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Lady Elish Angiolini was appointed by King Charles as the Lord High Commissioner of the Church of Scotland's 2025 General Assembly. Photo: Ian Wallman
— May 20, 202520 mai 2025
Nicholas Jesson
A news story last Saturday announced that a Roman Catholic had been appointed to represent King Charles at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. This would seem to be a very strange story from a Canadian perspective. Canadians hold a variety of opinions about the role of the monarchy, but we don’t expect the monarch to be part of the decision-making bodies of our churches. This is just one of the interesting aspects of having a “national” or established church that we have not experienced in Canada.
The Church of Scotland grew out of the 16th-century Reformation in Scotland. Reformed under the leadership of John Knox and others, it is a Reformed or Calvinistic church. Presbyterianism has spread from Scotland around the world. The Presbyterian Church in Canada, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, is the principal expression of Presbyterianism here, though there are several other Canadian forms of Presbyterianism. The highest decision-making body in a Presbyterian Church is the General Assembly. Commissioners to the General Assembly examine the work and laws of the church and make decisions that affect its future. Meeting for the first time in 1560, the year of the Scottish Reformation, in Scotland, the General Assembly meets annually. (The Presbyterian Church in Canada also meets annually; this year the PCC General Assembly will be in Hamilton.) The Lord High Commissioner addresses the Assembly at its opening and closing sessions, and attends much of the daily business, but does not directly engage with or influence the debates. In 1689, a law established in the UK Parliament barred Roman Catholics from holding this post. A recent change to this law made this year’s appointment possible. Reflecting on her appointment, Lady Elish Angiolini said: “While I have had the privilege and the terror of being the first woman in a number of historic roles, being the Lord High Commissioner with my very own Act of Parliament had never occurred to me.”
The revision of the law to allow this appointment is just one effect of a recent ecumenical agreement between the Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church in Scotland. In 2022, the two churches approved the St. Margaret Declaration of Friendship. The declaration offers “a decisive and irrevocable statement of our friendship with one another, based on our shared faith in Christ.” It was approved by the General Assembly and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland. The declaration speaks of the shared faith and common ground that unites the churches, saying: “We recognise each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, and we wish to express our friendship and respect for one another as fellow Christians, citizens and partners in announcing the kingdom of God in our land.”
The declaration describes the churches’ shared beliefs, “rooted in the Apostles, Christ’s first disciples,” and acknowledges a common heritage as Christians in Scotland. “We recall with gratitude to God the earliest missionaries, our forebears in the faith, who lived and preached the Christian faith to our land,” it says. “We recall those from that time who led and formed the Church, nurturing a society inspired by Christian values, including St. Ninian, St. Columba, and St. Margaret.”
The St. Margaret Declaration stands within a broader context of ecumenical agreements in Scotland. In 2016, the Columba Declaration between the Church of Scotland and the Church of England marked a commitment from these two churches. There is a difference between the Scottish experience of a “national church” and the English experience of an established church, but each has played a significant role in forming their respective national identities. In 2021, the St. Andrew Declaration was established between the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Anglican church in Scotland. And now to close the circle, in 2025 the St. Ninian’s Declaration is proposed between the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Catholic Church in Scotland.
A Declaration of Friendship is similar to the covenants that have been established in parts of Canada and other countries. For example, the St. Ninian Declaration encourages joint worship and prayer, shared preparation for baptism and confirmation, common study of faith, co-operation in lay and ordained ministry, and shared witness to the world. Similar elements are found in many of these ecumenical instruments. Several recent dialogue statements have encouraged these local agreements. Perhaps the most significant example is the “Growing Together in Unity and Mission” statement of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission in 2007. As a sign of increasing maturity in ecumenical relationships between the churches, these dialogues have moved beyond discussions of the historic divisions between our churches and have begun to propose steps towards removing barriers to cooperation and shared mission. Covenants, or declarations of friendship, are one step along this path.
During a special audience with religious leaders who came to Rome for the inauguration of his papal ministry, Pope Leo XIV vowed to continue working towards Christian unity and promoting dialogue among all religions.
“Now is the time for dialogue and building bridges,” the pope said May 19 as he met with the leaders in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace.
His guests included Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, and Catholicos Awa III, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, as well as Anglican, Methodist, and Lutheran leaders. Representatives of the Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain communities also attended. … Read more »… lire la suite »
With great joy, I extend my cordial greetings to all of you, Representatives of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, as well as of other religions, who participated in the inaugural celebration of my ministry as Bishop of Rome and Successor of Peter. I express fraternal affection to His All Holiness Bartholomew, His Beatitude Theophilos III, and His Holiness Mar Awa III, and to each of you, I am deeply grateful for your presence and prayers, which are a great comfort and encouragement.
One of the strong emphases of Pope Francis’ pontificate was that of universal fraternity. In this regard, the Holy Spirit really “urged” him to advance with great strides the initiatives already undertaken by previous Pontiffs, especially since Saint John XXIII. The Pope of Fratelli Tutti promoted both the ecumenical path and interreligious dialogue. He did so above all by cultivating interpersonal relations, in such a way that, without taking anything away from ecclesial bonds, the human trait of the encounter was always valued. May God help us to treasure his witness! … Read more »… lire la suite »
Among his first messages, Pope Leo XIV expressed his intention to strengthen the Catholic Church’s ties with the Jewish community.
