Anglican Consultation Discusses Liturgical Guidelines
Episcopal News Service. October 19, 1995 [95-1273C]
(ACNS) More than 70 Anglican liturgists met in Dublin recently to discuss and identify the principles and guidelines which the provinces of the Anglican Communion should consider in the revision and development of eucharistic liturgies during the coming years. The consultation affirmed that, in the future, Anglican unity will find its liturgical expression not so much in uniform texts as in a common approach to eucharistic celebration and a structure which will ensure a balance of word, prayer, and sacrament. The principles also affirmed the relationship between baptism and the eucharist, noting that all the baptized are called to share at the table without exclusion on such grounds as age, race, gender, economic circumstance, or mental capacity, and that celebration of the eucharist involves renewal of the baptismal commitment to conversion of both personal and social life. Their meeting, the fifth in a series of International Anglican Liturgical Consultations held during the last decade, took place at the Church of Ireland Education College in Dublin. Previous consultations have considered communion of children, inculturation, and issues related to initiation. The principles and recommendations of the Dublin consultation address a growing concern that Anglican identity will be lost as liturgical variety increases.