Delegates at the ALICUM summit gather on the bank of the River Jordan to renew their baptismal vows
Delegates at the ALICUM summit gather on the bank of the River Jordan to renew their baptismal vows. Photo: Lutheran World Federation (2025)

Anglican–Lutheran Commission Gathers to Deepen Unity through Shared Mission

 — Apr. 10, 202510 avril 2025
Anglican Communion News Service

Anglican and Lutheran church leaders from around the world gathered in Amman, Jordan, from 29 March to 2 April 2025 for the first full meeting of the Anglican–Lutheran International Commission for Unity and Mission (ALICUM). Under the theme “Our baptismal unity,” participants reflected on their shared identity in Christ, built deeper relationships, and committed to a variety of catechetical, evangelical, and missiological projects.

ALICUM was established in 2018 by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council and the Anglican Communion’s Standing Committee as a new commission, built on the foundation of decades of agreements between Anglicans and Lutherans. In several parts of the world, Anglican and Lutheran churches are in relationships of full communion. Like the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), ALICUM pairs Anglican and Lutheran bishops and leaders with one another from various countries around the world in order to pursues shared teaching, evangelisation, and mission.

This inaugural gathering of the full Commission brought together ALICUM pairs from Cameroon, Colombia, the Holy Land, Malaysia, Tanzania, the USA, and the Porvoo Communion (including representatives from Ireland, Scotland, Finland, and Germany). While the members from Canada and Hong Kong were unable to attend in person, they remain involved in the work.

During the five-day summit, the Commission members worshipped together and engaged in theological discussions on baptismal ecclesiology and existing communion agreements. The members also undertook a pilgrimage to key biblical sites, including the Jordan River, where they renewed their baptismal vows; Mount Nebo, traditionally regarded as the place of Moses’ death; and the ancient mosaic map of the Holy Land in Madaba.

The Commission members shared stories of collaboration in theological education, evangelism and discipleship, public theology, youth work, and care for marginalised communities. These stories, and associated plans, demonstrated the creativity and energy of Anglican-Lutheran collaboration around the world. The Commission also addressed practical challenges of teaching and sharing the faith in circumstances that range from decline and secularisation to rapid growth and persecution. Members were amazed and grateful to hear stories of multiplying churches in contexts where Christians are minorities and lack material resources.

The Commission also explored how various agreements of full communion relate to one another and may be adopted more formally by churches in the Global South. The commission’s reflections on baptism raised questions about the place of confirmation and the Eucharist in the initiation and formation of Christians.

The summit concluded with a commissioning service at the Evangelical Lutheran Good Shepherd Church in Amman. Participants expressed deep gratitude for the hospitality of their Jordanian Christian hosts and pledged to stand in solidarity with churches in the Holy Land.

Prof. Dr Dirk Lange, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations and co-secretary of ALICUM, said the meeting “proved to be extremely rich as the church leaders spent time bonding over shared worship and pilgrimage. New initiatives and joint projects were discussed, exploring ways of implementing the many ecumenical consensus statements and full communion agreements already reached by Anglicans and Lutherans.”

Dr Christopher Wells, Director of Unity, Faith and Order at the Anglican Communion Office (ACO) said that “Lutheran and Anglican commitments to bear witness together to the one faith and one Lord serves as a summons for the whole Church to give ourselves over to one another fully. We pray that all the Christian World Communions may catch fire in the power of the Spirit to profess the one faith and to share the Good News more surely with the waiting world.”

The ALICUM Steering Committee will mentor the pairs of church leaders as they put their projects into action over the next three years. The entire Commission will meet annually online and plans to hold a second in-person summit in 2028.

