Theology and Practice   Tags: divinity_gdr  

The Ecumenical Review is a quarterly theological journal. Each issue focuses on a theme of current importance to the movement for Christian unity, and each volume includes academic as well as practical analysis of significant moments in the quest for closer church fellowship and inter-religious dialogue. Recent issues have communicated the visions of a new generation of ecumenical leadership, the voices of women involved in Orthodox-Protestant conversations, churches' ministries in an age of HIV/AIDS and a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

This newly revised and enlarged edition of John Witte's authoritative historical study explores the interplay of law, theology, and marriage in the Western tradition. Witte uncovers the core beliefs that formed the theological genetic code of Western marriage and family law. He explores the systematic models of marriage developed by Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans, and Enlightenment thinkers, and the transformative influence of each model on Western marriage law. In addition, he traces the millennium-long reduction of marriage from a complex spiritual, social, contractual, and natural institution into a simple private contract with freedom of entrance, exercise, and exit for husband and wife alike.

This second edition updates and expands each chapter and the bibliography. It also includes three new chapters on classical, biblical, and patristic sources.