Unitatis redintegratio. The Second Vatican Council on Ecumenism

Unitatis redintegratio. The Second Vatican Council on Ecumenism is the third book in a series of monographs on the documents of the Second Vatican Council. The whole series aims to present the Council from the past, present, and future perspectives. It describes the documents’ historical aspect, conciliar genesis, linguistic specificity, most important theological ideas, reception and pastoral dimension, and emerging inspirations for the future in these spaces. The book is devoted to ecumenism. It consists of five chapters and one appendix. The first part briefly reviews ecumenical efforts before Vatican II. The second part focuses on the Council’s discussions. It presents the proposals sent to the Council by bishops, religious superiors, universities and congregations of the Roman Curia, as well as the work on the document in commissions, its schemas and the opinions expressed in the Council hall. In the third chapter, a linguistic analysis of key Latin terms in Unitatis redintegratio, reveals concepts specific to the Decree on Ecumenism. The fourth part is a detailed and systematic discussion of the theological ideas present in the conciliar document. This discussion is followed by an attempt to evaluate these ideas. The last part of the monograph is devoted to the reception and perspectives derived from the previous analyses. The appendix discusses the view of the Decree on Ecumenism in other Christian Churches and Communities.