Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission Finds Agreement on Doctrine of Eucharistic Sacrifice
Diocesan Press Service. June 5, 1967 [55-12]
The Joint Commission on Anglican-Roman Catholic Relations in the United States of America, at the close of its fourth meeting, held May 24-26 in Milwaukee, stated its conviction that the doctrine of the Eucharistic sacrifice is no longer a major obstacle to the reconciliation of the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.
The report of the Joint Commission stated that, after a careful study of the Documents of the Second Vatican Council the Lambeth Conference Report of 1958, the 1949 Statement of Faith and Order of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA and other statements of the contemporary position of both churches, "it is clear to us that the findings of modern biblical, theological, and liturgical studies have transcended many of the polemic formulations of an earlier period.
"We believe that it is of utmost importance for the clergy and laity of our two Churches to acknowledge their substantial identity in this area of Eucharistic doctrine, and to build upon it as they go forward in dialogue. Whatever doctrinal disagreements may remain between our Churches, the understanding of the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist is not among them."
The report then went on to sum up the consensus at which the Joint Commission had arrived.
"The Church is the Body of Christ and is built up by the Word through the Eucharist.
"Baptism is the entrance into the Eucharistic community. In the Holy Eucharist Christians are united with Christ as the fulfillment and perfection of their baptismal union with him.
"In the Lord's Supper we participate at the same time in Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension; the Christian community is thus transformed in grace and the pledge of future glory is given to us.
"Our communion with Christ in the Holy Eucharist is also communion with one another. Such union is achieved through the Holy Spirit.
"Christian people participating in Christ's priesthood through baptism and confirmation are meant to be a living sacrifice to God. That sacrifice finds its fullest expression in the Eucharistic offering of the priesthood of the people of God. Such sacramental offering of the whole people is made possible through the special action of the ministerial priest, who is empowered by his ordination to make present Christ's sacrifice for his people.
"The sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist is not just the sacrifice of the cross but the sacrifice of Christ's whole life of obedience to the Father which culminated in his death on the cross and his glorious resurrection. We offer nothing we have not first received; because of our incorporation into Christ at baptism, he offers us in himself to the Father."
The next meeting of the Joint Commission, to be held in Jackson, Miss., Jan. 5 - 7, will consider the relationship of the ministerial priesthood to the priesthood of all God's people in the context of first, the Eucharist, and second, the world.
A list of participants follows. Delegates are appointed on the one hand by the Joint Commission on Ecumenical Relations of the Episcopal Church and on the other, by the U. S. Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs.
ANGLICANS
1. The Rt. Rev. Donald H. V. Hallock, Bishop of Milwaukee
2. The Rt. Rev. Edward R. Welles, Bishop of West Missouri
3. The Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, Bishop of Mississippi
4. Mr. Clifford P. Morehouse, President of the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies of The General Convention
5. The Rev. Massey H. Shepherd, Jr., Professor, Church Divinity School of the Pacific
6. Professor George A. Shipman, University of Washington
7. The Rev. Arthur A. Vogel, Professor, Nashotah House
8. The Rev. William J. Wolf, Professor, Episcopal Theological School
9. Mr. Peter Day, Ecumenical Officer, The Episcopal Church
ROMAN CATHOLICS
1. The Most Rev. Charles H. Helmsing, Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph
2. The Most Rev. A. Wycislo, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago
3. The Rev. Thomas Ambrogi, S.J., Professor, Woodstock College
4. The Rev. Bernard J. Cooke, S.J., Chrm., Dept. of Theology, Marquette University
5. The Rev. Lawrence B. Guillot, Director, Ecumenical Library, Kansas City, Missouri
6. The Rev. John Hotchkin, Asst. Executive Director, Bishop's Commission for Ecumenical Affairs, Washington, D. C.
7. Professor Thomas P. Neill, Professor, St. Louis University
8. The Rev. George H. Tavard, Professor, Pennsylvania State University