The French Dominican theologian Yves Congar is recognized by many as the most important Roman Catholic ecclesiologist of the 20th century. He was the thinker behind some of the major decrees of the Second Vatican council. He was also a leader in the ecumenical movement in Europe throughout most of the century. Despite his importance, there are few books about Congar in English. Congar's pneumatology, argues Groppe, can enrich various ongoing theological discussions, including reflection as to whether the church should be hierarchical or a democracy, the development of "persons in communion" as a framework for contemporary theological anthropology and ecclesiology, and deliberations about the personhood of the Holy Spirit.

"This beautifully presented volume is a collection of eight of Congar's opuscula on the Holy Spirit, originally written in French or German as lectures, talks, reference articles, and scholarly contributions to journals. They have never been translated into English, and the team who have assembled these articles and translated them have done us Anglophones a service. This volume is a labour of love, well-edited with extensive bibliographies and notes, presented by firm admirers of Congar's work who rightly want to expose a new generation to his thought. Hence the translation is accessible, with Latin quotations helpfully translated into English as well as the odd editorial comment to facilitate understanding."--New Blackfriars

"I Believe in the Holy Spirit" is a major treatise on the topic by one of the great theologians of the century. Yves Congar's book is one of the few comprehensive treatments of the Church's understanding of the Spirit and the working of the Spirit in the life of the Church by a Roman Catholic theologian, providing "indispensable resources for the development of a Spirit-sensitive theology" (Robert Imbelli).

Archbishop Angelo Roncali (later Pope John XXIII) read True and False Reform during his years as papal nuncio in France and asked, A reform of the church 'is such a thing really possible?" A decade later as pope, he opened the Second Vatican Council by describing its goals in terms that reflected Congar's description of authentic reform: reform that penetrates to the heart of doctrine as a message of salvation for the whole of humanity, that retrieves the meaning of prophecy in a living church, and that is deeply rooted in history rather than superficially related to the apostolic tradition. Pope John called the council not to reform heresy or to denounce errors but to update the church's capacity to explain itself to the world and to revitalize ecclesial life in all its unique local manifestations. Congar's masterpiece fills in the blanks of what we have been missing in our reception of the council and its call to "true reform." Yves Congar, OP, a French Dominican who died in 1995, was the most important ecclesiologist in modern times. His writings and his active participation in Vatican II had an immense influence upon the council documents. With a few other contemporaries, Congar pioneered a new style of theological research and writing that linked the great tradition of Scripture and the Fathers to contemporary pastoral questions with lucidity and passion. His key concerns were the unity of the church, lay apostolic life, and a revival of the church's theology of the Holy Spirit. He was named a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in recognition of his profound contributions to the Second Vatican Council. Paul Philibert, OP, has taught pastoral theology in the United States and abroad. He is a Dominican friar of the Southern Province. His translation of a collection of Congar's essays on the liturgy has recently been published by Liturgical Press under the title At the Heart of Christian Worship. His book The Priesthood of the Faithful: Key to a living Church (Liturgical Press, 2005) reflects the ecclesiology of Yves Congar and his Vision of the apostolic life of the faithful."

Yves Congar (1904-1995), a French Dominican theologian, was a prophet in the church of the mid-20th century, persecuted in the 1950s only to become perhaps the single most formative influence on Vatican II. This volume provides real insight and fresh hope for those concerned to breathe new life into the church of the 21st century.

"No theologian of the twentieth century is more deserving of a commemorative volume than Yves Congar. The present symposium commends itself by the high quality of the multinational group of scholars contributing to it"--Quatrième de couverture