The Church [antikvár]

FOREWORD Like his monumental volume Catholicism, first published in 1980 and still in print more than a quarter century later, Father Richard McBrien's new book on the Church fills an evident and long-standing gap in the field of ecclesiology not only in the English-speaking world, but for other language groups as well. There simply is no other comprehensive, systematic ecclesiology available to general readers or to students and teachers who focus their attention and study on the mystery and mission of the Church. Not even the late Cardinal Yves Congar, Father McBrien's acknowledged mentor in the field of ecclesiology, whom he praises herein as the greatest ecclesiologist in the entire history of the Church, produced a complete ecclesiology like this one. Pere Congar often expressed the hope of writing such a book at some point in his life, but the many demands on his time, especially before, during, and after the Second Vatican Council, and then a lengthy, debilitating illness made that impossible. Fortunately, his devoted disciple has now done that for him and has, in the spirit of filial piety, dedicated the book to his esteemed mentor. Although written explicitly through the prism of the Catholic theological and ecclesial tradition, this book is also clearly marked by a catholic (lowercase "c") perspective that is at once ecumenical and interfaith in outreach. Readers of any religious tradition will appreciate the book's biblical and historical content. As the years pass all too XV