Choose the Narrow Path

Why is it that churches agree to the same basic faith in hundreds of dialogues, and yet remain locked in an "ecumenical winter"? In Choose the Narrow Path, Bishop Pierre Whalon argues that to acknowledge the same doctrines while acting as if churches should remain separate is not only a recipe for disaster, but it is also itself a sin. This book spells out that doctrinal agreement in Part I, while Part II uncovers a more personal reaction, structured around the Nicene Creed.

The primary argument is that, while churches may be "one," "holy," and "catholic" in what they believe, none of them is truly "apostolic" in their action. To begin to address this failing, the author calls for exceptional intercommunion for members of all churches that subscribe to the Narrow Path but are still reluctant to walk it together.

"Bishop Pierre Whalon … offers clear points about the challenges that Churches face, but also a way forward through what he describes as "the narrow path."

— The Most Reverend Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church

"Bishop Pierre Whalon’s Choose the Narrow Path is a much needed and highly accessible handbook of the contemporary Ecumenical Movement for the unity of the Christian Churches."

— The Right Reverend R. William Franklin, Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Long Island

"Bishop Pierre Whalon has gone beyond the rhetoric to produce a sound scriptural-based systematic treatise with concrete practical applications. The book … may well be the catalyst, as the subtitle suggests, That Opens the Way for the Churches to Walk Together."

—Prof. Cyril Orji, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Dayton, OH

"Bishop Whalon’s Choose the Narrow Path is … a book for Christians of all stripes to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest—great for study groups and church leaders alike."

—The Very Reverend Dr. William S. Stafford, Dean Emeritus of The School of Theology, Sewanee, USA

"To walk any narrow path with a precipice on either side is very dangerous, but Bishop Pierre Whalon proves to be an excellent and sure-footed guide for the churches to try to walk together. He calls for action now so that we can avoid the scandal of disunity which threatens to plunge us into the depths, and instead to witness together to Jesus the Risen Christ."

—The Rev’d Canon Professor Richard A. Burridge,The University of Manchester

Pierre W. Whalon is a bishop of the Episcopal Church, serving the Convocation of Episcopal Church in Europe from 2001 to 2019. Before that, he served as a priest in three parishes, two in Pennsylvania and one in Florida. He is also a published author of many articles and three books, as well as a music composer. Bishop Whalon lives near Paris with his wife, Hélène.