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Extract From preface.....
... the author succeeds in identifying a number of crucial issues for the future debate. What he says about the notion of koinonia (communion), a central theme in all recent writing on the doctrine of the Church, will be particularly valuable. His separation of images and models of unity into different categories, together with his plea that koinonia is not so much a model of unity as a characterisation of unity, will confirm what some ecumenists have been hinting at.
Simon Harrison is modest about the claims he makes for this work. He recognises that this approach can offer only a temporary picture of what is a dynamic process. The modesty of this claim will make it all the easier for ecumenists to take seriously what is being said.
This book deserves to be read widely. It gathers much scattered material together and reflects on it in an unusual and thought provoking way. Ecumenists and those who bear a responsibility for overseeing the direction of the moves to visible unity of the Church need all the help they can get. Without a common understanding of unity, churches in different partnerships will move in different and incompatible directions. This book should help towards coherence and consistency in the ecumenical debate and in moves towards unity which depend upon those debates.
Mary Tanner November 1999
Extract from the Introduction
Every mainstream Christian denomination is involved in some discussion of 'unity' and some are involved in many. Despite a universal recognition of how important such ecumenical discussion is, almost every individual use of 'unity' within such discussion is left undefined. This is nothing new. Over 80 years ago, the Rev'd Lacey commentated:
We declare our belief in one Holy Catholic Church, and about this general conception of oneness there is hardly any dispute among Christians. True: but about the implications of the idea there are many questions. Do we speak of a mere numerical unit, the Church of Christ being one, and not many, or are we to understand also that this one Church is a close union? Has it a social unity? If so, what is the nature of this unity? Is it an ideal unity, towards which we are moving through manifold divisions while the people of God is slowly gathered together; or is it a real unity subsisting from the first? Is it a purely spiritual unity of men consciously or unconsciously serving the same Master and living by the same gifts of grace, or is it a corporate unity, an organized body of men visibly bound together by common beliefs, practices, and traditions? Is the maintenance of this unity a counsel of perfection, or is it a necessary law? If it be necessary, what kind of necessity is understood? Is it a necessity of existence, so that a divided Church would be no Church at all, and an undivided Church must be discoverable if the promise of God has not come to naught; or is it a moral necessity, something required for the fulfilment of the purpose of God, which human perversity can nevertheless withhold? In either case, is there required a kind of union that will be evident to a superficial observer, clear and unmistakable, or will a deeper kind of union suffice, underlying divisions conspicuous on the surface? ... What kind of unity is the unity of the Church?
Although this remark pre-dates what is now called the 'ecumenical movement' it offers rare insight into the conceptual diversity surrounding the central term 'unity'. Does unity mean 'being one' or a relationship 'between many'? How visible need unity be? Must there be one Church institution, or is there an invisible 'spiritual unity' of God's people? Is unity an ideal or an achievable goal? Is it necessary and, if so, what kind of necessity is this?
This book examines the use of 'unity' within ecumenical discussion and seeks to present the various 'conceptions of unity' identified in a clear and useful way.It is both an experiment in philosophical analysis and a serious attempt to highlight ambiguity within ecumenical language. Because of this dual role, it may be useful to offer a basic map of how these elements fit together.
Chapter one introduces the relevant discussions which form the ecumenical movement, then offers a strong argument for this analysis of 'unity' within such discourse. It closes by explaining key terms, scope and sources used in this work.
Chapter two explains briefly why analysing the use of a word is central to understanding what it means. It also introduces the practice of 'taxonomy' within biological sciences; classifying groups together by means of similarities to form a structured picture of diversity. It explains how this kind of analysis and taxonomic practice can work together to increase clarity.
Chapter three begins to develop such a 'taxonomy of conceptions', the systematic presentation of different ways in which 'unity' has been used. It also examines related analyses of 'unity' by way of contrast. A non-circular means of developing this taxonomy is offered, building on existing work and applying principles of good taxonomic practice in a reflexive process of analysis and experimentation. The actual process of developing a taxonomy made up of 'primary categories' and the various 'sub-categories' is then narrated to illustrate the experimental method in practice. Ultimately, three 'primary categories' of unity are identified: 'characterizing use', 'referential use', and 'non-conceptual use' use of 'unity'.
Chapter four presents this taxonomy in more detail. Each sub-category so far recognized is introduced and illustrated by conceptions of unity taken from recent discussion. This forms the bulk of the material in this book, and is of particular relevance to those participating in ecumenical discussion.
Chapter five offers the main conclusions I would like to draw from the analysis to date.
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