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Ecumenical Dialogues, Anglican Visitors Remind Episcopalians of the Wider Church

Episcopal News Service. July 25, 1991 [91164]

Deputies and bishops at the 70th General Convention endorsed the continuing participation of the Episcopal Church in the National Council of Churches and encouraged a number of dialogues with other churches, including a new relationship with the Reformed Episcopal Church, as well as traditional black churches -- African Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

The convention affirmed the results of the 22-year dialogue with the Lutherans by accepting the results of the third round of dialogues and establishing a joint commission to study the proposed Concordat of Agreement between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Dioceses were encouraged to appoint ecumenical officers and provide training in the churchwide study of the documents from the Lutheran-Episcopal Dialogue.

The church will also be asked to study documents from the Church of Christ Uniting (COCU) and explore bilateral dialogue with member churches of COCU to emphasize the importance of worship, study, witness, and evangelism.

Ecumenical participants bring fresh perspectives

For the most part they sat in a special section set aside on the floor of both houses, watching and listening as the Episcopal Church struggled with the issues set before them. On a few occasions, however, the special ecumenical guests brought to the deliberations a fresh perspective, a different viewpoint, even some sharp criticism.

Perhaps the most prominent ecumenical guest was Lord Robert A.K. Runcie, former archbishop of Canterbury. "I cannot say that the actions of the Episcopal Church have always made life easy for an archbishop of Canterbury -- but life should not be easy in these days," Runcie told the House of Bishops in his greeting. He said he felt assured that "whereas you may be doing new things, you care immensely about the unity of the community." And he reminded the bishops that a great deal of attention is focused on their debate and the decisions they make "but even more, toward the temper by which you reach those decisions."

In his sermon at an evening Eucharist, Runcie recounted his excitement at the baptism of a child in a Hispanic mission church the previous Sunday. "Baptism into the death of Christ sounds strange to the world but for us it is profoundly encouraging," he said. In what he call "interfering words," Runcie articulated three hopes for the church: "that we shall presume our opponent's reasoning has something to do with his or her desire to be loyal to the same Christ we want to serve ourselves"; a recognition that matters of loyalty to Christ "cannot always be made clear in a generation, let alone in a short meeting"; and a wish "that there was not so strong a fashion to tie things up in legislation which does not allow any give for pastoral application."

Runcie's successor, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, and Archbishop of York John Habgood sent greetings to the convention. "We uphold you in our prayers and ask that the Spirit of truth and love will continue to sustain your life in Christ," they wrote.

Many of the ecumenical guests were family members, such as the Most. Rev. Samir Kafity, president-bishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East. Also, the Most Rev. George Browne of the Church of the Province of West Africa and bishop of Liberia shared an account of his recent experiences during Liberia's civil war. The Most Rev. Richard Abellon, prime bishop of the newly autonomous Philippine Episcopal Church, reported on recent natural disasters.

Archbishop Michael Peers of the Anglican Church of Canada gave a major address to the open hearing on the environment. Rabbi Robert Kravitz represented the American Jewish Committee and publicly criticized some of the Middle East resolutions. Roman Catholic Archbishop Rembert Weakland brought greetings, and the Rev. Troy Perry, moderator of the Metropolitan Community Church which was meeting in Phoenix at the same time, was introduced to the House of Bishops.

The following resolutions, which now become church policy, were among those passed by the convention on ecumenical issues:

  • Accept the report of the Standing Committee on Human Relations on the "Dublin Agreed Statement 1984" (A-042).
  • Affirm the document "Implications of the Gospel" as a step toward understanding the meaning of full communion between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (A-049a).
  • Appoint representatives to the Joint Lutheran-Episcopal Coordinating Committee and direct committee to continue the implementation of the 1982 Lutheran-Episcopal Agreement (B-043).
  • Ask financial disclosure from the National Council of Churches of Christ (D-128).
  • Authorize for ecumenical worship the trial use of the liturgy "The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper: A New Text" (A-046a).
  • Call for continued Christian-Jewish relationships and preparation of appropriate materials on the subject (D-181).
  • Commend the Lutheran-Episcopal dialogue and call for study throughout the church of its theological soundness and ecumenical appropriateness (A-048a).
  • Commend the work of retired bishop Arthur Vogel on the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission. Vogel retired from the commission in 1990.(A-044).
  • Encourage dioceses to appoint ecumenical officers and provide for their financial support (A-040a).
  • Establish a common marriage policy for use within ecumenical relationships (B-032a).
  • Establish a joint commission to study the proposed "Concordat of Agreement" between the Lutheran and Episcopal Churches (A-050a).
  • Establish ecumenical relationship with Reformed Episcopal Church (A-053).
  • Establish formal dialogue with the African Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (A-047).
  • Facilitate a study of the Consultation on Church Union document "Churches in Covenant Communion" (A-045).
  • Greetings to the Rev. Joan Campbell as she begins her ministry as general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ (A-055).
  • Offer thanks for the Episcopal Church's participation and leadership in the seventh assembly of the World Council of Churches (A-056s).
  • Provide for Episcopal diocesan ecumenical officers training in the churchwide study of "Toward Full Communion" and the "Concordat of Agreement" (A-051).
  • Provide oversight for the church's participation in interfaith dialogue (A-237).
  • Recommend cooperation with ecumenical partners in evangelism (A-074).
  • Recommit the Episcopal Church as a member of the National Council of Churches of Christ (A-054).
  • Send greetings to the Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios I (B-054).
  • Support an ecumenical agenda initiated by the Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations (A-039).
  • Urge Episcopalians to become better acquainted with the Oriental Orthodox churches (A-041).
  • Accept evaluation of document, "God's Reign and Our Unity," and submit evaluation as our response to the Anglican Consultative Council (A-043).
  • Refer Lutheran-Episcopal dialogue documents to the Anglican Consultative Council for review by and response from all member churches in the Anglican Communion (A-052).