", Nairobi 1970 - Proceedings of the Uniting General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Geneva, Offices of the Alliance, 1970, pp. 196-203. "Lutheran Reformed Joint Committee", Reformed World, 23(7), September 1975, pp. 314-320. "Report of the Department of Theology", WARC Executive Committee Minutes 1981, Appendix XVII, pp. 49-51. "Report of the Department of Theology as Approved by the General Council", Ottawa 1982 - Proceedings of the 21st General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Geneva, WARC, 1983, p. 165. |
| Report: Toward Church Fellowship |
| Related Publications: Toward Church Fellowship, Geneva, LWF-WARC, 1989, 71 pp. L. Vischer (ed.), Rowing in One Boat - A Common Reflection on Lutheran-Reformed Relations Worldwide, Geneva, John Knox Center, 1999, 87 pp. |
| Related Publications: Called to Communion and Common Witness - Report of the Joint Working Group between the Lutheran World Federation and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Geneva, LWF-WARC, 2002, 53 pp. |
| Report: |
| Publications: Mennonites and Reformed in Dialogue, Geneva, WARC, 1986, 89 pp. R. T. Bender and A. P. F. Sell (eds), Baptism, Peace and the State in the Reformed and Mennonite Traditions, Waterloo (Canada), W. Laurier University Press, 1991, 247 pp. |
| Report: |
| Publications: "Report of the Methodist/Reformed Consultation", Reformed World, 38(8), December 1985, pp. 444-447, 452. "Together in God's Grace", Reformed World, 39(8), December 1987, pp. 823-829. Reformed and Methodists in Dialogue, Geneva, WARC, 1988, 16 pp. "Together in God's Grace", in J. Gros et al. Growth in Agreement II, Geneva-Grand Rapids, WCC-Eerdmans, 2000, pp. 270-274. |
| Agreed Statement and Report: Agreed Statement on Christology - 1994 Report of the International Theological Dialogue between the Oriental Orthodox Family of Churches and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches 1993-2001 |
| Publications: H. Wilson (ed.), Oriental Orthodox-Reformed Dialogue - The First Four Sessions, Geneva, WARC, 1998, 56 pp. "Agreed Statement on Christology", in J. Gros et al. Growth in Agreement II, Geneva-Grand Rapids, WCC-Eerdmans, 2000, pp. 291-294. "Report of the International Theological Dialogue between the Oriental Orthodox Family of Churches and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches 1993-2001", Reformed World, 55(1), March 2005, pp. 8-27. |
| Agreed Statements, Summaries and Drafts: Agreed Statement on the Holy Trinity - 1992 Agreed Statement on Christology - 1994 Summary of Discussions on the Identity and Unity of the Church, 1996 The Church as the Body of Christ, Revised Common Draft - 1998 Membership and Incorporation into the Body of Christ - Common Statement, 2000 The Holiness of the Church - A Common Statement, 2003 The Catholicity and Mission of the Church - A Common Statement, 2005 |
| Publications: T. F. Torrance (ed.), Theological Dialogue between Orthodox and Reformed Churches, Edinburgh, Scottish Academic Press, 1985, 158 pp. T. F. Torrance (ed.), Theological Dialogue between Orthodox and Reformed Churches (volume 2), Edinburgh, Scottish Academic Press, 1993, 232 pp. T. F. Torrance, Trinitarian Perspectives: Toward Doctrinal Agreement, Edinburgh, 1994, 149 pp. L. Vischer (ed.), Agreed Statements from the Orthodox-Reformed Dialogue, Geneva, WARC, 1998, 60 pp. The Greek Orthodox Theological Review, 43(1-4), 1998, 686 pp. J. Gros et al. Growth in Agreement II, Geneva-Grand Rapids, WCC-Eerdmans, 2000, pp. 275-294. |
| Report: |
| Publications: "Word and Spirit, Church and World", Reformed World, 50(3), September 2000, pp. 128-156. "Word and Spirit, Church and World", Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies, 4(1), January 2001, pp. 41-72. |
| The Prague Consultations on the First, Radical and Second Reformations - 1984-2003 |
| Reports: The Heritage of the First and Radical Reformations (Prague I 1986) Eschatology and Social Transformation (Prague II 1987) Christian Faith and Economics (Prague III 1989) Towards a Renewed Dialogue (Prague IV 1994) Justification and Sanctification (Prague V 1998) New Life in Christ (Prague VI 2000) |
| Publications: M. Opocenský (ed.), Towards a Renewed Dialogue, Geneva, WARC, 1996, 199 pp. M. Opocenský and P. Réamonn (eds), Justification and Sanctification in the Traditions of the Reformation, Geneva, WARC, 1999, 280 pp. |
| Reports: Report of the WARC-REC Meetings 1998-2002 World Reformed Communion - A Proposal for a New Global Entity for Reformed Christians 2005 |
| Report: The Theology of Marriage and the Problem of Mixed Marriages |
| Related Publications: "The Theology of Marriage and the Problem of Mixed Marriages", in H. Meyer and L. Vischer (eds), Growth in Agreement, New York-Geneva, Paulist-WCC, 1984, pp. 277-306. |
| Final Report: The Presence of Christ in Church and World |
| Related Publications: "The Presence of Christ in Church and World", Reformed World, 35(5), 1981. "The Presence of Christ in Church and World", in H. Meyer and L. Vischer (eds), Growth in Agreement, New York-Geneva, Paulist-WCC, 1984, pp. 434-463. |
| Final Report: Towards a Common Understanding of the Church |
| Related Publications: Towards a Common Understanding of the Church, Geneva, WARC, 1991. Col. Studies, no. 21 "Towards a Common Understanding of the Church", in J. Gros et al. Growth in Agreement II, Geneva-Grand Rapids, WCC-Eerdmans, 2000, pp. 780-818. From Roots to Fruits - Protestants and Catholics Towards a Common Understanding of the Church, Geneva, WARC, 1998, 192 pp. |
| Final Report: The Church as Community of Common Witness to the Kingdom of God |
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