A Few Observations About the Ecumenical Scene and Church Union
Diocesan Press Service. September 26, 1972 [72134]
The Rt. Rev. John E. Hines, Presiding Bishop
To the Executive Council, September 26, 1972
I had the privilege, together with Ecumenical Officer Peter Day, and da Vincian-man, Paul Anderson, of visiting the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, and of seeing a small segment of the Church -- and of Russia -- in Moscow, Leningrad and Zagorsk. To me it was a revealing, humbling, confusing, difficult and rewarding experience. His Holiness, Patriarch Pimen, beginning his second patriarchal year, could not have been more gracious. His strong, young Metropolitan assistants, were likewise solicitous, interested in the nature and scope of this Church of ours, and hospitable to a fault. Our conversations with them -- though always limited by the sub-conscious feeling that the secular-Soviet powers were looking over our shoulders, and theirs, were as open as circumstances permitted. that the Russian Church is alive at all struck me as being a mighty triumph of the human spirit, when it is touched by the Holy Spirit in the grim contest for the souls of men.
I cannot answer for Doctors Anderson and Day, whose report bf the visitation I hope all of you will read, but I came back to this country and to this Church with a new appreciation of what that freedom is with which Christ has set us free. And how infinitely that freedom in and for the Church is bound up with the Church's willingness and zeal to be identified with, and to spend itself for, the alleviation of the suffering and pain of people dispossessed by heartless, self-serving power structures (some of which have borne ecclesiastical symbols). And I thought to myself, "There, but for the Grace of God, I could go, and the Episcopal Church could go, and the United States of America could go." And I have not yet recovered from the trauma of those reflections.
Only this month an article by the eminent historian, Barbara Tuchman, reflected about the People's Republic of China what, by osmosis, seeped into my fleeting consciousness about Russia, under the Soviets:
"The dominant fact is that for China's working class, which is to say over 80 percent of the world's most populous country, the lid of exploitation has been lifted. While visible betterment varies widely between the major cities and the provinces, it is probably true to say of all areas that the workers have found a sense of purpose, self-confidence and dignity. in the knowledge that they are the object of the state's concern, not, as in the past, society's victims.
"The most obvious negative aspect of the process is the mental monotone imposed upon the country. All thought, all ideas -- past, present and future -- not to mention the historic record, are twisted, manipulated, rolled out and flattened into one, expressed in half a dozen slogans dinned incessantly and insistently into the heads of the people. The life of the mind has rigid limits in China."
This leads me to looking ahead in our national history.
In 1976 the United States will be observing its Bicentennial. Various activities and observances relating to the occasion will be taking place in the next few years.
Undoubtedly, many Churchmen will actively participate in many of the activities. I hope they do. All of us will be aware of the occasion. While the American Bicentennial Commission has had difficulty getting organized, they do promise to lead us to re-examination of our heritage, and of our horizons today.
This nation came into being, in a significant way, because of the yearning for religious liberty. The religious and moral convictions of the founders helped form the institutions of our society. Faith provided the dynamism and hope for our forebears to settle and develop this new land, and to work for the promise of liberty and justice for all.
I ask this Council's advice. Should we not make some definite plans for participation in the national event? Could we be of assistance to the various dioceses in their own involvement? I am reminded that the Gallagher Fund exists to "contribute toward the preservation of the republican form of government in the United States "through educational enterprises or otherwise, "directly or indirectly." My guess is that the income from this trust would enable some good work to be done.
" Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind by locality or speech or custom . . they dwell in their own countries as sojourners; they take their share in everything as citizens; and they endure all hardship as strangers. Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every fatherland is foreign . . . Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven . . . . They are kept in the world as a prison house, yet they themselves hold the world together, " wrote the Second Century author of the Epistle to Diognetus.
Let me have your thinking about how we might organize to help Christians exercise their dual citizenship at this time of the bicentennial of our nation.
There is some reflection -- especially in the press -- that Church Union has reached its "high-water-mark" and is fast receding as a critical issue and goal in Christendom. I do not believe the facts sustain this. It is given substance by spectacular events, such as the withdrawal of the United Presbyterians from the Consultation on Church Union (they being one of the founders of it), and the failure of the Church of England to vote union with the Methodist Church. But, let us look at the record: (as reported by Dr. John Deschner)
"There is the Anglican-Roman Catholic conversation with its Agreed-upon Statement on Eucharistic Doctrine.
