A key motivation for this blog is that Christians work for unity in a divided world which is unimpressed by Christian fractures and fissions.
So, really, we cannot not comment on a significant "summit" being held through the past week or so, which continues this week - Catholics and Anglicans meeting first in Rome and then in Canterbury - including NZ Catholic and Anglican bishops. (See links here, here, here, here, here, here and there.)
The organisation of the twin summit has been by the Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission. The NZ bishops there are Ross Bay (Auckland, Anglican) and Michael Gielen (Christchurch, Catholic).
At one level this is good, full of potentiality and the simple fruit of years of local, national and regional dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics.
At another level - at least as observed by me on Twitter/X - this lovely coming together has catalyzed snakey comments from radtrads or tradrads (radical, traditional Catholics), concerned, for instance, that an Anglican liturgy was hosted in a Catholic church in Rome and that Francis was involved in commissioning Catholic/Anglican pairings of bishops ... apparently this undoes the papal bull declaring Anglican orders "null and void."
Let me repeat the first sentence above:
"A key motivation for this blog is that Christians work for unity in a divided world which is unimpressed by Christian fractures and fissions."
OK - I understand that one Catholic approach to unity is simple, straightforward and very traditional: you want Christian unity? Submit to the Pope. Become Roman Catholic.
But does that approach move Christian unity along that much? How many Orthodox, Protestant and Pentecostal Christians are going to cross the Tiber on such an insistent, "We're right, you've been wrong" basis?
Is there not a lot more mileage in the following?
- working on what we do agree on, what unites us in Christ, and what we can do together in the mission of God in the world;
- humbly acknowledging our shared failings to be the church we wanted to be (let alone the church Christ wants us to be), with specific reference in NZ, Australia and other places to commissions of inquiry into abuse in church contexts;
- seeing the good that Christ is doing in each of us and in each of our churches (it has not been my experience of ecumenical conversations that participants ever think God is only working in whatever is considered by each participant to be the "true" church);
- affirming the ministry of all Christians in a world which, whether ignoring, or marginalising, or even persecuting Christians, is not particularly concerned what denomination of Christian is being ignored, marginalised or persecuted. (Put more bluntly: we have a shared enemy in the world today, so shouldn't we be fighting that enemy and not each other?)
Hi +Peter,
ReplyDeleteI for one agree with your suggestions at the end of this post. I was blessed enough to attend a multi-denominational church under an Anglican umbrella once upon a time, and the blessing was that the denomination aspects paled into insignificance….and yet we so benefited from the different strengths people had gained under each branch of Christianity. As surely as we are part of one body, I enjoyed once hearing Fr. Cantamalessa apply this to the Japanese soldier after WWII in the Solomon’s who kept on fighting a war that did not exist for decades. In my generation (and I am not young!) I find most people identify as Christian rather than a denomination, in the younger ones they hardly know what a denomination or as they frequently put it a ‘domination’ is….
To do as you say, purposefully focus ecumenically on how God is working in each church, support and encouraging one another, I can only see as step forward for all; as all need building up. I see the logic in seperate administrations/structures of denominations, eek who would want the role of combining all that admin, as much as I see no harm but only benefit in multiple styles of worship. There are parts of different dominations theology or practice I don’t quite agree with, and there are parts of Anglicanism I don’t quite agree with, and they make for interesting debate and discussion albeit I think making them the main focus detracts from the greater calling.
Eph 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling
P.s. 133 How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!
2 For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe.
3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the LORD has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.
Kia ora tātou dear Anglican Down Unders. I watched the beautiful Waitangi Day dawn service on RNZ this morning. Dr Alistair Reese delivered a magnificent sermon that brought me to tears. Authentic NZ public theology. Sermon begins at 30:16....
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/live/tAViXNRuj08?si=ydnrqM-3xWgy-zkx
Sorry, don't intend to be anonymous....that last post on Waitangi is from me, Mark.
ReplyDelete