Faith, hope, and love: these words recall one of the most familiar passages in the entirety of the Christian Scriptures and represent three uniquely Christian virtues given by God to the Church. Geoffrey Wainwright explores the contemporary ecumenical potential of these historic Christian virtues. Faith, hope, and love are given to each Christian and are intended to be incorporated in the nature and life of every gathered Christian body.

Wainwright pairs each virtue with a practice instituted by Christ himself. Holy baptism teaches faith as an enacted confession. The Lord's Prayer invites petition as an address of hope. The Lord's Supper offers bread and wine as an embodiment of love. These historic practices orient all Christians backward in faith to the formative events of the cross and resurrection, forward in hope of the final consummation, and toward all others gathered around the shared meal. Wainwright insists that faith, hope, and love pave a path to unity for a historically divided Church.