26 PART ONE: INTRODUCTION misbehaviors vis-à-vis the dialogue partner, common conversion towards Christ (and, consequently, towards one another), and common prayer. Without these actions and attitudes, ecumenical dialogue would be mere diplomacy rather than true reconciliation. In the words of Vatican II: “This change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name ‘spiritual ecumenism’.”55 It is significant in this regard that Jesus did not command or instruct his disciples to be united as one, but that he prayed for their unity. The same prayer belongs at the heart of any ecumenical endeavor, as it has been, for example, through the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Therefore, responding to the theme of the ecumenical Winter, Kasper is convinced that “we can only widen the ecumenical dialogue when we deepen it. Only spiritually can we overcome its present crisis.”56 Consensus ecumenism and spiritual ecumenism are two sides of the same coin. The spiritual dimension, therefore, should also not be isolated from theological dialogue. Antonia Pizzey summarizes Michael Kinnamon’s position, the former general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States, indicating that he, too, promotes the following: [A] renewed focus on Spiritual Ecumenism, as he critiques the tendency to over-emphasise practical ecumenism at the expense of its spiritual dimensions. He reflects that ecumenism has ‘become so preoccupied with doing – conferences, committees, dialogues, reports – that it feels like business as usual rather than something Spirit- led’ and calls for a renewed focus on prayer and spirituality.57 Pizzey herself concludes: “While the Ecumenical Movement is certainly not without hope, it is floundering. It is no surprise, therefore, that the current time is characterized by a call for renewal. The time is ripe for ecumenism to look back towards its roots in Spiritual Ecumenism.”58 She continues: “Arguably, while both theological and practical ecumenism have been well developed, established, and successful, Spiritual Ecumenism remains under developed, and its potential is largely untapped.”59 55 UR, sec. 8. 56 Kasper, That They May All Be One, 17. 57 Antonia Pizzey, Receptive Ecumenism and the Renewal of the Ecumenical Movement : The Path of Ecclesial Conversion (Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2019), 7. She quotes Michael Kinnamon, Can a Renewal Movement be Renewed? Questions for the Future of Ecumenism (Grand Rapids, MN: Eerdmans, 2014), 152-153. 58 Pizzey, 8. 59 Pizzey, 10.
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