Lutherans and Episcopalians Look into the Future -- Together
Episcopal News Service. August 22, 2000 [2000-127]
Ron Englund, Lutheran Pastor
(ENS) "Where do we go from here?" That was the major question discussed at a conference of Episcopalians and Lutherans held July 21-24 at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria.
The question arises from the adoption this summer of "Called to Common Mission" (CCM), an agreement which brings the 5.2 million member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the 2.4 million member Episcopal Church into full communion with each other. The Anglican-Lutheran Society sponsored the conference under the theme, "Living into Full Communion." Several Roman Catholics were among the more than 50 who took part in the sessions.
"Full communion" is not a merger but will bring these American churches into partnership in their ministries, a partnership that includes interchangeability of their clergy. The ELCA adopted CCM at its Churchwide Assembly last year while the Episcopal Church adopted this historic agreement at its July General Convention in Denver.
Speakers from the United States and Europe discussed the implication of CCM and compared it with two Anglican-Lutheran agreements in Europe: the 1991 Meissen Agreement between the Church of England and the Evangelical (Lutheran, Reformed and United) Churches in Germany; and the 1996 Porvoo Agreement between the British and Irish Anglican churches and the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran churches.
Dr. William Petersen, professor of church history at Bexley Hall, an Episcopal theological seminary in Rochester, New York, spoke on CCM from an Anglican perspective. He noted that, in their dialogues through the years, Lutherans and Episcopalians have found a convergence in worship and liturgy.
He urged that Episcopal and Lutheran congregations "be intentional about worshipping together four or five times a year." Because of difficulties in joint worship on Sunday mornings, he suggests major festivals such as Epiphany, the festival of the Wise Men on January 6; Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent; Reformation Day, October 31; and All Saints' Day, November 1. He reminded the participants that liturgy has a service aspect and must lead to practical ways of serving people in the community. This may be done more effectively by joint efforts of the churches.
Petersen also noted that Christian education, especially among adults, offers possibilities for joint courses with the opportunity for members of each church to share in the tradition and gifts of the other church. He said that ecumenical conversations need to be frank and honest. "Unity in Christ must not be a pious dream but a practical reality," he added.
Dr. Michael Root, professor of theology at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, spoke of the background of CCM and difficulties some Lutherans have in accepting the new relationship with the Episcopal Church. While Lutherans and Episcopalians agree on the doctrine of apostolic succession, an ongoing "faithful proclamation of Christ," the Episcopal Church brings to the new relationship the "historic episcopate," a succession of bishops as a sign of unity going back to the early days of the Christian Church.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will receive the historic episcopate in the new agreement. Even though many Lutheran churches around the world already have the historic episcopate, a minority of ELCA members have opposed this aspect of CCM, claiming that it violates Lutheran teaching that agreement on the gospel and sacraments is all that is necessary for church unity.
Root said that reasons for Lutheran opposition to CCM include questions of Lutheran identity and a general mistrust of central authority. He also noted that some Lutherans see their church as a denomination on its own, while other Lutherans see their church as a movement within the church catholic.
Root also pointed out that, until the 1970s, the ecumenical goal was the structural merger of the churches. Now the ecumenical goal is "unity in reconciled diversity" where churches keep their identities but share in ministry, sacraments, witness and service. However, he cautioned against saying, "Now we've done it," seeing the present agreement as the final goal.
Bishop David Tustin, an international ecumenical leader who retired this spring as Anglican bishop of Grimsby, England, discussed the two major Anglican-Lutheran agreements in Europe. While the Meissen Agreement does not involve full communion, it has led to many important contacts between the churches on a parish and regional level. More than half of the dioceses of the Church of England have partnerships with churches in Germany, he pointed out. Tustin also told of Anglican-Lutheran dialogues and agreements in Canada, Brazil and countries in Africa
The Porvoo Agreement is a relationship of full communion similar to Called to Common Mission. The Very Rev. Margarethe Isberg, dean of Västerås Cathedral in the Church of Sweden, told of the growing number of contacts between the Anglican and Lutheran churches in the United Kingdom and Ireland, but also the churches in the Nordic and Baltic countries. She pointed out that "the life of Porvoo is most visible in parishes." Contacts and exchange visits are taking place among youth, teachers and other lay members as well as among clergy.
Bishop Theodore F. Schneider of the ELCA Metropolitan Washington (DC) Synod, summed up the difference that CCM makes by saying, "I always realized that when I walked into an Episcopal Church I would be welcomed. Now I know that I belong. And that's a wonderful difference."
The Rev. Paul Lee, ecumenical officer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Washington, DC, spoke on the final day about Lutheran-Roman Catholic and Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogues. He said that "the fact that we've been able to get together for serious dialogue in the past 30 years, after our centuries of separation and often hostility, is truly remarkable." He spoke of the importance of the "reconciliation and purification of memories" of the long hurt that has been experienced because of hatred and prejudice. "We need to go beyond stereotypes of each other," he added.
The conference was organized by the Anglican-Lutheran Society which works for better understanding between the Anglican/Episcopal churches and the Lutheran churches around the world. Founded in England in 1984, the society's American membership has grown significantly in recent years. Its next conference will be held in Ratzeburg, Germany, September 14-17, 2001.