The following statement was released by the Anglican Church of Canada's House of Bishops at the conclusion of its meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont.

A Statement from the House of Bishops

We being many are one body for we all share in one bread. (1 Cor 10:17)

The meeting of the Canadian House of Bishops which concluded today was our first time together since we were in England at the Lambeth Conference last summer. We spent considerable time -- more than two days -- sharing impressions of the conference, discussing events in the Canadian Church since Lambeth, and seeking agreement among ourselves on a way forward for our Church and its dioceses in the context of the proceedings at Lambeth.

During this extended discussion, the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, our partner in Full Communion, accompanied us in conversation, bible study, prayer and mutual support. We are grateful for their presence and contributions.

We acknowledged with gratitude the key role played by the Archbishop of Canterbury in leading us at Lambeth. In particular we noted with thanksgiving the retreat addresses and the three presidential addresses. We share with him the understanding that the Anglican Communion is a gift from God and commit ourselves to working together. We also rejoiced in the clear sense from the bishops gathered at Lambeth that we wished to continue to walk together while addressing the theological issues arising from discussions about same-sex unions.

One of our main topics of conversation was the agreement by many bishops at Lambeth on three moratoria: on the blessing of same-sex unions, on the ordination to the episcopate of people in same-sex relationships and on cross-border interventions. This discussion was in the context of decisions made recently by several diocesan synods in the Canadian Church that asked their bishop to prepare and authorize rites for the blessing of same-sex couples.

Our discussion initially comprised two parts. The first consisted of reports to the House from several bishops of whom such requests have been made -- Ottawa, Montreal, Niagara, Huron, and the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior -- as well as bishops from other dioceses who anticipate such requests in the not-too-distant future and bishops whose dioceses have received unnecessary and unwelcomed "cross-border interventions."

For the second part, we formed an indaba group to reflect on what we had heard in the previous session. (Indaba -- a model for discussion used at Lambeth -- is an African word meaning "a gathering for purposeful conversation among equals.") Several themes emerged in this discussion.

• Some dioceses have not yet engaged in the listening and discernment process and some are just beginning;
• Some have been listening and discerning for many years and have reached differing conclusions;
• Even in the face of difference, there was a desire expressed to "stay at the family table."

It became clear during this process that many individual bishops wanted something from the House as a whole "to take home" with them to share with members of the church.

In response to that request, we added to our agenda a third session on this vitally important topic. In April, 2005 at its meeting in Windsor Ontario, this House responded to a number of requests made in the Windsor Report including a commitment to the moratoria proposed in that document until General Synod makes a decision.

In this third session, the House heard from the Primate who set out for us his understanding of what was being requested of us by Lambeth and the Archbishop of Canterbury. He noted the Pastoral letter from the House of Bishops to General Synod in 2007 which asked for the greatest pastoral generosity possible to gays and lesbians, consistent with the current teaching of the church. He also reminded us of our agreement in 2004 for a process of Shared Episcopal Ministry (SEM) and indicated to us his desire for "gracious restraint," to use the language of the Archbishop of Canterbury, on the matter of same-sex blessings.

The Primate said to us:

"I come to this meeting of the House of Bishops mindful of our Canadian context and the call for authorization of public rites for the blessings of same sex-unions in a number of our dioceses. I am also mindful of the place of the Anglican Church of Canada in our worldwide Communion.

"I trust the House of Bishops will support my call for respect for due process through the General Synod in this matter. In 2007, General Synod concurred with the opinion of the St. Michael Report (produced by the Primate’s Theological Commission) that the blessing of same-sex unions is a matter of doctrine. It is not creedal in nature but nonetheless it is doctrine. The same General Synod called for further work by the Primate’s Theological Commission in assisting the Church to determine if this matter of blessings is a Spirit-led development of doctrine. I believe that these deliberations across the church will have a significant impact on discussion at General Synod in 2010 and on the subsequent authority of dioceses through due synodical process to proceed with blessings.

"Please know that I am mindful of the continuing havoc created in several of our dioceses through cross-border interventions on the part of Primates and bishops from other jurisdictions. I believe we must call them to account. They too must honour the Lambeth call for ‘gracious restraint.’ I remain committed to addressing this issue within the Communion."

We spent several hours in conversation on the implications of the appeal from the Primate.

As a result of these conversations a large majority of the House can affirm the following:

A continued commitment to the greatest extent possible to the three moratoria -- on the blessing of same-sex unions, on the ordination to the episcopate of people in same-sex relationships and on cross-border interventions -- until General Synod 2010. Members of this House, while recognizing the difficulty that this commitment represents for dioceses that in conscience have made decisions on these matters, commit themselves to continue walking together and to hold each other in prayer.

The House also affirms:

A commitment to establishing diocesan commissions to discuss the matter of same-sex blessings in preparation for conversations at General Synod 2010.

Continued commitment to exercise the greatest level of pastoral generosity in keeping with provisions approved by this House in Spring, 2007 and continued commitment to the Shared Episcopal Ministry document approved in Fall, 2004.

We ask for your continuing prayers as we steadfastly seek to discern the mind and heart of Christ for the wholesome care of all members of his Body, the Church. We share a deep hope that though we may never come to consensus over this matter of the blessing of same-sex unions, we will live with differences in a manner that is marked by grace and generosity of spirit, one toward another.

October 31, 2008

Links:

• Th House of Bishops' statement in PDF format
• Shared Episcopal Ministry
• Lutheran Bishops issue statement on joint meeting

[WEA] The World Evangelical Alliance 12th General Assembly came to a close on Thursday Oct 30, 2008, after five days of intensive discussion to plan the way forward in world evangelisation. More than 500 senior evangelical leaders gathered for the assembly in Pattaya, Thailand which began on 25 October. On Wednesday 29th, delegates agreed to six major resolutions setting out an evangelical response to religious liberty, HIV and Aids, poverty, peacemaking, creation care and the global financial crisis.

"The Body of Christ, His Church, is living with HIV," stated the resolution on HIV, a major focus area for the WEA. "With brokenness we admit that as Evangelical Christians we have allowed stigmatisation and discrimination to characterise our relationships with people living with HIV. We repent of these sinful attitudes and commit to ensuring that they are changed." The statement went on to call for churches to provide "a clear, biblical framework of biblical sexuality and life skills" and for them to "listen with understanding" to those affected by issues such as HIV "so that we can work together for a healthy and safe future." The statement committed leaders to "live out incarnational faith working in partnership with the most marginalised." Other challenges faced by the statement included HIV prevention, establishing caring relationships and a "comprehensive HIV strategy."

