The Quest for Unity: Orthodox and Catholics in Dialogue : Documents of the Joint International Commission and Official Dialogues in the United States, 1965-1995 [Paperback]

John Borelli (Editor), John H. Erickson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996

Since 1965 Catholics and Orthodox in North America have been engaged in official theological dialogue. Since 1980 such dialogue has also proceeded at the highest international level. What has been accomplished during these decades of dialogue? What issues have been addressed? What obstacles to full communion remain? In addition to gathering together the agreed statements of these dialogues and placing them in historical context, The Quest for Unity analyzes the major themes which have emerged: the centrality of the Eucharist as sign of full communion, the nature of the Church's unity, the place of the sacrament of orders in the life of the Church, primacy and conciliarity and their implications for relations among churches, and - of special interest in the North American context - the issue of mixed marriage. This unique work, itself a remarkable example of Catholic-Orthodox collaboration, presents the history and current state of dialogue between the churches in an even-handed and dispassionate way. While serving as an invaluable resource for the specialist, it also is addressed to a wide audience - pastors, students, study groups, and all who are concerned about issues of Christian unity today.

Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: St Vladimirs Seminary Pr (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881411132
• ISBN-13: 978-0881411133
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,380,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Reference, but a difficult read., February 3, 2003

By 

Michael J. Skarpelos (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Quest for Unity: Orthodox and Catholics in Dialogue : Documents of the Joint International Commission and Official Dialogues in the United States, 1965-1995 (Paperback)

This book contains the official pronouncements of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church (hereafter the Joint International Commission). It also contains comments on those pronouncements and additional statements by the U.S. Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation (hereafter the U.S. Theological Consultation). Additionally, it contains pronouncements of the U.S. Joint Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops and the Metropolitan New York/New Jersey Orthodox-Roman Catholic Dialogue.

The editors have done a magnificent job providing historical background and appropriate introductory context for the various official pronouncements. They write in a clear and succinct style accessible to the lay reader.

Unfortunately the official pronouncements themselves all too often use specialized theological vocabulary and purposely vague phrasing reminiscent of diplomatic prose. The statements of the Joint Commission are the worst. Turgid does not begin to describe the prose style of those pronouncements, and a typical lay reader will find them unreadable. The U.S. Theological Consultation said as much in their response to those documents. The pronouncements also apparently suffered poor translations from French to English. Fortunately the U.S. Theological Consultation had its own French to English translators who caught the errors.

In short, the book serves as an excellent reference for the various official pronouncements, and the introductory material is terrific, but the pronouncements themselves are difficult to read, and the ones of the Joint International Commision in particular are impossible to read.