Robert W. Jenson examines communio ecclesiology, describing ecumenical thought on this ecclesiology and developing it in a number of areas. David S. Yeago proposes a new way of reading Luther, suggesting that the shift in Luther's thought actually brought him closer to the church's catholic tradition. Frank C. Senn discusses the Reformers' changes to the order of the mass, which restored the people's participation and regular preaching on biblical texts. Carl E. Braaten explores the problems that arise from the lack of an office of teaching authority in Protestant churches. James R. Crumley examines various perspectives on the office of pastor, seeking to clarify the notion of ministry in the catholic tradition. Robert L. Wilken looks at Pietism, showing that this movement sought to recover lost aspects of medieval spirituality and called for a deepening of personal piety. Finally, Gunther Gassmann discusses the ways in which the church universal is and should be a communion of churches.
"These essays try to rescue the term catholic from exclusive association with Roman Catholicism. Written from a Lutheran orientation, they plead for an evangelical
catholicity. The authors cover such main themes as liturgy and ministry, and a survey of some of the texts used by Barth reveals a close affinity between Lutheran Pietism and catholic piety." -- GEOFFREY W. BROMILEY
CARL E. BRAATEN is executive director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology in Northfield, Minnesota.
ROBERT W. JENSON is professor of religion at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and associate director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology.