Convention to Ponder Wide Ecumenical Work
Episcopal News Service. March 31, 1988 [88059]
Elizabeth Eisenstadt
NEW YORK, (DPS, Mar. 31) -- As delegates prepare for the 1988 General Convention in Detroit, ecumenical relations are one of the major concerns they will carry with them. Although ecumenical concerns have always played a part in Convention discussion and debate, the Detroit Convention may prove to be unique. The Mission Imperatives which the Presiding bishop and Executive Council bring to Convention include -- as Imperative VIII -- a strong mandate for ecumenical dialogue: "Commit yourselves to the unity of the Church and of all God's people."
The 12 resolutions offered by the Standing Commission on Ecumenical relations (SCER) in their Blue Book Report span a hundred years of interchurch involvement, from the Chicago Lambeth Quadrilateral to the current work of Episcopalians on the NCC (National Council of Churches) and the WCC (World Council of Churches.) The panel is authorized by Convention to create programs and develop policies on ecumenical matters. At the request of the 68th General Convention, it has also produced an analysis of the landmark COCU (Consultation on Church Union) document, "The COCU Consensus: In Quest of a Church of Christ Uniting." In its spare time, the interim body also carried on various ecumenical dialogues and presented a major conference, last September's National Ecumenical Consultation, which marked the centenary of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral.
Although the Commission found much to praise in the COCU paper, it had crucial questions about the document's purpose and effectiveness as an instrument of unity.
The current COCU piece is the fruit of a quarter century's work by the nine churches participating in the Consultation. While its ecumenical committee has undergone various incarnations since COCU was founded in 1961, the Episcopal Church has remained constant in reviewing and suggesting revisions in Consultation materials. At the direction of the Los Angels Convention, the SCER appointed a subcommittee composed of commission members and Anglican theological consultants, to evaluate the COCU work. Members of the staff at Episcopal seminaries and Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical Officers (EDEO) were also asked to participate in this process.
The SCER team concluded that the document indeed met two of the goals set by the COCU Plenary in 1984 when "The COCU Consensus" was released in its final form. Delegates will be asked to view the piece as an "expression...of the apostolic faith, order, worship and witness of the church". The SCER report points out that the COCU document is an anticipation of a time when the Church will be united.
But the subcommittee questioned the document's usefulness as an instrument of such unity. They noted that a report alone could not serve as a basis for unification, and said that the paper was too closely tied to an outdated view of the American Church. They also noted a lack of clarity about such familiar and central ecumenical issues as the role of the 3-fold ordained ministry and the place of liturgy. Overall, the SCER team concluded that the "COCU Consensus" was "not a sufficient theological basis for the covenanting acts and the uniting process proposed at this time by the Consultation."
The panel will ask delegates, however, to authorize continued participation in COCU, and continued use of the trial COCU Eucharistic liturgies, under appropriate conditions. In its initial evaluation of another COCU document, "Covenanting Toward Unity: from Consensus to Communion," the SCER concluded that it was not "fully satisfactory" and suggested ways in which it could be clarified.
Over the past three years dioceses and seminaries have taken a long look back at the principles of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral and reaffirmed its centrality in all ecumenical dialogues. The Quadrilateral, adopted by the 1886 Chicago meeting of the House of Bishops and the 1888 Lambeth Conference, listed four prerequisites for "the restoration of unity."
The bishops emphasized the centrality of Holy Scripture, the Creeds, and the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist administered with Christ's words of institution. The fourth cornerstone, the "historic episcopate", has remained a controversial issue in unity discussions with Protestant churches over the years.
Last September's Quadrilateral Celebration was held near Chicago to coincide with the fall meeting of the House of Bishops. The third conference of its kind, it included fifteen guests from other communions, representatives from various sectors of the Episcopal Church, and Anglican guests from other countries. Participants joined the bishops at the Cathedral of St. James for a Eucharist to mark the Quadrilateral's centenary.
Consulting members heard papers on the history of the Quadrilateral, ambiguity and authority in the Anglican tradition, and strategies for ecumenism in mission. The Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical Officers (EDEO) marked the occasion by publishing the book "Models of Ecumenism." Ecumenical guests took the opportunity to analyze candidly the Episcopal Church's strengths and weaknesses in the ecumenical field.
The panel will ask Convention delegates to affirm the centrality of five issues in future ecumenical dialogues. Theological seminaries, clergy and lay education programs and "other appropriate agencies" should be encouraged to study the Quadrilateral. Episcopal ecumenical delegations should put the question of authority in the Church high on their agendas. New attention needs to be paid to the relationship between unity and mission. In dialogues with several churches, (notably the Lutherans), the importance of reaching agreement on eucharistic sharing should be emphasized. Finally, the Consultation seeks to reaffirm the vision endorsed by the 66th General Convention in "The Unity We Seek," of "one eucharistic fellowship...a communion of Communions."
The phrase "a communion of communions," is used several times in the report on the church councils. The lengthy report by a panel subcommittee reflects a need to improve existing ties with the two bodies and a desire for more effective future cooperation.
The NCC-WCC report is the result of a request by former Presiding Bishop John Allin. A subcommittee emerged with a set of hardhitting recommendations for improving communications and making the Church a more active member of both bodies.
The subcommittee strongly endorsed the report of the NCC Presidential Panel, which, in the early part of this decade, had suggested sweeping changes in self-understanding and governance. The group stated that the NCC has often acted more like another denomination than an agency representing many of the major U.S. denominations. The subcommittee recommended that Episcopal Church leadership lobby for increased consultation with member churches. Panel members noted that the Episcopal Church and its constituencies could make better use of channels such as the Presiding Bishop and Executive Council for becoming more active in NCC affairs.
In addition, the subcommittee felt that the NCC had often "shot from the hip" on a variety of issues, often in an indiscriminate manner, which fueled reports that it was ideologically biased. According to the subcommittee, the NCC needed to stay in touch with other ecumenical bodies and dialogues, and to make its lines of financial accountability clearer.
But the report concluded that critical self-analysis by the agency provided the Church with a unique opportunity for influencing the council's new structure. If this is to happen, said the report: "this will necessarily involve assuming our fair share of budgetary responsibility."
When the panel prepared its WCC report, it found many of the same problems. Difficulties in communication are multiplied by the fact that the WCC has 300 regional member churches. Panel members felt the North American concerns had often been lost in the shuffle, with links between the Episcopal Church and the council weakened over the years.
Noting the difficulties of encouraging church members to see mission and ministry in a global context, the SCER nonetheless urged the Church to take the WCC and its work more seriously. In pursuing that goal, the panel has requested a canonical change, which would allow the Executive Council advisory power over delegate appointments.
The report concluded with a list of criteria for Episcopal appointees to both Councils. The SCER also had practical suggestions for ways in which delegates could be better informed and communicate more effectively with church leadership. At the fall Executive Council meeting, the NCC-WCC report was approved and sent on to Convention. Delegates will be asked to authorize relaying the recommendations to the appropriate agencies.
The panel also reports steady progress on a number of fronts in the Lutheran-Episcopal conversations. The subjects for a third set of talks were mandated by a 1982 agreement endorsed by the General Conventions of both churches. At that time the two bodies agreed to recognize each others orders and to authorize interim eucharist sharing. The two churches also asked for an examination of the "implications of the Gospel" the historic episcopate, and the "ordering of ministry" within both communions.
In January of this year the Dialogue published a joint statement, "Implications of the Gospel." This document was relayed to the SCER and to the ecumenical office of the newly constituted Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ( a merger of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, the American Lutheran Church, and the Lutheran Church in America). Dialogue members expect the paper to serve both as a teaching instrument and as a spur to further ecumenical cooperation. Although Missouri Synod Lutherans have been "full partners" in the work, it is not clear what role they will play in future talks. Members of the LED will not turn their attention to the historic episcopate and the ordering of ministry.
Convention delegates will be asked to welcome the newly constituted ELCA and to ask the SCER to come up with a means of evaluating and studying the document "Implications of the Gospel." They hope to report to the 70th General Convention (1991) on the results of this project.
Conversations with the Roman Catholic Church chug along steadily on the international and national fronts. The Second Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC II) came out last year with their agreed statement on "Salvation and the Church." ARCIC II has been working on this document since 1982, when this set of talks emerged from the "Common Declaration" of Pope John Paul II and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The panel hopes that this paper, with its emphasis on fellowship, will become a means of beginning discussions on authority and thorny related issues, such as the ordination of women and the recognition of Anglican orders. Members of ARC, the U.S. Anglican-Roman dialogue, have already begun to examine these topics. ARC members are expected to emerge from their "candid and prayerful" discussions with an agreed statement on authority sometime in the future.
During the past triennium participants in the U.S. Anglican-Orthodox Consultation have come up with two agreed statements, one on Christian initiation and one on the Eucharist. Both are published, but have not yet been approved by either Church. Convention delegates will be asked to convey their congratulations to the people of the Russian Orthodox Church on the occasion of its millennial celebration, and to celebrate the feast of St. Sergius.
The SCER has worked hard to maintain relationships with churches in full communion with Episcopal Church. The report notes that, for the first time, representative bishops from each of the churches in full communion with Anglican churches worldwide have been invited to attend this summer's Lambeth Conference.
Latin American Bishops in Province IX have been working since the last General Convention to open discussions with the Roman Catholic Church and to translate ecumenical documents into Spanish. Delegates will be asked to encourage Province IX clergy and bishops in their groundbreaking efforts.
The SCER detailed the varied work of the Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical Officers, who channel studies and information from the national to the local church. Convention will be asked to urge dioceses who don't have such officers to appoint and financially support them.
The report also noted the publication of an ecumenical poll of bishops and 1985 General Convention delegates, available from the New York Ecumenical Office, at the Episcopal Church Center. Finally, the panel reported that "vast differences" have come to light in the 1986 North Carolina Baptist-Episcopal dialogue. Since that time the talks have not resumed, although the SCER hopes members will try again in 1988.