Receiving the Vision: The Anglican-Roman Catholic Reality Today : A Study by the Third Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical Officers

After four hundred years of often acrimonious separation, Anglicans and Roman Catholics have slowly been rediscovering one another over the course of the past hundred years. This study highlights areas in which the two Churches interact and, sometimes, with the best of intentions, misunderstand one another. By balancing specific case studies with theological reflection this study encourages these Christians to deepen their relationship, not by covering over very real problems but by setting them in context. This book represents a new and much needed genre of ecumenical literature. Its case studies provide an overview of the interrelations in the United States of two Christian communions that is both comprehensive and concrete and combines theological responsibility and popular accessibility. The case studies span the gamut from mixed marriages and local covenants to problems of dissent, heresy, episcopal authority, and women's ordination. They will open the eyes of neophytes and instruct the well-informed. Not only Anglicans and Roman Catholics but other denominations will learn much about how to look at their own ecumenical situations. This study was prepared by the Third Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical Officers, National Association of Diocesan Ecumenical Officers."This book belongs in the library of everyone interested in ecumenism, the Anglican-Roman Catholic relationship today, and the dynamics and difficulties of the process of 'reception.'" Theological Studies