The resolution on the current Economic Crisis stated that the "turmoil is, at its root, evidence of what happens when too many are captivated by greed and put their faith in, and entrust their security and future aspirations to a system animated by the maximization of wealth." It concluded that "Many legitimately feel betrayed." It further explained: "our concern is that its impact will continue to permeate into more regions and economies of the world" and that it will have "the most painful impact on the poor, who are the most vulnerable." The document reaffirmed "our faith in God" and sought prayerfully that "God will honour those attempts to address the financial crisis" calling on governments and others to "honour their comitments." It acknowledged the necessity of everyone pulling "together as a community" and encouraged evangelicals to "show leadership in caring for the poor, calling for the necessary reforms ... and to be prophetic in challenging the structures and practices that are incompatible with good stewardship of the resources entrusted to each and all of us."

During the Assembly, the WEA commissioned Dr Joel Edwards, formerly of the Evangelical Alliance of the UK, as the International Director of the Micah Challenge, and Dr Godfrey Yogarajah, formerly head of the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka and Asia Regional Secretary, as Executive Director of the WEA Religious Liberty Commission.

Kew presentations at the General Assembly included addresses by Dr Joel Edwards on "Evangelicals as Good News People", Dr Richard Howell speaking on the gospel in a pluralistic age and Dr Ronald Sider outlining a "Biblically Shaped, Factually Informed Evangelical Political Framework."

China's official denomination leaders reach out to 'house churches'

[Francis Wong • ENI] Recently elected leaders of China's officially-sanctioned Protestant churches have said they care about house churches that sometimes operate underground and that they are willing to provide them with Bibles.

"For those house churches without registration, we will try our best to be with them, to recognise them and to help them, so long as they have an orthodox faith, don't stray from the truth and don't follow heretics," Elder Fu Xianwei, chairperson of the National Three Self Patriotic Movement, told some 200 Hong Kong church leaders at a 22 October seminar titled "Chinese Church - New Leaders, New Challenges".

The 12 member-delegation of TSPM and China Christian Council paid their first visit to Hong Kong and Macau from 19 to 26 October since assuming the national leadership of their church organizations in January.

Fu, the leader of the delegation, said that CCC/TSPM was willing to help house churches by, for example, providing them with Bibles, and also desired to work with them in building the Chinese Protestant church.

The officially-sanctioned Chinese Protestant church estimates there are at least 18 million Protestants in China, but many other Christians belong to "house" or underground churches, say some analysts. The Three-Self Patriotic Movement was conceived in 1951 and formed in 1954 as the only legitimate umbrella for Protestant activities. The China Christian Council emerged with the support of the TSPM after China's Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, when the expression of religious life was effectively banned.

Fu said that there were insufficient pastors and preachers, and that theological education posed challenges to the Church. He said that when more and more people in China were migrating from rural villages to urban areas, pastors in cities were exposed to greater challenges.

Asked if members of the ruling Chinese Communist Party could convert to Christianity, the Rev. Gao Feng, president of CCC, said that although the Communist Party's constitution stated that members should follow Marxism, which espouses atheism, the doors of the Church remain open to all.

Church leaders say there has been debate in China concerning a third way for the existence of Christian communities in the mainland, and about whether all Protestant communities seeking registration need to do so within the framework of the CCC/TPSM.

Yu Jian Rong, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said on 8 October at a conference on religion and social sciences at Beijing University that it was time to consider whether to recognise the legitimate status of house churches, and let them register separately to from the CCC/TSPM, which describe themselves as post-denominational. Yu said that some house churches in China were already in the process of seeking government registration outside the CCC/TSPM.

The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church

Your Holiness,
Synodal Fathers,

It is at once humbling and inspiring to be graciously invited by Your Holiness to address the XIIth Ordinary General Assembly of this auspicious Synod of Bishops, an historical meeting of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church from throughout the world, gathered in one place to meditate on “the Word of God” and deliberate on the experience and expression of this Word “in the Life and Mission of the Church.”

This gracious invitation of Your Holiness to our Modesty is a gesture full of meaning and significance - we dare say an historic event in itself. For it is the first time in history that an Ecumenical Patriarch is offered the opportunity to address a Synod of the Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, and thus be part of the life of this sister Church at such a high level. We regard this as a manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit leading our Churches to a closer and deeper relationship with each other, an important step towards the restoration of our full communion.

It is well known that the Orthodox Church attaches to the Synodical system fundamental ecclesiological importance. Together with primacy synodality constitutes the backbone of the Church’s government and organisation. As our Joint International Commission on the Theological Dialogue between our Churches expressed it in the Ravenna document, this interdependence between synodality and primacy runs through all the levels of the Church’s life: local, regional and universal. Therefore, in having today the privilege to address Your Synod our hopes are raised that the day will come when our two Churches will fully converge on the role of primacy and synodality in the Church’s life, to which our common Theological Commission is devoting its study at the present time.

The theme to which this episcopal synod devotes its work is of crucial significance not only for the Roman Catholic Church but also for all those who are called to witness to Christ in our time. Mission and evangelization remain a permanent duty of the Church at all times and places; indeed they form part of the Church’s nature, since she is called “Apostolic” both in the sense of her faithfulness to the original teaching of the Apostles and in that of proclaiming the Word of God in every cultural context everytime. The Church needs, therefore, to rediscover the Word of God in every generation and make it heard with a renewed vigour and persuation also in our contemporary world, which deep in its heart thirsts for God’s message of peace, hope and charity.

This duty of evangelization would have been, of course, greatly enhanced and strengthened, if all Christians were in a position to perform it with one voice and as a fully united Church. In his prayer to the Father little before His passion our Lord has made it clear that the unity of the Church is unbreakably related with her mission “so that the world may believe” (John 17, 21). It is, therefore, most appropriate that this Synod has opened its doors to ecumenical fraternal delegates so that we may all become aware of our common duty of evangelization as well as of the difficulties and problems of its realization in today’s world.

This Synod has undoubtedly been studying the subject of the Word of God in depth and in all its aspects, theological as well as practical and pastoral. In our modest address to you we shall limit ourselves to sharing with you some thoughts on the theme of your meeting, drawing from the way the Orthodox tradition has approached it throughout the centuries and in the Greek patristic teaching, in particular. More concretely we should like to concentrate on three aspects of the subject, namely: on hearing and speaking the Word of God through the Holy Scriptures; on seeing God’s Word in nature and above all in the beauty of the icons; and finally on touching and sharing God’s Word in the communion of saints and the sacramental life of the Church. For all these are, we think, crucial in the life and mission of the Church.

In so doing, we seek to draw on a rich Patristic tradition, dating to the early third century and expounding a doctrine of five spiritual senses. For listening to God’s Word, beholding God’s Word, and touching God’s Word are all spiritual ways of perceiving the unique divine mystery. Based on Proverbs 2.5 about “the divine faculty of perception (αἴσθησις),” Origen of Alexandria claims:

This sense unfolds as sight for contemplation of immaterial forms, hearing for discernment of voices, taste for savoring the living bread, smell for sweet spiritual fragrance, and touch for handling the Word of God, which is grasped by every faculty of the soul.

The spiritual senses are variously described as “five senses of the soul,” as “divine” or “inner faculties,” and even as “faculties of the heart” or “mind.” This doctrine inspired the theology of the Cappadocians (especially Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa) as much as it did the theology of the Desert Fathers (especially Evagrius of Pontus and Macarius the Great).

