out the possibility of older instances of mediated religious recogni-
tion. Our selection of texts has necessarily been limited to the most
obvious authors; older dialogues between religious parties have not
received the treatment that they might deserve. In any case, the
ecumenical movement of the twentieth century makes extensive use
of the idea of mediated recognition. Ecumenical dialogues leading to
consensus agreements may also be interpreted as instances which
provide the‘categorial stance’necessary for interpersonal and per-
formative spiritual recognition between the actual parties.
The Modern Era 183