Persistent link: https://iarccum.org/doc/?d=1722
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Thesis (DTh (Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology))–University of Stellenbosch, 2004.
This dissertation addresses the changing Anglican and Protestant perspectives on the subject of the papacy, their greatest ecumenical ‘thorn in the flesh’. Studying their important ecumenical materials, it observes how the papacy is being understood anew as a potentially positive ministry structure. It finds that these churches, in varying degrees, identify the need for and value of a universal ministry of unity in the church, and that the Petrine office may potentially be recognised in the future by these churches as a legitimate and propitious structure of Christian ministry, though not in its present form and manner of exercise.
There is currently a renewed ecumenical interest in the nature and function of the Petrine office for the broader community of churches. This dissertation addresses how Anglican and Protestant churches are treating the subject of the papacy, their greatest ecumenical ‘thorn in the flesh’, in the light of various contextual, theological, and methodological shifts in contemporary ecumenical life and thought.
A significant turning point in the relations of Anglican and Protestant churches with the Roman Catholic Church has been the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), which profoundly influenced their relationships by bringing Roman Catholicism into the modern ecumenical movement and, ipso facto, facilitating a new and constructive ecumenical discourse, as these churches committed themselves to overcoming old obstacles in new and creative ways. In this way, the longstanding stumbling block of the papacy was placed on the ecumenical agenda in their respective formal bilateral dialogues at the local, national, and international levels.
Another turning point in their relations was the release of the Lima document of 1982, which dealt with ministry as one of the three most church-dividing issues among Christians. In this way, it provided a theological entry point for exploring together the problem of the Petrine ministry. One of the most crucial turning points, however, was the papal encyclical of 1995, Ut Unum Sint, in which Pope John Paul II considered the subject of the papal office as an historical source of ecumenical division for Roman Catholics with other churches. The pope, however, proceeded not only to describe the ideal nature and value of this office, but apologised for the damage it had caused experientially among the churches, and then invited all churches with their leaders and theologians to engage with him in a new dialogue on the Petrine office and its ministry for the churches at large.
This study responds to each of these factors by analysing the ecumenical dialogue materials of these churches to gain an overview and insight vis-à-vis how these churches are talking about the papacy in recent decades. It learns, inter alia, that the churches in varying degrees are increasingly recognising the need for and value of a ministry of unity for the church universal, and in this regard are undergoing some changes in their perspectives on the papal office. The evidence points to the fact that the Petrine office may possibly be recognised in the future by these churches as a legitimate and propitious structure of Christian ministry, though not in its present form and manner of exercise.