Has the search for "consensus" in the dialogues of the Christian churches turned out to be a dead end street? Should the churches not rather start to emphasize their own respective "profile" more strongly? The paper examines Ulrich Körtner's thesis that recently a "paradigm change" "from ecumenism of consensus to ecumenism of differences" has taken place. According to Körtner, the plurality of denominations is at the same time a negative result of sinful selfishness, as it is a positive expression of the variety of creation and the polyphony of the Holy Spirit's gifts. Thus, neither simply conserving denominational identity, nor trying to overcome the separation of churches is good or bad in itself. Ecumenical dialogues, as Körtner puts it, should aim at leading churches to acknowledge that they need each other "to become whole" , and to find so much common ground, that they can share Holy communion. The search for visible unity of the "people of God" , however, according to Körtner, is limited by the fact that the Jews necessarily are part of this people. With reference to the dialogues of the churches, nevertheless, the paper interprets Körtner's concept as rather continuing than overcoming the idea of "ecumenism of consensus".

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Personen: Oberdorfer, Bernd

Schlagwörter: Ökumene Interkonfessionelles Gespräch

Interessenkreis: Kirche