“Trusting in the assistance of the Almighty, I pledge to continue and strengthen the church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration ‘Nostra Aetate,'” the pope wrote in a message to Rabbi Noam Marans, director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
Promulgated 60 years ago, “Nostra Aetate” affirmed the Catholic Church’s spiritual kinship with the Jewish people and condemned all forms of anti-Semitism. … Read more »… lire la suite »
I thought that travelling to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait was a big trip to make when I responded to Bishop Keith Joseph’s invitation to preside at the Easter services at the Old Cathedral of All Souls and St Bartholomew this year. Little did I realise that just a few days after Easter I would receive a request from the Anglican Communion Office to be part of the Anglican representation at Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome the following weekend.
Planning had to proceed quickly, and I flew out on the Wednesday on flight legs that added up to around 24 hours in the air before arriving in Rome on the Thursday afternoon. Our delegation, led by the Primate of Brazil, Archbishop Marinez Bassotto, assembled at the Anglican Centre, Rome before we were taken to St Peter’s Basilica to pray where Pope Francis’ body lay in state in an open coffin. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The World Council of Churches (WCC) extended ecumenical greetings to Pope Leo XIV and an assurance of continuing engagement with the Roman Catholic Church in the era of its new pontiff.
WCC moderator of the central committee, Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, expressed joy and hope. “As successor of Pope Francis, he will move in a strong tradition,” said Bedford-Strohm. “I expect him to continue Pope Francis’ witness of love towards all people, especially those most vulnerable, and of love for nonhuman creation.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
More than 11,000 people have participated in the consultations for the next Archbishop of Canterbury – carried out online, by post and in person between February and March this year.
The public consultation was a unique opportunity to influence the future of leadership within the Church, helping to discern the gifts, skills and qualities required in the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury to meet the needs of the Church today and in the years to come.
The themes that emerge through this consultation will sit alongside the ‘Statement of Needs’ produced by the Diocese of Canterbury, as well as other information provided by the National Church and Anglican Communion. This information will inform the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission of the needs of the mission of the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion. … Read more »… lire la suite »
After Pope Francis died, an ecumenical colleague asked me about the ecumenical legacy of the late pope. As I endeavoured to answer him, I found myself clarifying at several points that Francis was not all that different in his ecumenical commitments from the previous popes, going back to Pope Paul VI and the Second Vatican Council. Each of the post-conciliar popes has presided over significant steps on the ecumenical journey, and Francis should be seen as continuing this same journey. As much as I love and appreciate him, I am uncomfortable giving Francis sole credit for achievements that are largely due to the efforts of ecumenical leaders in the Roman Curia, ecumenical agencies, theological dialogues, and national and local churches. The achievements of the ecumenical movement during the Francis papacy are certainly due to his guidance, encouragement, permission, and his genuinely open spirit, and it is for these that we can give thanks.
The Spirit asks us to listen to the questions, concerns, and hopes of every Church, people, and nation. And to listen to the world, to the challenges and changes that it sets before us. Let us not soundproof our hearts; let us not remain barricaded in our certainties. So often our certainties can make us closed. Let us listen to one another (Homily at the Mass Opening the Synodal Path, October 10, 2021).
Working as an ecumenist in the Francis years has been a great joy. I have been studying and working in ecumenism since the late 1980s, beginning in the middle years of Pope John Paul II and through the long years of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI’s time at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and then his papacy. These were positive years of ecumenical progress. John Paul II was a figure who transformed Catholic relations with the Evangelical world. He presided over the most significant years of bilateral dialogue with Anglicans, Lutherans, Orthodox, Methodists, and Reformed. He was the pope who approved the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and issued common declarations on Christology with the Oriental Orthodox. He convened world religious leaders at Assisi to pray for peace. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The message seeks to bear witness to the Resurrection of Christ and has been signed by General Secretaries and ecumenical representatives of twelve Christian World Communions. It calls for Christians to work for the unity of the Church, praying for “the Holy Spirit to move our Communions to live and walk together, in obedience to the call of Jesus that all his disciples may be one.” It also offers words of hope “at this time of great political instability in the world, when so many live with fear, suffering, persecution, famine, and other forms of instability and vulnerability.” All Christians are called together to proclaim the good news of “repentance and forgiveness of sins … to all nations” (Luke 24:47-48). … Read more »… lire la suite »
A “Faith and Order Update,” presenting some of the main areas of the work of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order, has been published as the WCC looks towards the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order later in 2025, and in the year that marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
“As the unity of the church is the main goal of our work within Faith and Order, this update offers information about the current work of our study groups on ecclesiology, moral discernment, and theological anthropology and on understanding the churches in and for the world,” writes moderator of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order Rev. Prof. Dr Stephanie Dietrich in her greeting. “I wish you many interesting insights while reading.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
The Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) concluded its annual meeting at the denominational offices of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 8. The Consultation is a joint American and Canadian ecumenical body that is responsible for the Revised Common Lectionary, a schedule of biblical passages read on Sundays and major feasts in congregations of multiple denominations in North America and other parts of the world. … Read more »… lire la suite »