1.Hearing and Speaking the Word through Scripture

At each celebration of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the presiding celebrant at the Eucharist entreats “that we may be made worthy to hear the Holy Gospel.” For “hearing, beholding and handling the Word of life” (1 Jn 1.1) are not first and foremost our entitlement or birthright as human beings; they are our privilege and gift as children of the living God. The Christian Church is, above all, a scriptural Church. Although methods of interpretation may have varied from Church Father to Church Father, from “school” to “school,” and from East to West, nevertheless, Scripture was always received as a living reality and not a dead book.

In the context of a living faith, then, Scripture is the living testimony of a lived history about the relationship of a living God with a living people. The Spirit, “who spoke through the prophets” (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed), spoke in order to be heard and take effect. It is primarily an oral and direct communication intended for human beneficiaries. The scriptural text is, therefore, derivative and secondary; the scriptural text always serves the spoken word. It is not conveyed mechanically, but communicated from generation to generation as a living word. Through the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord vows:

As rain and snow descend from heaven, watering the earth … so shall my word go from mouth to mouth, accomplishing that which I purpose. (55.10-11)

Moreover, as St. John Chrysostom explains, the divine Word demonstrates profound considerateness (συγκατάβασις) for the personal diversity and cultural contexts of those hearing and receiving. Adaptation of the divine Word to the specific personal readiness and the particular cultural context defines the missionary dimension of the Church, which is called to transform the world through the Word. In silence as in declaration, in prayer as in action, the divine Word addresses the whole world, “preaching to all nations” (Mt 28.19) without either privilege or prejudice to race, culture, gender and class. When we carry out that divine commission, we are assured: “Behold, I am with you always.” (Mt 28.20) We are called to speak the divine Word in all languages, “becoming all things to all people, that [we] might by all means save some.” (1 Cor. 9.22)

As disciples of God’s Word, then, it is today more imperative than ever that we provide a unique perspective – beyond the social, political, or economic – on the need to eradicate poverty, to provide balance in a global world, to combat fundamentalism or racism, and to develop religious tolerance in a world of conflict. In responding to the needs of the world’s poor, vulnerable and marginalized, the Church can prove a defining marker of the space and character of the global community. While the theological language of religion and spirituality differs from the technical vocabulary of economics and politics, the barriers that at first glance appear to separate religious concerns (such as sin, salvation, and spirituality) from pragmatic interests (such as commerce, trade, and politics) are not impenetrable, crumbling before the manifold challenges of social justice and globalization.

Whether dealing with environment or peace, poverty or hunger, education or healthcare, there is today a heightened sense of common concern and common responsibility, which is felt with particular acuteness by people of faith as well as by those whose outlook is expressly secular. Our engagement with such issues does not of course in any way undermine or abolish differences between various disciplines or disagreements with those who look at the world in different ways. Yet the growing signs of a common commitment for the well-being of humanity and the life of the world are encouraging. It is an encounter of individuals and institutions that bodes well for our world. And it is an involvement that highlights the supreme vocation and mission of the disciples and adherents of God’s Word to transcend political or religious differences in order to transform the entire visible world for the glory of the invisible God.

2.Seeing the Word of God – The Beauty of Icons and Nature

Nowhere is the invisible rendered more visible than in the beauty of iconography and the wonder of creation. In the words of the champion of sacred images, St. John of Damascus: “As maker of heaven and earth, God the Word was Himself the first to paint and portray icons.” Every stroke of an iconographer’s paintbrush – like every word of a theological definition, every musical note chanted in psalmody, and every carved stone of a tiny chapel or magnificent cathedral – articulates the divine Word in creation, which praises God in every living being and every living thing. (cf. Ps. 150.6)

In affirming sacred images, the Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicaea was not concerned with religious art; it was the continuation and confirmation of earlier definitions about the fullness of the humanity of God’s Word. Icons are a visible reminder of our heavenly vocation; they are invitations to rise beyond our trivial concerns and menial reductions of the world. They encourage us to seek the extraordinary in the very ordinary, to be filled with the same wonder that characterized the divine marvel in Genesis: “God saw everything that He made; and, indeed, it was very good.” (Gn. 1.30-31) The Greek (Septuagint) word for “goodness” is ά, which implies – etymologically and symbolically – a sense of “calling.” Icons underline the Church’s fundamental mission to recognize that all people and all things are created and called to be “good” and “beautiful.”

Indeed, icons remind us of another way of seeing things, another way of experiencing realities, another way of resolving conflicts. We are asked to assume what the hymnology of Easter Sunday calls “another way of living.” For we have behaved arrogantly and dismissively toward the natural creation. We have refused to behold God’s Word in the oceans of our planet, in the trees of our continents, and in the animals of our earth. We have denied our very own nature, which calls us to stoop low enough to hear God’s Word in creation if we wish to “become participants of divine nature.” (2 Pet 1.4) How could we ignore the wider implications of the divine Word assuming flesh? Why do we fail to perceive created nature as the extended Body of Christ?

Eastern Christian theologians always emphasized the cosmic proportions of divine incarnation. The incarnate Word is intrinsic to creation, which came to be through divine utterance. St. Maximus the Confessor insists on the presence of God’s Word in all things (cf. Col. 3.11); the divine Logos stands at the center of the world, mysteriously revealing its original principle and ultimate purpose (cf. 1 Pet 1.20). This mystery is described by St. Athanasius of Alexandria:

As the Logos [he writes], he is not contained by anything and yet contains everything; He is in everything and yet outside of everything ... the first-born of the whole world in its every aspect.

The entire world is a prologue to the Gospel of John. And when the Church fails to recognize the broader, cosmic dimensions of God’s Word, narrowing its concerns to purely spiritual matters, then it neglects its mission to implore God for the transformation – always and everywhere, “in all places of His dominion” – of the whole polluted cosmos. It is no wonder that on Easter Sunday, as the Paschal celebration reaches its climax, Orthodox Christians sing:

Now everything is filled with divine light: heaven and earth, and all things beneath the earth. So let all creation rejoice.

All genuine “deep ecology” is, therefore, inextricably linked with deep theology:
“Even a stone,” writes Basil the Great, “bears the mark of God’s Word. This is true of an ant, a bee and a mosquito, the smallest of creatures. For He spread the wide heavens and laid the immense seas; and He created the tiny hollow shaft of the bee’s sting.”
Recalling our minuteness in God’s wide and wonderful creation only underlines our central role in God’s plan for the salvation of the whole world.

3.Touching and Sharing the Word of God – The Communion of Saints and the Sacraments of Life

The Word of God persistently “moves outside of Himself in ecstasy” (Dionysius the Areopagite), passionately seeking to “dwell in us” (Jn 1.14), that the world may have life in abundance. (Jn 10.10) God’s compassionate mercy is poured and shared “so as to multiply the objects of His beneficence.” (Gregory the Theologian) God assumes all that is ours, “in every respect being tested as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4.15), in order to offer us all that is God’s and render us gods by grace. “Though rich, He becomes poor that we might become rich,” writes the great Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 8.9), to whom this year is so aptly dedicated. This is the Word of God; gratitude and glory are due to Him.

