What sort of theological education and ministerial formation is needed to prepare Christian leaders who can inspire new life and renew and transform the church? That critical question is being posed today in a context of social and cultural upheavals wich have left many historic church institutions with unprecedented doubts and uncertainty. The search for viable theological education was the focus of a global gathering organized by the World Council of Churches in Oslo in 1996, bringing together some 120 theologians, educators and ecumenical leaders from 40 countries and many church traditions, and drawing on an extensive three-year study programme. The presentations and responses from that meeting collected here -on ecumenism, tradition, financial support, education of the whole people of God and renewal- make this book a uniquely insightful and challenging overview of a central concern on the agenda of every church and of the ecumenical movement. Also included are the message and recommendations of the participants and five fascinating portraits of "theological education" in the Bible by the Indian Jesuit Samuel Rayan.