Agreed Statement on Ministry Hailed as "Major Milestone"
Diocesan Press Service. December 13, 1973 [73274]
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Two leaders in the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. have called the recently released agreed statement on Ministry and Ordination of the Anglican - Roman Catholic International Commission "a second major milestone in the long journey toward reconciliation between our two Churches. "
The document, "Ministry and Ordination: A Statement on the Doctrine of the Ministry Agreed by the Anglican - Roman Catholic International Commission," was released on December 13. The "first milestone," the history-making "Agreed Statement on Eucharistic Doctrine," was issued a year ago.
A statement issued by the Rt. Rev. John E. Hines, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, and the Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, chairman of the Joint Commission on Ecumenical Relations and Presiding Bishop-Elect, said "we are confident . .. that both statements" of the Commission "are in accord with the teaching and practice of the Episcopal Church. "
The text of their statement is as follows :
"The agreed statement on Ministry and Ordination of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission is a second major milestone in the long journey toward reconciliation between our two Churches.
"Like the first milestone, the Agreed Statement on Eucharistic Doctrine adopted a year ago, the new document is grounded in the Scriptures and the teaching and practice of the Christian Church for many centuries before Anglicans and Roman Catholics parted ways. Careful study by theologians and Church authorities will, we are confident, show that both statements are in accord with the teaching and practice of the Episcopal Church.
"The statement on the ministry will be welcomed by clergy and laity of the two Churches who have entered into covenant relationships at the local level and will stimulate the process of growing together in faith and fellowship.
"These statements belong to a wider ecumenical context. Convergence in understanding of the Holy Communion is exemplified in studies of the World and National Councils of Churches. The statement on ministry builds on the fact that both Churches cherish the ordained ministry of Bishops, priests and deacons, but it does not pre-judge the relation of this ministry to presbyterial and congregational forms or seek to confine the gifts of the Spirit to narrow channels.
"Our two Churches have made many judgmental statements about each other in the past. The task of reviewing the present relevance of such statements must begin with the understandings of sacrament and ministry which we share today. More miles of doctrinal exploration lie ahead of us, including the difficult terrain of authority and primacy. "The good beginnings made so far are grounds for hope that in the not-too-distant future we shall be able to see in each other the fulness and integrity of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. When and if this happens, millions of Christian people will rejoice in the Lord. "
"The good beginnings made so far are grounds for hope that in the not-too-distant future we shall be able to see in each other the fulness and integrity of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. When and if this happens, millions of Christian people will rejoice in the Lord. "
(NOTE: The Statement on Ministry and Ordination was released on Dec. 13, DPS release #73264.)