'Visible Unity' Heads Ecumenical Proposals
Episcopal News Service. June 14, 1979 [79198]
NEW YORK -- A definition of visible unity and expanded principles for achieving that unity are keystones to an ecumenical proposal being offered to the bishops and deputies to the 1979 General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
The proposal is included among 23 recently made public in the "Blue Book," the reports of the Joint Committees, Commissions, Boards and Agencies of the General Convention, in preparation for the 66th meeting of Convention Sept. 8-20 in Denver, Colo. The ecumenical issues are contained in the report of the Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, chaired by the Rt. Rev. John H. Burt, Bishop of Ohio.
The 1976 General Convention had asked the Commission to undertake a major, churchwide review of the Church's ecumenical work, which would include proposed restatement of essential elements, goals and priorities.
Work with the Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical Officers, surveys of the Episcopal Church Center staff and involvement of scholars, culminated in a National Ecumenical Conference in late 1978 which is largely responsible for the unity papers.
The highest priority emerging from the national conference was given to creating a working definition of the "Nature of the Unity We Seek," and the resulting paper -- which the Convention will be asked to endorse -- represents a shift away from the thinking of earlier decades.
The paper declares the goal to be "one eucharistic fellowship" to be expressed through recognition of the body as a "communion of communions based upon acknowledgement of catholicity and apostolicty."
Within this framework, the drafters see full, mutual recognition of ministers and members, intercommunion, shared ministries and mission and a commitment to full, shared planning.
The declaration freely concedes that the shapes of the collegiality, conciliarity, authority and primacy or how particular traditions will be maintained are not yet known.
It concludes: "All Christians are challenged to express among themselves the biblical call to mutual responsibility and interdependence," and voices the belief that: "Ways can now be found to express this call in a communion of Churches in the Body of Christ."
"One of the keys to this," explained the Rev. William A. Norgren, assistant ecumenical officer at the Episcopal Church Center, "is that it gets the superchurch idea off our backs. It relieves the Churches of having to create one organization and concentrate on the dialogues and the sharing that can be built."
To support this, the Commission is also proposing that Convention affirm a set of principles for unity with other Churches. These are based on the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1886-88 which has guided Anglican ecumenical efforts for all of this century.
Those principles held as a basis for approaching reunion the four-part acceptance of the Holy Scriptures, the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper and the historic episcopate.
The principles proposed by the Standing Commission greatly expand on the quadrilateral. In the first two sections -- on Scripture and the Creeds -- acknowledgement is made of the role of continuing revelation and the role of tradition.
The third point of the Commission proposal calls for recognition of the Church as the sacrament of God's presence made active and real through preaching, through the Gospel sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist and through "our apostolate to the world."
In the fourth principle, the proposal expands on "historic episcopate" to explore concepts of apostolic teaching, ministry and mission, holding that these must be grounded in, safeguard or advance the work of the apostles as shown through Scripture, creeds and tradition.
In the matter of ministry the principle states: "We understand the historic episcopate as central to this apostolic ministry and to the reunion of Christendom even as we acknowledge 'the spiritual reality of the ministry of those communions which do not possess the Episcopate. '"
Father Norgren expressed the hope that the whole Church would discuss the proposed principles which "go way beyond the Quadrilateral. For one thing, that said nothing about tradition which is the whole issue these days, no matter with whom you are talking."
As with the goal statement, he said the principles are proposed to help coordinate the dialogues and to present clear statements to Lutherans, Roman Catholics or the Consultation on Church Union about what essentials the Episcopal Church holds up.
One major thrust of the Commission's work is in the continuing Anglican/ Roman Catholic consultations both internationally and in the United States and three of the resolutions the Commission offers deal with this topic.
The first is an affirmation of the two historic papers produced by the Anglican Roman Catholic International Consultation on Eucharistic Doctrine and on Ministry and Ordination which were produced in the early 1970s.
The late Pope Paul VI and Dr. Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury, urged in 1977 that their respective churches would soon have to evaluate the conclusions of the statements. Elucidations -- addressing concerns that members of both churches had expressed -- were published in 1979 and are included as part of the annex to the Commission report.
The resolution which Convention will receive affirms that the statements "provide a statement of the faith of this Church in the matters concerned and form a basis upon which to proceed in furthering the growth towards unity of the Episcopal Church with the Catholic Church."
The Convention will also be asked to endorse a statement on "The Purpose of the Church" which is the result of a U.S. Episcopal/Roman Catholic discussion and to authorize the Commission to initiate a conference of Episcopal and Roman Catholic leaders to study the practical implications of all the documents.
In another direction, the Commission is proposing two resolutions recognizing the Consultation on Church Union as the "primary place" in which Episcopalians engage in dialogue with nine Protestant or Reformed churches and authorizing use -- on certain occasions -- of the Consultation on Church Union liturgies.
Meeting after the report was drafted, the Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical Officers passed a resolution -- which will also be presented to Convention -- amending the COCU resolution to state that such dialogue is "an important" rather than the "primary" place for such interchange.
The visible unity we seek is one eucharistic fellowship. As an expression of and a means toward this goal, the uniting church will recognize itself as a communion of communions, based upon acknowledgement of catholicity and apostolicity. In this organic relationship all will recognize each other's members and ministries. All will share the bread and the cup of the Lord. All will acknowledge each other as belonging to the Body of Christ at all places and at all times. All will proclaim the Gospel to the world with one mind and purpose. All will serve the needs of humankind with mutual trust and dedication. And for these ends all will plan and decide together in assemblies constituted by authorized representatives whenever and wherever there is need.
We do not yet see the shape of that collegiality, conciliarity, authority and primacy which need to be present and active in the diocese with its parishes as well as nationally, regionally, universally; but we recognize that some ecclesial structure will be necessary to bring about the expressions of our unity in the Body of Christ described above.
We do not yet know how the particular traditions of each of the communions will be maintained and developed for the enrichment of the whole church. We do not see how the church will be shaped by the particular histories and cultures within which she is called to fulfill her mission.
All Christians are challenged to express more fully among themselves the Biblical call to mutual responsibility and interdependence. We believe ways can now be found to express this call in a communion of the churches in the Body of Christ. As the churches become partners in mission they will move from present interrelatedness to interdependence.