Wesley, Aquinas, and Christian Perfection: An Ecumenical Dialogue

Employing fresh, innovative readings, Edgardo Colón-Emeric examines and underscores the centrality of the concept of perfection for the theologies of Thomas Aquinas and John Wesley—and finds them, surprisingly, largely complementary. Utilizing the image of a “kneeling ecumenism,” he offers a practical account of how ecumenical conversations can move forward. At a time when many Methodists struggle to understand Catholicism and many Catholics know little of Wesley and Methodism, this stimulating work provides the church as a whole a communal grammar of holiness, in demonstrating how the theologies of perfection of Aquinas and Wesley have significant messages for both groups.