The word of God receives His full embodiment in creation, above all in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is there that the Word becomes flesh and allows us not simply to hear or see Him but to touch Him with our own hands, as St. John declares (I John 1,1) and make Him part of our own body and blood (σύσσωμοι καί σύναιμοι) in the words of St. John Chrysostom.

In the Holy Eucharist the Word heard is at the same time seen and shared (κοινωνία). It is not accidental that in the early eucharistic documents, such as the book of Revelation and the Didache, the Eucharist was associated with prophesy, and the presiding bishops were regarded as successors of the prophets (e.g. Martyrion Polycarpi). The Eucharist was already by St. Paul (I Cor. 11) described as “proclamation” of Christ’s death and Second Coming. As the purpose of Scripture is essentially the proclamation of the Kingdom and the announcement of eschatological realities, the Eucharist is a foretaste of the Kingdom, and in this sense the proclamation of the Word par excellence. In the Eucharist Word and Sacrament become one reality. The Word ceases to be “words” and becomes a Person, embodying in Himself all human beings and all creation.

Within the life of the Church, the unfathomable self-emptying (κένωσις) and generous sharing(κοινωνία) of the divine Logos is reflected in the lives of the saints as the tangible experience and human expression of God’s Word in our community. In this way, the Word of God becomes the Body of Christ, crucified and glorified at the same time. As a result, the saint has an organic relationship with heaven and earth, with God and all of creation. In ascetic struggle, the saint reconciles the Word and the world. Through repentance and purification, the saint is filled – as Abba Isaac the Syrian insists – with compassion for all creatures, which is the ultimate humility and perfection.

This is why the saint loves with warmth and spaciousness that are both unconditional and irresistible. In the saints, we know God’s very Word, since – as St. Gregory Palamas claims – “God and His saints share the same glory and splendor.” In the gentle presence of a saint, we learn how theology and action coincide. In the compassionate love of the saint, we experience God as “our father” and God’s mercy as “steadfastly enduring.” (Ps. 135, LXX) The saint is consumed with the fire of God’s love. This is why the saint imparts grace and cannot tolerate the slightest manipulation or exploitation in society or in nature. The saint simply does what is “proper and right” (Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom), always dignifying humanity and honoring creation. “His words have the force of actions and his silence the power of speech.” (St. Ignatius of Antioch)

And within the communion of saints, each of us is called to “become like fire” (Sayings of the Desert Fathers), to touch the world with the mystical force of God’s Word, so that – as the extended Body of Christ – the world, too, might say: “Someone touched me!” (cf. Mt 9.20) Evil is only eradicated by holiness, not by harshness. And holiness introduces into society a seed that heals and transforms. Imbued with the life of the sacraments and the purity of prayer, we are able to enter the innermost mystery of God’s Word. It is like the tectonic plates of the earth’s crust: the deepest layers need only shift a few millimeters to shatter the world’s surface. Yet for this spiritual revolution to occur, we must experience radical metanoia – a conversion of attitudes, habits and practices – for ways that we have misused or abused God’s Word, God’s gifts and God’s creation.

Such a conversion is, of course, impossible without divine grace; it is not achieved simply through greater effort or human willpower. “For mortals, it is impossible; but for God all things are possible.” (Mt 19.26) Spiritual change occurs when our bodies and souls are grafted onto the living Word of God, when our cells contain the life-giving blood-flow of the sacraments, when we are open to sharing all things with all people. As St. John Chrysostom reminds us, the sacrament of “our neighbor” cannot be isolated from the sacrament of “the altar.” Sadly, we have ignored the vocation and obligation to share. Social injustice and inequality, global poverty and war, ecological pollution and degradation result from our inability or unwillingness to share. If we claim to retain the sacrament of the altar, we cannot forgo or forget the sacrament of the neighbor – a fundamental condition for realizing God’s Word in the world within the life and mission of the Church.

Beloved Brothers in Christ,

We have explored the patristic teaching of the spiritual senses, discerning the power of hearing and speaking God’s Word in Scripture, of seeing God’s Word in icons and nature, as well as of touching and sharing God’s Word in the saints and sacraments. Yet, in order to remain true to the life and mission of the Church, we must personally be changed by this Word. The Church must resemble the mother, who is both sustained by and nourishes through the food she eats. Anything that does not feed and nourish everyone cannot sustain us either. When the world does not share the joy of Christ’s Resurrection, this is an indictment of our own integrity and commitment to the living Word of God. Prior to the celebration of each Divine Liturgy, Orthodox Christians pray that this Word will be “broken and consumed, distributed and shared” in communion. And “we know that we have passed from death to life when we love our brothers” and sisters (1 Jn 3.14).

The challenge before us is the discernment of God’s Word in the face of evil, the transfiguration of every last detail and speck of this world in the light of Resurrection. The victory is already present in the depths of the Church, whenever we experience the grace of reconciliation and communion. As we struggle – in ourselves and in our world – to recognize the power of the Cross, we begin to appreciate how every act of justice, every spark of beauty, every word of truth can gradually wear away the crust of evil. However, beyond our own frail efforts, we have the assurance of the Spirit, who “helps us in our weakness” (Rom. 8.26) and stands beside us as advocate and “comforter” (Jn 14-6), penetrating all things and “transforming us – as St. Symeon the New Theologian says – into everything that the Word of God says about the heavenly kingdom: pearl, grain of mustard seed, leaven, water, fire, bread, life and mystical wedding chamber.” Such is the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, whom we invoke as we conclude our address, extending to Your Holiness our gratitude and to each of you our blessings:

Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth
present everywhere and filling all things;
treasury of goodness and giver of life:
Come, and abide in us.
And cleanse us from every impurity;
and save our souls.
For you are good and love humankind.
Amen!

[Martin Revis • ENI] The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has said greed is the root cause of the current economic crisis and he has called on Christians and Muslims to work together to decide upon a fairer system of borrowing and lending.

"The Christian tradition has always been cautious about interest and for many centuries it was very much of one mind with the Islamic tradition, but after the 16th century that changed," Williams, the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, said at a 15 October media conference in London, following a three-day meeting in Cambridge of Christian and Muslim scholars and clerics.

Williams said, "I would like very much to see a dialogue developing with Islam about this question of what a just, a reasonable rate of interest might look like in the light of a religious ethic, but this work is very much in its infancy."

Asked who was to blame for the current global financial crisis, Williams at first joked, "I am going to suggest Satan." He then said, "Clearly, as religious leaders we want to say that the root of the problem is human greed, which is not specific to one nation or even to the governing class or any one religion."

A joint statement issued by conference participants urged world leaders to act together to ensure that the burden of the current financial crisis and the global environmental crisis did not fall unevenly on the weak and poor.