"There is the Lutheran-Roman Catholic bilateral with its recommendation that the two Churches should consider the possibility of an official mutual recognition of ministries.
" There is the conclusion in the unofficial Eastern Orthodox-Oriental Orthodox Consultations that 'an agreement exists on the essentials of a common Christology' -- and the proposal for the initiation of an official dialogue.
"There is the international Congregational-Presbyterian conversations which led to the merger of the two world confessional families into the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Presbyterian and Congregational).
"There is the Lutheran-Reformed conversation in Europe which produced the Leuenberg concord which aims at full altar and pulpit fellowship, and the closest of practical relations."
I would add the Anglican-Orthodox conversations -- the last of which was held this past week.
Question: What have these bi-lateral conversations achieved?
a. Agreement on eucharistic doctrine (Anglican-Roman Catholic, Lutheran-Reformed, Methodist-Roman Catholic)
b. Agreement on the nature of the ministry and/or full or partial recognition of ministries (Lutheran-Roman Catholic, Lutheran-Reformed, Methodist-Roman Catholic)
c. Full inter-communion (Lutheran-Reformed)
d. Partial inter-communion (Anglican-Lutheran, Anglican-Roman Catholic, Lutheran-Roman Catholic)
e. Agreement concerning the relationship of Gospel, Scripture and tradition (Anglican-Lutheran, Anglican-Roman Catholic, Lutheran-Roman Catholic)
f. Discovery of profound affinities in spirituality and concern with sanctification (Methodist-Roman Catholic)
g. Agreement of full pulpit and altar fellowship on the basis of a common understanding of the Gospel, invalidation of the mutual condemnation of the 16th Century, and mutual recognition as Church of Christ (Lutheran-Reformed).
In several instances a bridging of age-long chasms has taken place in a very few short years!
From a paper, "Survey of Church Union Negotiations: 1969-1971" (Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches -- July, 1972) what can we learn?
Thirty-six negotiations are surveyed: 8 in Africa, 7 in Asia, 2 in Australasia, 10 in Europe, 3 in Latin America, 6 in North America.
No less than 22 of the 36 are healthy, and not more than 10 or 11, about one third, could justify any talk about a "malaise."
Four negotiations appear to have terminated in the past two years, four new ones have begun.
There is some evidence that "malaise " -- if there be one -- is characteristic only of the North American scene. Progress characterizes the so-called Third World, and especially Asia, a very creative region.
Dr. Deschner says "When the future Church historian writes the history of our time, he may find himself perplexed at the tone of pessimism in much WCC talk about Church Union during a period when activity towards Church Union is, in fact, growing and progressing.
"The question is not whether this classical ecumenism has collapsed, but whether it has the vision to see, and the power to heal, the new, largely social divisions which are tearing at the Church in our time."
Now, what about the Consultation on Church Union -- and this Church's stance in it?
No question about it -- the United Presbyterians' withdrawal shook the Consultation (and aided those who have always condemned it).
But, this must be appraised in the light of polarization within that Church (the split between Liberals and Conservatives -- which also operates in the Episcopal Church -- over social involvement).
And, the subsequent decisive vote in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.) -- even more violently polarized -- to remain "in" the Consultation.
The problem is not in the "principles." Any careful examination of the agreed-upon areas will find:
1. A high doctrine of the Church
2. A Scripturally-backed doctrine of ministry
3. A general acceptance of episcopacy -- and bishops
4. Strong agreement concerning the sacraments -- especially Baptism and the Eucharist
5. Common agreement on the Scriptures and tradition
My feeling is that if Church Union were the exclusive province of the members of the Consultation we would have it NOW.
But, the educational-communication gap has been both extensive and debilitating.
People cannot become enthusiastic about Church Union just by reading about it. It is like dancing -- you learn by doing it! By engagement. By involvement.
"The Plan" tends to overwhelm the tender concerns of "people in the pew" -- with complex, over-bearing "structure. " People are not inclined to explore it -- much less buy it.
Necessity dictates that we cannot stop! We may have to find some other way.