Fading Frontiers?: A Historical-Theological Investigation into the Notion of the 'Elementa Ecclesiae' [Paperback]

One aspect of the ecclesiological renewal at Vatican II that has notreceived much scholarly attention so far is the doctrine of theelements of the church (<i>elementa ecclesiae</i>), previously unheardof in Roman Catholic magisterial documents. This book offers an originaland comprehensive study of this notion and how it became part of theofficial teaching of the Roman Catholic church. <br/>

Using a historical-theological approach, the author studies the originsand evolution of the concept of the elements of the church and gives anuanced understanding of this doctrine as outlined in <i>Lumengentium</i> ? 8 and <i>Unitatis redintegratio</i> ? 3. <br/>

In this way, the author offers a renewed insight into the evolution ofthe position of the Roman Catholic church in oecumenicis during and inthe aftermath of Vatican II. The development sketched in the book ischaracterized by a double perspective. On the one hand, there is thedebate about the frontiers of the church that focuses on therelationship between the Roman Catholic church and the church of Christ.On the other hand, and closely related to the first aspect, there is theissue of the recognition of ecclesial elements in non-CatholicChristian communities. Both threads are closely interwoven and it isimportant to understand the relationship if one wants to do justice tothe doctrinal balance and complexity of Vatican IIs ecumenicalecclesiology. Taking these two aspects together, one should readilyacknowledge the shift that typifies Roman Catholic ecclesiology from ajuridical approach to the question of defining the Roman Catholicchurchs frontiers over against the outside world  and <i>afortiori&ls-