"We must seize the opportunity for implementing a more equitable global economic system that also respects our role as stewards of the earth's resources," the statement said.

Referring to the situation in Mosul, northern Iraq, where almost 1400 Christian families have fled their homes in fear for their lives, participants said, "These threats undermine the centuries-old tradition of local Muslims protecting and nourishing the Christian community and must stop."

The statement described the meeting as, "the most significant gathering of international Muslim leaders" to have taken place in Britain, and they said it had been matched by a similarly wide diversity of traditions and geographical backgrounds amongst the Christian participants.

The meeting marked the first anniversary of an open letter, "a common word between us and you", by 138 Muslim scholars and clerics to Christian leaders urging followers of the two faiths to find common ground to promote world peace

Separately, the Geneva-based World Council of Churches announced on 15 October it would host a consultation of 50 church leaders and experts on Christian-Muslim dialogue from 18 to 20 October.

The WCC said the consultation was intended to build on initiatives such as the Cambridge meeting in order to provide a space for churches and communions to share their initiatives and theological resources to engage with Muslims.

[Nouvelles de COE] Des patriarches, primats et représentants des Eglises orthodoxes (chalcédoniennes) ont réaffirmé leur engagement à surmonter les conflits intra-orthodoxes et à poursuivre les dialogues théologiques avec les chrétiens d'autres confessions lors d'une réunion qui s'est tenue du 10 au 12 octobre à Istanbul, en Turquie.

"Surmonter les conflits internes de l'Eglise orthodoxe en renonçant aux extrémismes nationalistes, ethniques et idéologiques du passé" est un passage obligé pour que "la parole de l'orthodoxie ait l'impact nécessaire sur le monde contemporain", peut-on lire dans un message rendu public au terme de la réunion.

Le message affirme également le désir des participants "de poursuivre, en dépit des difficultés, les dialogues théologiques avec les autres chrétiens, ainsi que les dialogues interreligieux, en particulier avec le judaïsme et l'islam."

La réunion s'est tenue au Phanar, siège du Patriarcat œcuménique de Constantinople, et a rassemblé 14 patriarches, primats et représentants des Eglises orthodoxes. Elle a eu lieu sur l'invitation et sous la présidence du patriarche œcuménique Bartholomée Ier - "premier parmi nous", selon le message.

"Il s'agit d'un événement extrêmement important dans la vie de l'Eglise orthodoxe", a déclaré Georges Lemopoulos, secrétaire général adjoint du Conseil œcuménique des Eglises (COE). "Le message, qui appelle essentiellement à l'unité et à la collaboration entre orthodoxes, et qui définit un 'programme orthodoxe' comme témoignage au monde, revêt une dimension œcuménique importante et aura certainement un impact sur le travail du mouvement œcuménique", a ajouté Georges Lemopoulos, un laïc orthodoxe du Patriarcat œcuménique de Constantinople.

Abordant certaines des questions qui ont fait les gros titres dernièrement, les responsables orthodoxes ont associé, dans leur message, la crise financière actuelle à "la quête frénétique du profit" et aux "activités financières corrompues", tout en appelant à "une économie viable" capable de combiner "l'efficacité à la justice et à la solidarité sociale."

Au sujet du conflit opposant la Géorgie et la Russie concernant la région séparatiste de l'Ossétie du Sud, les responsables orthodoxes ont salué les deux Eglises orthodoxes pour "leur coopération fraternelle" et ont espéré que leurs "efforts contribueront à surmonter les conséquences tragiques des opérations militaires et à encourager une réconciliation rapide des deux peuples."

Le message de la réunion condamne "l'inégalité injuste" dans le partage des "biens de la création" par "des individus ou même des peuples", en raison des clivaages "nationalistes, ethniques, idéologiques et religieux". Les résultats en sont affligeants: des milliards de personnes privées de biens de première nécessité, des migrations en masse, la discrimination et les conflits religieux et sociaux, et la destruction de l'environnement et de tout l'écosystème.

Etant donné que les chrétiens orthodoxes "partagent la responsabilité de la crise actuelle que traverse cette planète", ils ont également "une obligation majeure de contribuer à surmonter les divisions du monde", indique le message.

Les participants à la réunion ont salué "la proposition du Patriarcat œcuménique d'organiser des colloques panorthodoxes au cours de l'année à venir" afin d'examiner certaines question relatives aux juridictions et d'autres questions "découlant de circonstances historiques et d'exigences pastorales, concernant par exemple ce que l'on appelle la diaspora orthodoxe."

Les responsables orthodoxes se sont également félicités de "la poursuite de la préparation du Saint et Grand Concile". Des préparatifs en vue d'une manifestation conciliaire majeure des Eglises orthodoxes ont eu lieu à la fin des années 70 et dans les années 80, mais le rythme s'est ralenti lorsque les changements en Europe de l'Est ont créé de nouveaux besoins pastoraux et défis ecclésiaux dans le monde orthodoxe.

Le message a été signé par les patriarches de Constantinople, d'Alexandrie, d'Antioche, de Jérusalem et de Moscou, par les primats des Eglises de Chypre, de Grèce, de Pologne, d'Albanie et de Tchéquie et de Slovaquie, ainsi que par les représentants des Eglises de Serbie, de Roumanie, de Bulgarie et de Géorgie.

• Texte intégral du message des primats des Eglises orthodoxes (en anglais)

[WCC News] Patriarchs, primates and representatives of Eastern Orthodox churches recommitted themselves to overcome intra-Orthodox conflicts as well as to continue theological dialogues with Christians from other confessions at a 10-12 October meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.

"Overcoming the internal conflicts of the Orthodox Church through the surrendering of nationalistic, ethnic and ideological extremes of the past" is a requisite for the "word of Orthodoxy [to] have a necessary impact on the contemporary world," reads a message issued at the end of the meeting.

The message also affirms the participants' "desire to continue, despite any difficulties, the theological dialogues with other Christians, as well as the interreligious dialogues, especially with Judaism and Islam".

Fourteen patriarchs, primates and representatives of Eastern Orthodox churches gathered in the Phanar, the see of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The meeting took place at the invitation and under the presidency of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew - the "first among us," according to the message.

"This has been an extremely important event in the life of the Orthodox church," said the World Council of Churches (WCC) deputy general secretary Georges Lemopoulos. "The message, calling mainly for inter-orthodox unity and collaboration, and spelling out an 'Orthodox agenda' as a witness to the world, has a significant ecumenical dimension and will certainly impact the work of the ecumenical movement," added Lemopoulos, an Orthodox layman from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Addressing some of the issues making headlines these days, the message linked the current financial crisis to "manic profiteering" and "corrupt financial activity", while calling for a "viable economy" able to combine "efficacy with justice and social solidarity".

Regarding the conflict between Georgia and Russia over the breakaway South Ossetia region, the Orthodox leaders commended both Orthodox churches for "their fraternal cooperation" and hoped that their "efforts will contribute to overcoming the tragic consequences of military operations and [to] the swift reconcilement of the peoples".

