Visible Church-Visible Unity: Ecumenical Ecclesiology and "the Great Tradition of the Church"

by Ola Tjorhom, Geoffrey Wainwrigh (Foreword)

In Visible Church—Visible Unity Ola Tjørhom explores central questions in current ecclesiological and ecumenical debates from the perspective of an evangelical catholicity of "the Great Tradition of the Church." Tjørhom shows how the fundamental visibility of the Church and the similarly visible nature of Church fellowship is a corrective cover against "invisible" perceptions of these entities. This theme of visibility is developed in view of the sacraments, the ministries, and the mission of the Church. Visible Church—Visible Unity includes "Chapter 1: Toward the End of the Reformation Project? The Riddle of Protestantism," "Chapter 2: ‘The Great Tradition of the Church’—An Old Way Forward?" "Chapter 3: The Church—Mother of Faith and Priest of Creation," "Chapter 4: The Goal of Visible Unity—Reaffirming Our Commitment," and "Chapter 5: Life in the Spirit—Toward a ‘Materialist’ Spirituality."

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Axel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming as a former professor and priest in the Church of Norway who made the conversion to Roman Catholicism, Dr. Tjorhom adds a valuable perspective, especially for Christians of the "Great Tradition" - (Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican Communion and Lutheran) and a meaningful contribution into what it means to be Church together in spite of our long division. Bucking traditional Roman Catholic criticisms of Lutheranism and Anglicanism around the historical priesthood (his discussion of Bugenhagen's supervisors in Denmark and Norway is very welcome), but also challenging Lutherans in particular for a negligence around both the priesthood and the sacraments in the pietistic tradition (while not necessarily throwing pietism out of the window), there's a lot of worthwhile stuff in here.

But there's also a lot of really questionable content as well - most glaringly on the subject women's ordination in Protestant traditions. Tjorhom links it to a pietistic infringement upon the Great Tradition. Maybe there could be some truth to this link in an earlier Norwegian context - but this is certainly not the case in wider Lutheranism.

Whatever the case, it's a worthwhile read for those who want to understand ecumenism and ecclesiology from a knowledgable and experienced perspective who wants to maintain some good standing in both the high-church Protestant and Roman Catholic world.