Diptychs, an arcane liturgical term that describes the order in which Orthodox churches commemorate each other at their services, is one of the tangled issues blocking plans for what could be the first great church council in 1,200 years.

Some Orthodox leaders say the churches need to get together to discuss common issues and speak with one voice on such important topics as bioethics, sexuality and the environment, but differences over arcane church issues such as diptychs and autocephaly (the independent status of Orthodox churches) run deep.
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Statement issued by the participants of an ecumenical Theological Consultation on Tourism organised by the Ecumenical Coalition On Tourism (ECOT), Thailand, and the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), in Chennai, India, from 19-21 March 2011.
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Together as people of faith, informed by our respective traditions, and compelled by our sincerely held beliefs to care for those in need within our communities and across this nation, we recognize this time to be a unique moment and opportunity in Canada for cooperative action to eradicate persistent poverty in our wealthy and wonderful land. It is a time when Canadians of all faiths, from all walks of life, from all parts of this great country are awakening to the unacceptable levels of poverty, inequity and homelessness, and acknowledging that this injustice must change.

But we cannot do this in isolation. Committed to doing all we can, we call upon our government to partner with us in ending poverty.

We acknowledge with gratitude the many positive government initiatives that continue to benefit the poor. In particular, it is gratifying to acknowledge that a majority of Canadians now live in provinces and territories that have developed and are implementing poverty reduction plans. But it is time for comprehensive, coordinated and collaborative action, with national leadership working in partnership with other jurisdictions.
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“Without any doubt, ecclesiology remains in our times the crucial issue for Christian theology in ecumenical perspective.” This was one of the conclusions drawn by a week-long consultation in Cyprus at which forty Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox representatives provided a common response to The Nature and Mission of the Church, a 2005 ecumenical text published by the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC).
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A joint declaration of the twenty-first International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee Meeting was published at midday today. The meeting was held in Paris, France from 27 February to 2 March.
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The Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Presbyterian Church in Canada are celebrating an “Affirmation of Relationship” approved and endorsed by the CRC Synod of 2010 and the General Assembly of the PCC.

Under this affirmation, the PCC becomes one of only a few “Churches in Dialogue” with the CRCNA. With the agreement, the denominations pledge to work even more closely together in the future than they have in the past. “The Christian Reformed Church and the Presbyterian Church in Canada have been neighbors and friends for many years,” says Rev. Bruce Adema, director of the CRC in Canada.

“The ‘Affirmation of the Relationship’ document outlines how our churches can demonstrate Christian affection and work together to reveal the Kingdom of God. We want to celebrate our unity as brothers and sisters in Christ.”

For several years the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee of the CRCNA has had a subcommittee that met with representatives of the PCC. “The Affirmation of the Relationship is the fruit of that,” said Adema.
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“God of life, lead us to justice and peace” will provide the theme for the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The Assembly is to be convened in October 2013 at Busan, South Korea.

The theme was determined by the WCC Central Committee on Tuesday 22 February following periods of discussion spread over several days. A “theme” is not merely a slogan or motto for a WCC assembly but provides a focus for theological reflection, worship and meditation surrounding the assembly, as well as for planning of programmatic activities before, during and after the event.
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Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, the members of the Anglican-Methodist International Commission for Unity in Mission (AMICUM) could not forget the courage, conviction and determination of those who had fought against the sin of apartheid and had then set about a process of truth and reconciliation. On a visit to Robben Island where the members heard a commentary by a former political prisoner, the Commission was left in no doubt of the need to be honest with each other if the painful divisions that deny the Gospel call to unity are to be overcome.
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Last month, the national Canadian ARC Bishops’ Dialogue celebrated 40 years of bringing Anglican and Roman Catholics closer together. “The Canadian Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue is one of the longest running in the world,” says Bishop Michael Ingham of the Anglican diocese of New Westminster in Vancouver.

Unity headed the agenda as five Roman Catholic and four Anglican bishops (one was absent due to illness) met over three days in Pickering, Ont., to discuss–among other things–Growing Together in Unity and Mission, a document produced by the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission.

Growing Together encourages practical co-operation at local levels between Anglican and Roman Catholic churches and visible signs of religious unity. “For example, it recommends that the two churches consider offering baptismal preparation together, using the same baptismal certificates or making public professions of faith together at Pentecost or on other significant occasions,” says Bishop Ingham.

It also encourages other joint ventures such as non-Eucharistic worship, pilgrimages and social justice initiatives. Religious collaborations are not common now, but Bishop Ingham is optimistic that they may become so. “We discussed how to develop this co-operation in Canada. The bishops will be taking the recommendations back to the House of Bishops. If the bishops are supportive, then they have to go out to the dioceses and encourage the clergy there.”
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When I moved to Saskatoon sixteen years ago, I was surprised by the ecumenical interest that I encountered in the churches. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, Saskatoon has the only ecumenical centre in Canada which focuses on parish ecumenism. This diocese has a history of ecumenical cooperation and experimentation that goes back to our earliest settlements. Over the years I have discovered that at the core of the prairie ecumenical experience there are some basic principles that provide guidance and insight to the search for Christian unity here, just as they do throughout the church. These principles are found in our own experience, but they are rooted in our biblical and doctrinal convictions about Christian faith and life. I think we experience these in a particularly unique way in Saskatchewan.
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The co-Chairmen and co-secretaries of the new phase of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) have drawn up a plan for the first meeting of the Commission. This will be hosted by the Monastery of Bose, northern Italy, from 17 to 27 May 2011. The new phase of ARCIC’s work was mandated by Pope Benedict XVI and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, at their meeting in Rome in November 2009.
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Nineteen Canadian Christian evangelical pastors are spending nine days on a study tour of Israel that is intended to provide them with information and perspectives that could be used to defend Israeli government policies. The tour, a project of the Modern Israel Studies Department at Canada Christian College in Toronto in conjunction with the B’nai Brith World Center in Jerusalem, was funded by private donors.
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The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina and the Anglican Diocese of Qu’Appelle have entered into a covenant committing themselves to prayer together and for each other, to work together for justice, peace, and aboriginal reconciliation and healing, and to consult regularly where developments affect the other. Archbishop Daniel Bohan and Bishop Gregory Kerr-Wilson signed the covenant on behalf of their churches in a joint worship service on Sunday, January 23rd at St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Regina.
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The Catholic Church in Canada has agreed to begin a formal theological dialogue with Evangelicals.

“It’s a new thing in Canada,” said Margaret O’Gara, a theology professor at Toronto’s University of St. Michael’s College who has been involved in Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox dialogue for the past 35 years. She will be among the Catholic participants.

“We all have the expectation that this will be a personally enriching experience and that, hopefully, we will contribute to the strength of the Church in Canada,” said David Freeman, who is strategic interface vice president for the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada.

Freeman will be the Evangelical co-chair of the dialogue, with Regina Archbishop Daniel Bohan as the Catholic co-chair.

The first set of meetings will take place March 24-25 in Toronto.
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Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience in Paul VI Hall. In his address, the Pope centered his meditation on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is being held these days with the theme “They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
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