The meeting's message condemns the "unjust inequality" in the sharing of "the goods of Creation" by "individuals, or even peoples" as a consequence of "nationalistic, ethnic, ideological and religious" divisions. The results are wanton: billions of people deprived of basic goods; mass migration; nationalistic, religious and social discrimination and conflicts; and destruction of the natural environment and the entire ecosystem.

As Orthodox Christians "share responsibility for the contemporary crisis of this planet," they also have "a major obligation to contribute to overcoming the divisions of the world," the message states.

Participants at the gathering welcomed "the proposal by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to convene Pan-Orthodox Consultations within the coming year" in order to address jurisdictional and other issues that have "arisen from historical circumstances and pastoral requirements, such as in the so-called Orthodox Diaspora".

The Orthodox leaders also welcomed "the continuation of preparations for the Holy and Great Council". Preparations towards a major conciliar event of the Orthodox churches took place at the end of the seventies and in the eighties but slowed down when changes in Eastern Europe created new pastoral needs and ecclesial challenges within the Orthodox world.

The message has been signed by the patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Moscow, the primates of the churches of Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Albania, and the Czech Lands and Slovakia, as well as representatives of the churches of Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia.

• Full text of the Message of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches

Introduction: An Affirmation of Muslim–Christian Engagement

The churches that comprise the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA welcome with gratitude “A Common Word Between Us and You.” Addressed to leaders of Christian churches around the world, your letter expresses an intent to engage seriously with Christians in dialogue that is grounded in the authentic religious convictions of our respective communities. Based upon the love of God and the love of neighbor – the two great commandments central to Islam, Christianity, and Judaism – your letter invites Christians to join with Muslims to forge ties of peace. This is a bold and timely invitation. Out of Christian faithfulness, and with respect for Islam, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, whose member churches’ common Christian witness leads them to seek unity with one another and peace with justice for all people, offers this ecumenical response to you, our Muslim friends, as an acceptance of your invitation.

As Christians in the United States, we understand our response to be an entry into the hospitality you have offered in “A Common Word.” As in Islam, hospitality has been an important virtue from the beginning of Christianity. St. Paul, deeply rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, instructed early Christians to “extend hospitality to the stranger” (Romans 12:13, NRSV). In Christian theology, a dramatic image of the centrality of hospitality is drawn from the visit of the Lord to Abraham (Genesis 18:1-15). Three men – iconographically portrayed as angels in Christian interpretation – appeared to Abraham, who offered them food, shelter and protection, after which they pronounced upon Abraham and Sarah a great blessing.[2] This story, in itself symbolizing the love of God and the love of neighbor – and all the peace and understanding that attend such love – inspired the further scriptural injunction, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2, NRSV). In the experience of hospitality, therefore, a blessing is given and received.

Your call for mutual outreach between Muslims and Christians resonates with the recent experience of our respective communities. For some thirty years, Muslim–Christian dialogue has been included in the work of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and for much longer in many of its member communions. In 1999, because of the growing importance of interfaith relations, we formulated a policy, “Interfaith Relations and the Churches,”[3] to further guide our interactions with Islam and other religious traditions. This policy statement sets out a framework for relationship that is rooted in an understanding of God in community, the call of Christ to engagement and reconciliation, and the power of the Holy Spirit to teach us new things about God, ourselves, and what the world needs of us. The urgency for such outreach was made more acute after the terrible events of September 11, 2001, and responses to those events by and within the United States, and it is to this urgency – for the sake of peace in the world – that “A Common Word” speaks most eloquently.

We agree that striving together as people who would seek to be peacemakers – as Christians and Muslims, and also in cooperation with people of other religious traditions – for fairness, justice and mutual goodwill is indeed necessary for the welfare of the world. We note in “A Common Word” that the Arabic word translated “common,” as used in the Qur’an (“Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and you…” – Aal ‘Imran 3:64), also means “just” and “fair.”[4] Thus we are called to a “just word,” or a “fair word” between one another. It is our belief that proclaiming this just word together, and acting in accordance with it, will contribute significantly to a just world for all.

Seeking Common Ground

We recognize and welcome the affirmation that love of the One God – the love of God for the world and our love for God – and love of neighbor together form the heart of our faiths. While our religious traditions have differing views of each other’s historical experience and theology, this commonality is indeed something on which to base our efforts.

This common belief is rooted in the Old Testament: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, NRSV). In context, these words mean that God’s blessing upon the people who call upon God’s name has fundamental implications; the covenant with the people, a people chosen by God, brings blessing, and just as surely brings an obligation to love God and a responsibility to love one’s neighbor.

Christianity and Islam come to these words from different starting points. And yet, precisely because each tradition hearkens back to these same words, we are compelled to find common ground.

In “A Common Word” you write, from the perspective of your own theological understanding: “…we ask Christians to come together with us on the common essentials of our two religions…that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God…(Aal ‘Imran, 3:64). Let this common ground be the basis of all future interfaith dialogue between us, for our common ground is that on which hangs all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:40).” We, of course, view this common ground from the perspective of our own theological understanding. We do so as Christians involved in ecumenical dialogue among ourselves, maintaining theological differences in creative tension even as we assert what we hold in common. We bring our willingness to enter into this kind of dialogue to interfaith relationships as well.

Both Christians and Muslims understand that love of God means that human beings are to believe in God, trust God, listen to God’s word and in obedience to God put this faith into practice, remain faithful under duress, practice virtues and avoid sin, pray regularly, and be forgiving and generous to others. These values and virtues are strongly convergent, even if they differ in details related to the ways we order our respective visions of the spiritual life.

Most pertinent to this discourse, there are differences as to how Muslims and Christians each understand the realities that make up the common ground upon which we stand. Oneness of God compels a discussion about how the revelation of God has been differently understood by the communities that call upon God’s name. Love of God demands an exploration of how each community perceives a genuine response to God’s love for the world. Even the word neighbor requires frank analysis: as historically played out, despite theological mandates to care for the other (as in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37), in both Muslim and Christian societies, the word “neighbor” has sometimes been limited to the designation of a member of one’s own community. In various places and times, Christian minorities and Muslim minorities have both fared well and fared badly in the context of religious majorities of the other faith. In the present day, sectarian tensions are undeniable around the world, as are instances of positive interaction. In both communities, there is a growing understanding of the “other” as “neighbor,” and increasing clarity that equal status in society, based on human dignity and freedom of conscience, is the ideal that should be sought and legally established.

There are many questions for Christians and Muslims to ask together as we explore the common ground on which we stand. We acknowledge God’s oneness, but how do we understand this as communities that call upon God’s name? Can we understand each other’s affirmations of the oneness of God? What does it mean to love God and to respond to God’s love in the world of suffering, strife, and division we see today? Who is our neighbor in a world in which Christians, Muslims, people of other faiths, and secular people live together in the same societies? In a world of deep and fracturing differences, of majorities and minorities, and of urgent human needs, how do we respond to our obligation to love our neighbors? How do we genuinely understand that “love of God and love of neighbors cannot be separated”[5]?

