"The Nature and Mission of the Church - A Stage on the Way to a Common Statement"

(Faith and Order Paper no. 198)

This extended text (about 18,000 words) was published in December 2005 and is the latest result from Faith and Order's study on Ecclesiology. It seeks to express common convictions about the church, its nature and mission, and to identify the ecclesiological issues which continue to divide the churches today.

The text has been sent officially to the churches [member churches of the World Council of Churches] for evaluation and response; study groups and individuals are also invited to offer comments and reactions. This text replaces the previous study document The Nature and Purpose of the Church (Faith and Order Paper no. 181, issued in 1998).

Download the study (.pdf) here:

The Nature and Mission of the Church - A Stage on the Way to a Common Statement

To see the table of contents, click here .