My Cup Runs Over: Full and Fuller Communion in the Ecumenism of the Future

Scholarly attention to the topic of full communion agreements is not new in the study of ecumenism. Nevertheless, with certain full communion relationships recently marking significant anniversaries and new agreements still being established, there remain opportunities to derive fresh inspiration from them for the ecumenical movement more broadly. Full communion relationships can discover new ways of sharing ecclesial life, moving from ecclesial autonomy to interdependence. Linking local partnerships can lead to regional or global possibilities. Relationships in one place can be leveraged to advance them in another. Life in full communion builds up a cognitive infrastructure that can lead to new creativity in response to intracommunal and extraecumenical concerns. Full communion becomes fuller, filled to overflowing, and carrying us toward the ecumenical future.

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Scholarly attention to the topic of full communion agreements is not new in the study of ecumenism. Nevertheless, with certain full communion relationships recently marking significant anniversaries and new agreements still being established, there remain opportunities to derive fresh inspiration from them for the ecumenical movement more broadly. Full communion relationships can discover new ways of sharing ecclesial life, moving from ecclesial autonomy to interdependence. Linking local partnerships can lead to regional or global possibilities. Relationships in one place can be leveraged to advance them in another. Life in full communion builds up a cognitive infrastructure that can lead to new creativity in response to intracommunal and extraecumenical concerns. Full communion becomes fuller, filled to overflowing, and carrying us toward the ecumenical future.