Visser 't Hooft, 1900-1985: Living for the Unity of the Church

Jurjen Zeilstra

Open Access Published by Amsterdam University Press 2020

Visser 't Hooft, 1900-1985

Living for the Unity of the Church

Jurjen Zeilstra
Translated by: Henry Jansen

https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048551873

Overview
Contents

About this book

God’s diplomat, the pope of the ecumenical movement, but also an acerbic theologian and a difficult person: this is how journalists characterised Willem Adolf Visser ’t Hooft (1900-1985). He was one of the best-known Dutch theologians outside the Netherlands and he left his mark on the world church. Even at an early age, he made profound efforts in support of international ecumenical youth and student organisations (Dutch Student Christian Movement, YMCA and World Student Christian Federation). He led the World Council of Churches during its formative stages (from 1938), and after its formal establishment in 1948 became its first general secretary, serving until 1966. To Visser ’t Hooft, the unity of the church was both an article of faith and a pragmatic organisation of church influence in a disunited world.

Author / Editor information

Zeilstra Jurjen :

Jurjen Zeilstra (1961) is a historian and theologian. The biography served as a dissertation in the humanities at the Amsterdam Free University in order to receive the degree of Ph.D. in 2018. Earlier, in 1995, Zeilstra earned the degree of Th.D. with his thesis European Unity in Ecumenical Thinking, 1937-1948, in the Theological Faculty at Utrecht University. His current job is as a Protestant minister in Hilversum.

Reviews

"La biographie de Zeilstra sur le premier secrétaire général du COÉ est un apport important aux ressources pour l’étude de l’histoire de l’Église du XXe siècle et du mouvement oecuménique : avec un index détaillé des noms et des sujets et de nom-breuses références, ce livre s’avérera inestimable pour les futurs chercheurs."
- Stephen Brown, ISTINA LXVI (2021)

"Zeilstra has written an impressive study that provides profound insights into the efforts of one man, and through him of a movement, trying in one of the most momentous historical eras to forge church unity. For both it was the means of creating a more humane, just and peaceful world. The book will be of interest to all with similar aspirations."
- Dianne Kirby, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, European History Quarterly, Vol. 50, 4 (2020)

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	7
List of Figures Open Access Download PDF	11
Foreword and Acknowledgements Open Access Download PDF	15
Introduction The Importance and Limitations of a Biography Open Access Download PDF	19
1. The World Opens Up, 1900-1924 Open Access Download PDF	31
2. The School of International Encounter Working with Youth and Students, 1924-1939 Open Access Download PDF	67
3. Church Unity in Wartime, 1939-1945 Open Access Download PDF	147
4. From ‘Spiritual Contact’ to Political Involvement The Swiss Road, 1942-1944 Open Access Download PDF	201
5. Towards a World Council of Churches Reconciliation and Reconstruction, 1945-1948 Open Access Download PDF	251
6. General Secretary of the World Council of Churches 1948-1966 Open Access Download PDF	291
7. The Cold War, the Unity of the Church and Eastern Orthodoxy, 1948-1966 Open Access Download PDF	361
8. Roman Catholic Contacts ‘Nostra Res Agitur’, 1948-1969 Open Access Download PDF	401
9. Obsolete Institutionalism? The Twilight Years, 1966-1985 Open Access Download PDF	441
10. In the Mirror of Rembrandt and the Perspectives of Others Open Access Download PDF	513
Taking Stock An Assessment of a Life Lived for the Unity of the Church Open Access Download PDF	535
Sources and Literature Consulted Open Access Download PDF	545
Index Open Access Download PDF	573

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 598
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 68
Keywords: Church unity; reconciliation; globalisation; institutionalisation; Church renewal; disappointment

eBook

Published: May 1, 2020
ISBN: 9789048551873