Groupe des Dombes, the
Dombes
The Dombes (; Arpitan: Domba) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the province of Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of Ain, and bounded on the west by the Saône River, on the s ...
Group, is a gathering of 20
Roman-Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
and 20
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
theologians that has met regularly since 1937 in a small
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
, the
Abbey of Notre-Dame des Dombes
The Abbey of Notre-Dame des Dombes (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Dombes) is a former Trappist monastery located in Le Plantay in the Dombes region, in the Ain department of eastern France. It is now occupied by members of the Chemin Neuf movemen ...
near
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. It was found by
Paul Couturier
Paul Irénée Couturier (29 July 1881 – 24 March 1953) was a French priest and a promoter of the concept of Christian unity. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Early life and career
He was bo ...
(1881-1953), a French priest who worked in ecumenical circles. It is not just a mere theological gathering but a "spiritual" approach to
ecumenism
Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
. Aside from the discussion of doctrinal matters, it also includes common prayer and the "call to conversion" addressed to the churches. The Group's method in dealing with a topic is:
# the study of a topic
# the review of the Scriptural and historical development
# the identification of the areas of agreement and disagreement
# suggestions for convergence
# a call to conversion for each church in the areas of attitudes, teachings, and practices.
The group meets for a week in September. For many years, besides meeting at the Abbey of the Dombes, the group sometimes met at
Taizé. Since 1998, the meetings have been held at the Abbey of Pradines, near to Roanne.
Publications
*Towards one eucharistic faith? (1971)
*For the reconciliation of ministries (1972)
*The Episcopal ministry (1976)
*The Holy Spirit, the Church and the Sacraments (1979)
*The ministry of communion in the universal Church (1985)
*For the conversion of the Churches (1991)
*Mary in the plan of God and the Communion of Saints (1997 & 1998)
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Catholic–Protestant ecumenism