CHAPTER 1: ECUMENICAL PROGRESS AND STAGNATION 21 arguing for a preferential option for marginalized people and practices in practical theological research (in general), state: Places or periods in between two things are places or phases of uncertainty and transition, but they can also be places where creativity emerges, where new ideas are given scope to develop, where experiments can happen with other visions and practices. Cultural anthropology, a partner discipline of practical theology, calls this liminality.42 The ecumenical intermediate or liminal stage, too, has its own rationality and momentum. Ecumenical theologians and church officials need to look for appropriate and meaningful ways to address its particular challenges with a clear eye on the goal of ecumenism: Christian unity. 1.2 APPROACHES TO ECUMENICAL DIALOGUE William o observes that prioritizing worship (lex orandi), doctrine (lex credendi), or polity (lex agenda) in the ecclesiological circle results in different approaches to the question of the place of common worship in the ecumenical process. He states that the liturgical movement takes the lex orandi as its starting point, while the ecumenical movement tends to depart from the lex credendi. Many others seem to prioritize the lex agendi, resulting in a focus on canon law. Recalling the ecumenical process between Lutherans and Anglicans in the United States, Peterson signals that the same dynamic obstructed the process towards full communion in so far as Lutherans focused on ‘right doctrine,’ whereas Anglicans focused on ‘right orders.’ Only when they engaged in Eucharistic sharing and joint liturgical renewal did the dialogue partners notice the following: [T]hat the theological prerequisites of ‘right doctrine’ and the polity demands of ‘right order’ were really dependent upon continuance over time and in the presence of a central conduit of apostolicity, literally, an ortho-doxy consisting of ‘right praise’!43 This example shows that the starting point for addressing the question of Eucharistic hospitality is important for the course of the process. The following 42 Annemarie Dillen and Stefan Gärtner, Discovering Practical Theology: Exploring Boundaries, Louvain Theological and Pastoral Monographs 47 (Leuven: Peeters, 2020), 4. 43 William H. Peterson, “Worship in Ecumenical Contexts: Impetus to Unity or Focus of Difficulty?,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 53, no. 2 (2018): 219–20.
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