Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, also known as the Lima Document, is an important Christian ecumenical document published by members of the World Council of Churches

World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...

 in Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

 in 1982.

Ecclesiology of communion

The document attempted to express the convergences that had been found over the years. It was sent to all member churches and six volumes of responses compiled. The approach used in the document has been called ecclesiology of communion by ecumenical theologians, in that the sacrament

Sacrament

A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...

s are presented as a means to achieve greater Church unity.

New agreements and discussions

As a result, some churches have changed their liturgical practices, and some have entered into discussions, which in turn led to further agreements and steps towards unity. For instance, Protestant churches began to mutually recognize the validity of each other's ministers. Similar agreements in sacramental theology have affected Catholic-Orthodox relations and Catholic-Protestant relations, notably the recognition of Trinitarian baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

s.

Eucharistic and ministerial doctrine

The question of eucharistic theology is more delicate, given the fact that historic Reformation churches have given no indication that they will recognize the Roman Catholic dogma of transubstantiation

Transubstantiation

In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...

, which is essential to the formation of the Catholic priesthood.