Anglican-Methodist Ecumenism: The Search for Church Unity, 1920-2020

Description

This book offers a detailed analysis of one of the key episodes of twentieth-century ecumenism, focusing on the efforts made to reconcile the Church of England and the Methodist Church of Great Britain in the years since the First World War. Drawing on newly available archives as well as a broad range of historical, theological, and liturgical expertise, the contributions explore what was attempted, why success proved elusive, and how the quest for unity was reconfigured into the twenty-first century. The volume sets contemporary ecumenical ambitions in historical context, explains the origins, course, and aftermath of the Anglican-Methodist ‘Conversations’ of 1955-72, retrieves their enduring global legacy, and explores the fraught nature of the ecumenical quest. It will be of key interest to to scholars with an interest in ecumenism, Methodist studies, and church history. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of figures and tables List of Contributors Foreword Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 The Long View of Anglican–Methodist Unity Chapter 3 Anglican Ecumenism and the Problems of the ‘Historic Episcopate’ Chapter 4 Church, Episcopacy and Ecumenism: Debates about order, authority and ambiguity in the Anglican–Methodist Conversations Chapter 5 The Major Participants and their Actions in the Anglican–Methodist Conversations: The First Stage 1956–63 Chapter 6 Theology, Providence and Anglican–Methodist Reunion: The case of Michael Ramsey and E.L. Mascall1 Chapter 7 Evangelical Dissentients and the Defeat of the Anglican–Methodist Unity Scheme Chapter 8 Fighting for Methodism’s Soul: The Voice of Methodism Association, 1963–721 Chapter 9 ‘An Umbrella for all Dissenters’?: The National Liaison Committee, 1965–82 Chapter 10 Grassroots Methodism and the Anglican–Methodist Conversations Chapter 11 Anglican–Methodist Relations in the Context of the British Army Chapter 12 The Anglican-Methodist Service of Reconciliation and the Ordinal of 1968 Chapter 13 Developments since 1972 Index