Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Ecumenical bonds reinforced with presiding bishop's visit to Europe

Two Christian denominations in Europe -- one in full communion with the Episcopal Church and the other exploring the potential for such a relationship -- welcomed Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori this week for key talks and a keynote address, a signal that many global ecumenical relations are in fine shape and continue to be strengthened. 

Following a three-day visit to the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden, with which the Episcopal Church is hoping to formalize a full-communion partnership, Jefferts Schori traveled to Utrecht in the Netherlands to deliver the Quasimodo Lecture, an annual event hosted by the Old Catholic Church.

The Episcopal Church entered into full communion with the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht on the basis of the Bonn Agreement in 1934. The Old Catholic Church consists of several national churches in Europe -- located in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland -- that could not accept the definition of papal infallibility presented by the first Vatican Council in 1870.

Old Catholic Archbishop Joris Vercammen told ENS that cooperation between the Episcopal Church, the Old Catholic Church and the Church of England – all of which have a presence in Europe -- is "essential for contributing to the gospel" on the continent.

"It's important to really enter into one another's theology and that is where you will really find more unity," he said. "Churches must collaborate more with one another, and that means tearing down boundaries, which is very possible between Anglicans and Old Catholics."

The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe serves a culturally diverse demographic of Christians in 20 parishes and missions throughout Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

"It's all about celebrating our full communion," Vercammen said about extending the invitation for Jefferts Schori to visit Utrecht, "and it's important that we have the opportunity to witness the life of the Episcopal Church. We are not that far away from each other and we are struggling with the same issues. Such a visit also provides an opportunity for solidarity."

But Vercammen acknowledged that more creativity is needed in dealing with overlapping jurisdictions. The Church of England's Diocese in Europe also includes parishes throughout the continent.

"We need more concrete initiatives," such as common searches for church leadership to serve across jurisdictions, he said, "and then we can really build a nucleus of church where Christians of all origins can come together. We have a unique opportunity and it would be a pity if we were not to use it."

On May 14 in St. Gertrude's (Old Catholic) Cathedral complex in Utrecht, the presiding bishop delivered the Quasimodo Lecture, an annual event that explores issues of faith in contemporary society. The lecture historically has been held near the second Sunday of Easter, known in some traditions as Quasimodo Sunday, taking its name from the opening Latin text of a traditional Introit for the day, "Quasi modo geniti infants," meaning "As newborn babies."

In the lecture, titled "Networks for the future: catholic beyond boundaries," Jefferts Schori said that a church catholic should be an open place where wrestling with difficult questions is encouraged and a place where old forms give way to new opportunities.

"The leadership of Christian bodies like ours, as well as all of the partners we can discover and nurture, are needed in order to transform the future," she said. "We must build networks for that transformed future, for that image of the reign of God … That future is only possible with the catholicity of relationships beyond our current understanding. We must reach beyond the bounds that divide us for the love of God and for the love of our neighbors. We can do no less; we can do nothing more important."

She said that the rich diversity of relationships throughout ecumenical partnerships "make us so effective."

"[H]ealing of the community is why we're here, not just the healing of the Christian community through our ecumenical work, but the healing of all creation," she said. "The constant peril of ecumenism is thinking too small. Ecumenism is basically housekeeping work, cleaning up the household, setting it in order so that it can be a home ... So we need to keep our focus on God's mission, that great dream of restored creation... The work of full communion is meant for fuller communion than you and I can envision."

The lecture was followed by an opportunity for discussion with the audience.

Earlier in the day, during a noonday service at St. Gertrude's, Jefferts Schori preached on the day's reading -- the parable of pouring new wine into old wineskins from Luke 5:33-38.

"The body of Christ is like a living wine skin, or like a cellar or tomb of wine skins -- different harvests from different vineyards. Together they all contribute to the feast, and fresh wineskins are continually needed," she said. "We don't always trust the capacity of those new ones ... The old is always passing away, and we struggle with letting go. Can our ecumenical winemaking contribute to the feast? Can we try new skin and suspend judgment until the wine is ready to drink? Are we willing to mix grapes from different fields?"

Earlier in the week, the Old Catholic Church hosted its annual International Bishops Conference, at which the Episcopal Church was represented by West Virginia Bishop Mike Klusmeyer.

Meanwhile, Jefferts Schori was visiting Uppsala to continue to explore ways that the U.S.-based Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden can deepen its partnerships.

"It's really about formalizing a relationship that already exists," the Rev. Thomas Ferguson, the Episcopal Church's ecumenical and interreligious relations officer, told ENS. Ferguson was accompanying the presiding bishop on her visit to Europe.

General Convention 2009, via Resolution A076, called for the two churches to enter into a dialogue that could lead to a full-communion agreement.

Church of Sweden Archbishop Anders Wejryd has been invited to attend the next meeting of General Convention in 2012, when it is hoped that a resolution on formalizing a full-communion relationship between the two churches will be acted on, Ferguson said.

In addition to the Old Catholics, the Episcopal Church is in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, India, the Moravian Church in North America, and the Philippine Independent Church.

Churches in full communion formally recognize that they share essential doctrines, including baptism and Eucharist; agree to accept the service of each other's clergy; and pledge to work together in evangelism and mission. The churches become interdependent while remaining autonomous.

Jefferts Schori last visited the Church of Sweden in September 2008 to share in its historic celebrations that marked 50 years of the ordination of women in the Lutheran denomination.
The church made history in 2009 by electing and ordaining Eva Brunne as Christianity's first openly gay female bishop.

The Church of Sweden is a member of the Porvoo Communion, which groups the British and Irish Anglican churches and the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran churches that entered into a full communion agreement in 1992 to "share a common life in mission and service." The Church of England remains in that ecumenical agreement.

However, in May 2010, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (who is also the head of the Church of England), proposed ending the participation on international ecumenical dialogues of members of any province that had formally decided not to comply with communion-requested moratoria on same-gender blessings and the ordination of gay and lesbian people to the episcopate. 

Williams specifically referred to the consecration of Diocese of Los Angeles Bishop Suffragan Mary Douglas Glasspool, the second openly gay, partnered bishop in the Episcopal Church.

A few weeks later, the Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, rescinded the memberships of Episcopalians serving on those international ecumenical dialogues.

Despite this, Ferguson noted that the Episcopal Church's global ecumenical relationships remain strong, with the exception of certain setbacks with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. 

"In my 10 years as ecumenical officer for the Episcopal Church, some of the relationships that have been deepened the most have been those with our international partners, because we live in an increasingly globalized world," he said.

"We have much to learn from one another," the presiding bishop told ENS.