[These comments were in response to an inquiry by Jason Derr regarding the full communion agreement between the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.]
Dear Jason,
Here are my responses to your questions. I have copied my response to the national staff members responsible for the Joint Commission as a courtesy to the Commission. While I am a member of the Joint Commission, I do not wish to speak on its behalf but on my own responsibility.
1) Why did we do this? The visible unity of the Christian church has been a commitment of the Anglican and Lutheran communions for a century or more. We believe that this unity can be achieved by stages and our agreement is a significant stage in the effort to the full visible unity of the church.
2) Why the Anglicans? During the Reformation there were numerous contacts between continental Lutherans and the Church of England. Neither communion had ever condemned the other and, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, there were examples of cooperation between the two communions, particularly in Africa and India. Lutherans and Anglicans have understood themselves to be reform movements within the catholic church and have tended to honour our catholic heritage even while being critical of certain emphases within that heritage.
3) How are we expressing this agreement on all levels? Representatives of the two churches serve as members of the national executive councils of both churches and on the major national committees and commissions of the two churches. National events are planned in order to facilitate the participation of the members of both churches. Dioceses and synods are cooperating in the appointment of clergy, the establishment of new congregations, the development of shared ministries and the continuing education of clergy. Local congregations are cooperating in areas of mission and ministry.
4) What does this mean for the local Lutheran congregation? First, it means that the congregation has a ready-made partner in their Anglican neighbour. Second, it means that there are now numerous opportunities to cooperate in areas of mutual concern and ministry. Third, it means that Lutherans and Anglicans can explore how they can worship together and support one another in pastoral ministry.
5) How did it come about? Anglicans and Lutherans have been engaged in bilaterial conversations internationally since the latter decade of the nineteenth century. Since the early twentieth century, the Church of Sweden and many of the national Anglican churches have been been in full communion. In Canada our conversations began in the early 1970's in response to an international bilateral dialogue that began in the late 1960's and to the dialogue between Lutherans and Episcopalians in the United States. These bilateral dialogues in the United States and Canada were further fuelled by conversations between British and Irish Anglicans and Lutherans in the Baltic and Scandinavian countries. After a series of Canadian Lutheran and Anglican discussions resulted in shared affirmations and common statements as well as a period of interim eucharist sharing, the National Church Convention and the General Synod authorized the creation of the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Working Group in 1995 with a six-year mandate to facilitate a process that could result in full communion in 2001. This Working Group consulted widely throughout the country, facilitated study days involving clergy and laity from both churches and worked closely with the bishops and councils of both churches to produce 'The Waterloo Declaration'. The Declaration was approved by both churches on 6 July 2001.
6) What is it? Full communion is the breaking down of divisions by recognizing the full apostolicity of each church, the authenticity of each other's ordained ministries and the transferability of clergy and laity between the two churches. Full communion is a commitment to walk together, honouring our unity in faith and witness without abandoning our distinctiveness. Full communion is a relationship between equals that celebrates shared values and vision.
7) How does this effect clergy and future clergy in both churches? The agreement means that the present clergy of the two churches are eligible to serve in either church depending upon mutually-agreed guidelines governing movement between the two churches. These guidelines, available on-line at either national church website, are not intended to inhibit movement but to ensure that clergy are sensitive to the ethos of the other church as well as the differences in some of our constitutional arrangements. Future clergy should be trained in such a way as to become 'bi-lingual', ready to serve in the church that ordains them as well as their partner.
8) What does this mean for the lay person? For the lay person it means that we respect each other's baptism and confirmation practices. It means that we are committed to finding ways to support each other rather than compete with each other.
9) In a post-Christian world where most lay people do not identify by denomination, does this even make sense? Yes, it makes sense. There are no homogenized Christians and we delude ourselves if we believe that our traditions are irrelevant. In a world in which we are pulled by self-satisfying individualized spirituality on the one hand and exclusivist sectarianism on the other, the witness of two historic multi-cultural, multi-lingual communions drawing near and choosing communion rather than competition is significant.
10) Are Lutheran and Anglican churches restricted to playing together or can any given congregation also run programmes with any other local church or any denomination? Full communion is a specific relationship between Anglicans and Lutherans in Canada that is governed by the Waterloo Declaration. Either national church is free to enter into formal agreements with any other Christian body, although such an agreement does not bind the partner church to a similar arrangement. Congregations are free to engage in collaborative ministry with any other Christian community subject to the polity and policies of their own communion. There are numerous collaborative ministries being undertaken throughout our country between Christians of a wide variety of communions, 'Kairos', the Canadian inter-church justice organization, being just one.
I hope that these answer are helpful to you.
Blessings,
Richard
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