As we attempt to answer these questions, we recognize that our differences are important; they contribute to who we are and to what we believe. We regretfully acknowledge, and painfully remember, that in history, due to our differences Christians and Muslims both have had a mixture of successes and failures in living out the conviction to love people of other religious traditions, including one another’s communities. Nevertheless, in repentance and humility, and in obedience to God, we can walk forward together with mutual appreciation in acceptance of the commandment to love God with our whole being, and in the belief that love for God leads to and is demonstrated in love for one another. Indeed, we can know that, with God’s blessing, each step we take together will lead to new and yet undiscovered common ground.

In Community with One Another

Ultimately, human beings are not capable of fully comprehending the Holy Mystery that is God. Yet we respond to you out of our understanding of the One God, wrought through our community’s experience of God over generations. The Christian understanding of God – the God of Abraham and his descendants – leads us to confess the One God as Trinity: God, the Father, who is fully revealed in Jesus Christ, and whose revelation in Christ and whose presence in the world and in our lives are continually confirmed through the Holy Spirit. This is the language we use to express our experience of the One God. Christian theology affirms that the Son and the Spirit find their eternal origin in the Father; it is through self-transcending freedom and love that the Father through his very being brings forth the Son and the Spirit, who thus fully possess the Father’s one and undivided divine nature. This unity is expressed in the dynamic, self-giving interrelatedness and communion of the Father, Son and Spirit; it is a relationship of mutual, self-transcending love for, and union with, one another.

Our understanding of God opens our eyes to the very meaning of relationship and communion. Indeed, the divine fellowship serves as the model for genuine human relationship to which we are called. This calling is reflected in the theological affirmation of the creation account in Genesis (1:26-27): together, male and female, “it is the first humans in community who…constitute the image and likeness of God.”[6] Human beings, “created to live a life of relationship, and called to claim the unity in our human diversity,”[7] were therefore created for communion. In our understanding, we are fully human only when, like Jesus, we are in communion – with God and with one another. Incarnating the fullness of God and being fully human, “Jesus Christ initiates a new creation, a world unified in relationship as God intended.”[8] This enables humans in freedom and love to transcend the self for communion with God and others. In other words, “we believe that Jesus Christ makes real God’s will for a life of loving community with God, with the whole human family, and with all creation.”[9] Because communion with God and God’s people and God’s creation is ultimately the content of salvation, as human beings sojourn in this life we are driven by an inner impulse to reach out in community to one another.

In Christian understanding, it is the Holy Spirit that quickens this impulse toward relationship within us and “enables us to discern how to nurture the loving community of persons which is God’s intention for creation, and gives us the strength to keep working toward it.”[10] Affirming that the Spirit, which, like the wind, “blows where it chooses” (John 3:8, NRSV), constantly shapes and expands our understanding of the ways of God, many Christian churches have long disavowed an exclusive appropriation of God’s saving grace. Today, we can join in the affirmation that we “reject nothing of what is true and holy in [other] religions” (Nostra Aetate). For us, the doctrine of the Trinity reveals communion in unity and in difference. Such communion, when reflected in the human community, can therefore include relationship with neighbors of religious traditions different from our own in mutual respect, accountability, and cooperation. In the conviction that Jesus Christ is the Word of God, and that through him God has spoken to all of humanity, we are thus called upon to engage with one another respectfully, honestly, and appreciatively in the hope that through the Spirit our engagement will make a difference in the world we share.

Believing that God through Jesus was with humanity in our suffering and through the Holy Spirit continues to be present in creation, and is as close to us as our very breath, Christians are called to be agents of grace, healing, reconciliation, renewal and transformation. Central to this call is to affirm the dignity of all human beings, and to celebrate the gifts of God and blessings of life that come with being children of our Creator. As a joyful exhortation to these ministries, the Christian scriptures offer these words: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near…[W]hatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:4-5, 8, NRSV). We therefore reach out enthusiastically to meet your embrace, not only in respect for you as brothers and sisters within the human family, but also in solidarity in the calling to love God and love our neighbor. For as Jesus said, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12, NRSV).

Walking Forward Together

As you did in “A Common Word Between Us and You,” we also affirm the need to take actions that demonstrate our commitment to our “common” and “just” word. It is our conviction that the exploration of our shared ground requires that we move beyond polite conversation to interaction with one another and cooperative endeavors. Indeed, we believe that deep relationship as neighbors calls us to common engagement in a world plagued by violence, poverty, environmental degradation, and other such ills, and in need of moral leadership in addressing them.

Consistent with this affirmation, Christian leaders within the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA have joined with American Muslim leaders in a National Muslim–Christian Initiative, with the following mission statement: “We, from various streams of Muslim and Christian communities, seek to enhance mutual understanding, respect, appreciation and support of what is sacred for each other through dialogue, education and sustained visible encounters that foster and nurture relationships.” There are various components to this work:

• to encourage the local churches, mosques and Islamic centers to engage with each other in new and positive ways;
• to educate each other about ourselves, so that we are able to present each other with authenticity and credibility, and with respect and appreciation;
• to foster the healing of painful memories that our two communities have of one another;
• to establish a mechanism for response in the event of negative events or emergencies involving our communities, and especially to denounce violence committed against them; and,
• to publicize our work and disseminate materials, including engagement on “A Common Word,” so that our constituent members and the media will have access to positive interaction between our communities.

Through this national dialogue, and through similar initiatives throughout our country and globally, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and our member churches firmly commit to ongoing and tangible engagement with Muslim partners.

At the heart of “A Common Word,” we hear a call for Christians to consider that Muslims are with us, and that this togetherness bears upon the state of the world. The importance of this call should not be underestimated. Certainly, very different groups with very different agendas (mis)use the name of Islam, the Qur’an, and the Prophet Muhammad to further their own cause, and many devout Muslims deplore their actions. The same can be said for the way some (mis)use the name of Christianity, Jesus Christ, and the Bible, and for the deep distress of devout Christians who discern this abuse as contrary to the Gospel. For this reason, we similarly affirm that Christianity is not against Islam. Accordingly, we pray, not only for the absence of enmity, but for the nurturing of friendship between our two communities.

We lament on every occasion when violence is committed in the name of religion. Yet we must confess that our traditions do contain attitudes, historical memories, and even passages of scripture that have been, and can all too easily be, used in support of violence. At the same time we are convinced that, when our faiths are most authentically practiced, they lead to a rejection of violence. Such conviction also brings a responsibility. And so, we affirm with you, as written in “A Common Word”: “And to those who nevertheless relish conflict and destruction for their own sake or reckon that ultimately they stand to gain through them, we say that our very eternal souls are all also at stake if we fail to sincerely make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony.”

