Cruciform Ecumenism

The truth claims of Christianity appear compromised by the division of Christ’s followers into different denominations. The Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20) calls Christians to spread the Gospel, but that goal is hindered as the church remain fractured. What, then, keeps Christians separated, retreating to their corners labeled “Catholic,” “Orthodox,” “Protestant,” and the like? Building on the great ecumenical work of Christians in generations past, Elizabeth M. Smith Woodard accounts for Christian disunity in terms of ecclesiology (how each group of Christians understands the definition of what it means––or what it looks like––to be “the Church”), episcopacy (the significance of the historic succession of bishops in relation to the authority of Church leadership and oversight), and apostolicity (what it means to claim that the Church today is the same Church Christ handed on to the apostles): in brief, Who are we? Who is in charge? And are we who we say we are? Smith-Woodard argues that the controversial issues dividing Christians today––abortion, gay marriage, the role of women, Eucharistic theology––stem from these questions of authority and identity. What would it look like, Smith-Woodard asks, if Christians did not insist on making any “others” more “like us,” but instead worked toward all of “us” becoming more and more like Christ? She answers that growing in cruciformity should serve as the basis for unity Using recent unity-achieving Anglican-Lutheran discussions as a case study, she examines the crucial intersection of ecclesiology, episcopacy, and apostolicity to argue that Christians grow in Christ’s mission and receptive heart as they continue to grow in cruciformity. Christ isthe heart of true ecumenical work, and of a truly Christian life.