As Christians, we are called to seek the unity of the one body of Christ. But when it comes to the sacraments, the church has often been—and remains—divided. What are we to do? Can we still gather together at the same table? Based on the lectures from the 2017 Wheaton Theology Conference, this volume brings together the reflections of Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox theologians, who jointly consider what it means to proclaim the unity of the body of Christ in light of the sacraments. Without avoiding or downplaying the genuine theological and sacramental differences that exist between Christian traditions, what emerges is a thoughtful consideration of what it means to live with the difficult, elusive command to be one as the Father and the Son are one.
George Kalantzis (PhD, Northwestern University) is professor of theology and director of The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies at Wheaton College. He is the author of Caesar and the Lamb: Early Christian Attitudes on War and Military Service and Theodore of Mopsuestia: Commentary on the Gospel of John, and he is the coeditor of Evangelicals and the Early Church: Recovery, Reform, Renewal; Life in the Spirit: Spiritual Formation in Theological Perspective; Christian Political Witness; and The Sovereignty of God Debate.