What's a "differentiated consensus"? A little help from Ecumenism Means You, Too

Yesterday I sent the manuscript for Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity to the publisher for the editorial and typesetting phases of the process. The book will include a glossary of key terms frequently employed in ecumenical theological discourse. One entry is for the "differentiated consensus" referenced in the title of the Pro Ecclesia article I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Here's the glossary entry:

"Differentiated consensus—A term now commonly used to describe the sort of agreement reached between the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church in their Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999). While the Joint Declaration itself does not use the precise expression 'differentiated consensus,' the concept is certainly present in its language 'consensus on basic truths' with 'remaining differences' or 'differing explications.' It thus does not suggest complete doctrinal agreement, but an agreement substantial enough that the remaining differences are no longer regarded as church-dividing. The language 'differentiated consensus' has become identified with the Joint Declaration in the process of its *reception. See also *consensus with remaining differences."

Stay tuned here for updates on when the book will be available.