Anglicans and Roman Catholics Discuss Windsor Report
Episcopal News Service. March 8, 2005 [030805-3]
At the 58th meeting of the Anglican Roman Catholic dialogue in the United States (ARC-USA) substantial time was given to a discussion of the Windsor Report and the Primates' Communique in response to the Lambeth Commission's Report. The long-standing ecumenical dialogue held its March 3-6, 2005 meeting on the campus of the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia.
Dr. Ellen Wondra and Dr. Ruth Meyers, both faculty members at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and members of ARC-USA, led the group of some twenty Roman Catholic and Episcopal bishops, scholars, priests, and lay persons in an overview of the two documents themselves and a sampling of responses thus far from various institutions and groups ranging from the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops and Executive Council to that of the African Anglican Bishops Conference.
Deeply impressed with the Report itself because of its ecclesiological perspective, which has ecumenical as well as simply Anglican implications, four scholars (two from each side) agreed to produce substantive papers for the October 2005 meeting dealing with various aspects of the Report, particularly as they relate to previous Agreed Statements between Anglicans and Roman Catholics on the relationship between communion and authority in the church.
"For decades," observed Bishop Christopher Epting, Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations for the Episcopal Church, "our conversations have revolved around the balance between the centralized authority structure of the Roman Catholic Church and the more dispersed authority in Anglicanism. Our current tensions and discussions across the Anglican Communion provide a contemporary case study which surely has wider implications all across the Body of Christ today."
Other topics covered included a test group report on God's Gift of Unity: A Study Guide for Episcopalians and Roman Catholics on baptism and the eucharist which will now move toward publication and suggested use in Roman Catholic and Episcopal parishes, meeting jointly for a five-week study. A progress report on developing an agreed statement on Regional Authority was also presented and a timeline agreed to for its completion in 2007.
Throughout the meeting, participants used the seminary's Chapel for daily eucharists, alternating Roman Catholic and Anglican rites and respecting the eucharistic discipline of both churches. The Daily Offices were also prayed using the Book of Common Prayer and Shorter Christian Prayer (a compact edition of the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours appropriate for parish as well as private use).