Concerning Christian Unity. A Study of the Relational Imperative of Agape Love

THIS BRIEF study is a statement about Christian unity. It grows out of research and prolonged reflection, but it is influenced also by experiences in unity across many years both in a single church communion and in the wider Church.

This study begins with the biblical tradition about the doctrine of unity. Attention is then given to the history of Christian relations, letting us watch some of the tensions believers experienced as they sought to deal with the natural impulse to separateness, on the one hand, and to obey the Lord’s mandate to relate, on the other. The meaning of Christian community is treated in several chapters, and contemporary illustrations are given showing how the unity impulse has been at work within the Church on both the local and world scale.