Us and Them Ecumenism

Last updated on: January 28, 2009 at 2:40 pm by Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Us and Them Ecumenism 2009-01-28T14:40:00-05:00 Fr. Dwight Longenecker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

An Anglo Catholic priest in England makes observations about ecumenism here, and they got me thinking.

While we must work for the final goal that we may all be one in Christ, it seems obvious that before we can do much fruitful work in ecumenism, that we need further work on ecclesiology. In other words, how can we have a united church if we are not sure what the church actually is?

As a convert from Evangelical Christianity, and then Anglicanism I can affirm that one of the biggest differences in becoming Catholic is to deal with the Catholic understanding of the Church.

There are two concepts of church which both Catholics and Protestants accept, but they accept them in a totally different way. The two concepts are Catholic and Congregational. They might also be called Universal and Local or ‘Us’ and ‘Them.

Protestants focus on the Congregational, the Local and the ‘Us’ while Catholics put the Catholic, Universal and ‘Them’ first. Protestants look first to their local church, their local congregation and fellowship and think that is most important. They acknowledge that the whole Body of Christ is bigger than their local church (at least most of them do) They accept that there is a Catholic, Universal ‘Them Out There’ aspect to the Church, but they think it is invisible. The Universal Church is composed of ‘all those who have faith in Jesus Christ known to God alone.’

Because the universal church is ‘invisible’ and known to God alone, most Protestants don’t care a button about visible church unity. Their own local congregation is what matters, and they honestly don’t see a problem with the fact that there are tens of thousands of Protestant denominations. For them all the denominations are simply necessary evils. “You have to worship somewhere, so join the local church you like best.” They think it is an incredible claim that anyone would suggest that one church is ‘better’ or ‘more true’ than another, because what really matters is ‘how much you love Jesus’. The Church you go to is really an irrelevance. Consequently, Protestants are also not much concerned about ecumenism.

This is why when I lived in England after one of the tiresome weeks for prayer for Christian unity I was having lunch with the parish priest and he said in an exasperated way, “The problem with the Protestants is they think the ecumenical movement has been a great success because now we talk to one another and are nice to one another. They never wanted visible unity in the first place, and don’t think it matters. They think we’ve completed the journey and I think we’ve only just made a very tentative start.”

Catholics really do believe that the ideal of visible, historical unity is not only desirable, but possible, and not only possible, but necessary, and if it takes a very long time, well, we’ve been here a long time, and we’ll be here for a lot longer, and it is worth working on. We believe visible unity is possible because, while we focus on the Catholic, the Universal and the ‘Them’, we don’t think it is invisible. We think this Universal Church is real and historical and identifiable and that it consists in the Catholic Church, and you can find one in your local town. It is St Agatha’s or St Agnes or St Anne’s in Anytown. You can go there and kneel down and pray and light a candle, or go to confession or Mass and you are not only in touch with the Universal Church. You’re in one.

Catholics have a ‘both/and’ ecclesiology. The Church is a local congregation, but it is Catholic first, and that is what gives validity to the local congregation. The Universal Church is Local too, and Fr Hoolihan is there every Sunday preaching long homilies and celebrating the sacraments. The ‘Us’ of the local church and the ‘Them’ of the universal church are combined, and what Fr Hoolihan teaches in St Agatha’s, Anytown is the same that the Holy Father teaches in Rome (or at least it should be)

I have to admit that if I were making up an ecclesiology I would probably have come up with the Protestant version. It is more rational and sensible. It may be more rational, but it is far less like a Church.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 28, 2009

St Thomas Aquinas

Next Post

January 28, 2009 Global Warming Hits Britain!!!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anglican Matters Apologetics Architecture Blobble Study Book Reviews Brideshead Caitlin O'Rourke Catholic Art Catholic Culture Church Politics Chust for Nice Contemporary Culture Duane Mandible Ed Blanch Film Reviews Fr Harvey Nicolaitan Frank Viola Mantilla the Hon More Christianity Mrs Brady Catholic Old Lady Mystery of the Magi Norman Anderson Queen Hillary Saints and Supernatural Spirituality The Inklings The Vicar Theology Todd Unctuous Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz