The Ecumenical Movement dates from before the First World War but the events of the last thirty years have endowed it with added stimulus and provoked a new sense of urgency among its advocates. The author, a member of the Vatican Secretariat for the union Christians, has been a close observer and students of the movement for many years. After dealing with the present positions of the separated Churches and Christian bodies, successive chapters he examines the history and prospects of the Ecumenical Movement, the attitude of the Church towards it and the difficulties that it faces in the modern world. A final chapter, specially written for the English edition, examines the implications of the coming General Council in relation to the movement for reunion.