Therefore, our churches, in ecumenical solidarity through the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, commit themselves to actively seek, together with you, ways to take up the challenge you have presented to us in “A Common Word”: “Let us vie with each other only in righteousness and good works. Let us respect each other, be fair, just and kind to one another and live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual goodwill.” May we discern together, in the various places of our common life and work, how to give concrete expression to this commitment, “not [only] in word or speech, but in truth and action” (1 John 3:18, NRSV). In this way, in all contexts and in all places, equality, fairness, justice, and peace may prevail.

Contact , NCC Senior Program Director for Interfaith Relations, 212-870-3422
NCC News contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228,

German Protestants recall Anglican bishop who was a 'bridge builder' and 'reconciler'

[ENI] Protestants in Germany are recalling the life of George K. A. Bell, a Church of England bishop who opposed the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler but also sharply criticised indiscriminate bombing of German cities during the Second World War.

“He was a fighter for peace and for the truth, and never shied away from using the authority of his office and person to uphold his beliefs, even in the political arena,” said Bishop Wolfgang Huber, who heads the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), in a statement to mark the 50th anniversary of the Anglican bishop's death on Oct.3, 1958.

A commemorative event to remember Bishop Bell as an “ecumenist, bridge builder and reconciler" is to be held in Berlin on Oct.14.

Bishop Bell was the first moderator of the World Council of Churches, when it was founded in 1948, and was a close friend of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Protestant theologian executed for his role in the resistance to Hitler.

In 1929, he became bishop of Chichester in England. Four years later, soon after Hitler came to power in Germany, Bishop Bell publicly expressed concern about the beginning of Jewish persecution.

Already in the autumn of 1931, Bishop Bell had met Dietrich Bonhoeffer at an ecumenical meeting in Sofia. When Mr. Bonhoeffer came to London in 1933 as a German pastor, a close relationship of trust developed between the two clerics.

During the Second World War, in 1941, Bishop Bell met Mr. Bonhoeffer in neutral Sweden, and Mr. Bonhoeffer requested the bishop to encourage the British government to support the resistance inside Germany to Hitler.

At the same time, Bishop Bell spoke out publicly against the tactics of indiscriminate bombing of German cities, a position that earned him much criticism within the church and from public opinion, Bishop Huber noted in his statement.

After the war, Bishop Bell was one of the first foreign church leaders to visit defeated Germany.

"In an emotional service, he preached in the heavily damaged St Mary's Church in Berlin, and was himself deeply moved by the plight of refugees," Bishop Huber said, noting that this experience led Bishop Bell to work for humanitarian assistance to war-ravaged Europe.

"His commitment to peace, his willingness for a new beginning, and his unshakeable friendship to the Christians in Germany, even in the darkest times, deserve respect and gratitude," added Bishop Huber.

Born in 1883, Bishop Bell supported an interdenominational effort for war orphans during the First World War, and together with Swedish Lutheran Archbishop Nathan Söderblom worked for the exchange of prisoners of war, the EKD noted in an article about Bishop Bell on its Web site.

After the First World War, Bishop Bell joined the Life and Work movement that Söderblom founded in 1925 to promote common action by churches on social and political issues. Life and Work was one of the groups that went on to form the World Council of Churches in 1948.

COMMUNIQUE: The Coordinating Committee of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
Elounda, Crete, Greece, 27 September - 4 October 2008.

The Coordinating Committee of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church met in Elounda, Crete, Greece from 27 September to 4 October 2008.

At the opening session, the two Co-Presidents of the Commission, His Eminence Cardinal Walter Kasper (President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity) and His Eminence Metropolitan John of Pergamon (Ecumenical Patriarchate), expressed their joy and thankfulness to God for the continuation of the theological dialogue between the two Churches. They reaffirmed the goal of the dialogue as stated at its beginning in 1980: “The purpose of the dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church is the re-establishment of full communion between these two churches. This communion, based on unity of faith according to the common experience and tradition of the early Church, will find its expression in the common celebration of the Eucharist.”

The aim of the present meeting of the Joint Coordinating Committee was to prepare the working document to be presented at the next plenary meeting of the Commission, scheduled to take place in Cyprus in 2009, at the invitation of the Church of Cyprus. In addition to the Co-Presidents, the participants were: from the Orthodox Church – Η.Ε. Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima (Ecumenical Patriarchate, Co-Secretary of the Commission), Η.Ε. Metropolitan Makarios of Kenya (Patriarchate of Alexandria), V. Rev. Archimandrite Demetrios Charbak (Patriarchate of Antioch), Η.Ε. Bishop Ignatije of Branitsevo (Patriarchate of Serbia), H.E. Bishop Petroniu of Salaj (Patriarchate of Romania), Η.Ε. Metropolitan Georgios of Paphos (Church of Cyprus), Η.Ε. Metropolitan Athanasios of Achaia (Church of Greece); from the Roman Catholic Church – Η.Ε. Archbishop Ioannis Spiteris of Corfu, Η.Ε. Bishop Gérard Daucourt of Nanterre, Η.Ε. Bishop Brian Farrell (Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity), H.E. Bishop Dimitrios Salachas (Athens, Greece), Mgr Piero Coda (President, Italian Theological Association), Mgr Paul McPartlan (Catholic University of America, Washington DC), Rev. Frans Bouwen (St Anne, Jerusalem), Prof Theresia Hainthaler (Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen, Frankfurt a. Main), Mgr Eleuterio Fortino (Under-Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Co-Secretary of the Commission).

The work of the Coordinating Committee has to be seen in continuity with the previous agreed statements of the Joint Theological Commission. The Ravenna Document (2007), entitled: “Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church: Ecclesial Communion,Conciliarity and Authority”, called for “The role of the Bishop of Rome in the koinonia/communion of the Church in the first millennium” to be examined in greater depth. On the basis of two preparatory documents, the Coordinating Committee has now prepared a document on this subject which will be submitted to the next plenary (2009).

The meeting of the Coordinating Committee in Crete was characterized by a strong spirit of commitment to the theological task before it, as well as by a clear sense of mutual trust and friendship between the members. The generous hospitality of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and in particular of His Eminence Metropolitan Nektarios of Petra and Cherronisos and of the civil authorities of the area was greatly appreciated.

The Catholic Delegation was present at the Divine Liturgy celebrated by Metropolitan Nektarios and the Orthodox members of the Committee in the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary in Neapolis. They also celebrated Mass with the small local Catholic community in a church placed at its disposal by the Orthodox Church in Aghios Nikolaos.

The participants were able to visit the famous islands of Saint Phocas and Spinalonga, the archaeological site of Knossos, and the Cathedral of Saint Minas in Heraklion. They were graciously hosted by His Eminence Irineos, Archbishop of Crete in Heraklion, by His Eminence Evgenios, Metropolitan of Ierapytna and Siteia and on various occasions by H.E. Metropolitan Nektarios.

The members of the Coordinating Committee are thankful to all those who support this dialogue through prayer and spiritual solidarity. They commend the future journey of the Churches towards peace and reconciliation to the intercession of the entire people of God.