Well, it’s not too often that ecumenical matters come the forefront of the life of the Episcopal Church, is it? This past month has seen two important events in our ecumenical engagement.
The first was the removal by the Anglican Communion Office of Episcopalians serving on international ecumenical dialogues: myself and Bishop William Gregg from the Anglican-Orthodox dialogue, the Rev Canon Bill Petersen from the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission, Bishop Franklin Brookhart from the Anglicam Methodist International Commission for Unity and Mission, and the Rev Carola von Wrangel from the Anglican-Old Catholic International Coordinating Council. The Rev Dr Kathy Grieb will be invited to the International Anglican Standing Commission for Unity, Faith, and Order (IASCUFO) with consultant status.
These actions touch on many matters in the life of the Communion: issues of authority, the place of the instruments of communion, and the interaction of autonomous provinces (plus others). I cannot comment on all of those in these brief remarks; I would only note that I disagree with the Anglican Communion Office’s actions because it presumes there must be conformity in order to represent a church. On our ecumenical dialogues within the Episcopal Church, we have tried to represent the scope, depth, and diversity of our church, requiring nothing other than the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral as our basis. I recall in particular one participant we had recruited to be on a dialogue was reluctant to accept an appointment, saying that he was not sure if he could represent the Presiding Bishop. I replied that in my opinion he was not representing the Presiding Bishop: he was representing the Episcopal Church, of which he was (and still is) a member. I am disappointed that in our international dialogues we are unable to be in dialogue and reflect the diversity in our communion.
The Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations also met this past month, and has expressed the desire for our church to find ways to continue to move forward with international concerns and commitments, trying to work with the Anglican Communion and our ecumenical partners as much as possible. We did not seek membership on these international commissions solely for their own sake: but because through them we were able to address important theological, missional, and ecclesiological issues. We will continue to do so.
The second is related to the first, though I would never have guessed it. On June 18, the Provincial Synod of the Moravian Church’s Northern Province approved Finding our Delight in the Lord, a proposal for full communion adopted by the 2009 General Convention. This occurred on the very day that the Rev Canon Kenneth Kearon. Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, was speaking to our Executive Council. Canon Kearon noted that the international dialogues of the Communion were on the “verge of collapse” (which was news to me). I found the Moravian Church’s affirmation of full communion in their evening session an important counterbalance to Canon Kearon’s comments earlier in the day.
I do not mean to minimize the profound differences on many issues that we face internally within our communions, and with our ecumenical partners. But with the Moravians we have agreed on a way forward, not ignoring our differences, but identifying what we consider essential to agree upon, and what we can disagree on, for the sake of common mission and ministry in the world. What could have been a difficult and disheartening day was – for me at least – transformed into a symbol of hope. As Bishop Miller, co-chair of the dialogue, stated in his remarks to the Moravian Synod: “In a world which constantly seeks to divide and emphasize difference, today we have given witness to the God who calls to unity.”
Sincerely,
Tom