Communiqué

Anglican–Lutheran International Commission on Unity and Mission (ALICUM)

Amman, Jordan, 29 March–2 April 2025

The full ALICUM Commission met in Amman, Jordan, from 29 March until 2 April 2025 with the theme ‘Our baptismal unity’. After the Anglican–Lutheran International Co-ordinating Council completed its work in 2016, ALICUM was constituted in 2018 by the Lutheran World Federation Council and the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion. ALICUM provides a new approach to the promotion and monitoring of Anglican–Lutheran relations around the world: ALICUM is a dispersed commission, consisting of regional or national pairings of Anglican and Lutheran bishops and other church leaders exercising episcopé. The ALICUM Steering Group is tasked with planning and accompanying these pairings; it meets annually. This was the first meeting of the full commission. Anglican–Lutheran pairs from Cameroon, Colombia, the Holy Land, Malaysia, Tanzania, and the USA as well as from the Porvoo Communion (Ireland, Scotland and Finland) and Germany took part. The Canadian and Hong Kong pairs were unfortunately unable to attend the meeting.

Members of the Commission prayed, worshiped and sang together, sharing morning and evening prayer, and attending Sunday Eucharists at the Anglican Church of the Redeemer and the Evangelical Lutheran Good Shepherd Church, both in Amman. They heard and discussed presentations on baptismal ecclesiology and on the existing Anglican–Lutheran agreements. Guided by Pastors Imad Haddad and Mark LaChonce, the Commission was privileged to make a pilgrimage to the site of Jesus’ baptism at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the site of Moses’ death at Mount Nebo, and the 5th/6th-century mosaic map of the Holy Land at Madaba. They renewed their baptismal vows at the Jordan River, and reaffirmed their commitment to their churches’ shared mission to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The meeting closed with a commissioning service at the Evangelical Lutheran Good Shepherd Church.

The ALICUM pairs shared stories of their work together and of projects they are undertaking together. A rich picture emerged, offering many examples of deep relationships, expressed in prayer, liturgically and in shared mission. Areas of shared mission include collaboration in theological education, public theology, care for minorities, youth work and a range of different forms of shared discipleship. This witnesses to the way that local experiences of unity and mission continue to shape and inform theological dialogue. There was some discussion of the practical challenges of working closely together, including the different expectations of our churches around licensing and authorisation of clergy and worship leaders. The Commission affirmed that its work builds on the theological foundations laid by the work of earlier Anglican–Lutheran International Commissions, particularly on ministry, episcopé, and diaconia, and by the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, of which the Lutheran World Federation is an original signatory, and which has been affirmed by the Anglican Communion. ALICUM pairs worked together to agree aims and commitments for the next three years – to the next ALICUM summit in 2028 – while also planning for the longer term. Going forward, the Commission will also meet annually online to ensure the continuity of the shared work.

There remain important theological questions. One concerns the implications of full communion agreements for other churches in communion with the partners (known in ecumenical contexts as ‘transitivity’). A second concerns confirmation: while agreements of (full) communion achieve mutual recognition of ordained presbyteral and episcopal ministries (and differences on diaconal ministries have been recognised not to be communion dividing), Anglican canonical requirements for episcopal confirmation as a prerequisite for ordination mean that mutual recognition of confirmation has not always been achieved. Questions around the place and significance of confirmation are also raised within many of our churches by the renewed emphasis on baptismal ecclesiology. There also remain cultural challenges which impact our work towards unity, both locally and globally. Divisions within our communions can also challenge Anglican–Lutheran relationships.

In North America and Europe, Anglican–Lutheran relationships are rooted in and formed by formal agreements, particularly the full communion agreements: the Porvoo Common Statement (1996)[1], Called to Common Mission (1999/2000)[2], the Waterloo Declaration (2001)[3], and the Augsburg Agreement (2024)[4]. It is, however, clear that even where no formal written agreements exist, Anglicans and Lutherans often work very closely together, up to and including mutual participation in episcopal ordinations and interchange of clergy, both of which imply a relationship of (full) communion. Several pairs articulated a wish for these relationships to be given a more formal basis, and various possibilities for taking this forward were discussed. The question of the implications of regional agreements for the global communions more widely was also raised. The Memorandum of Understanding for Joint Advocacy, signed in 2024 by the Lutheran World Federation and the Anglican Communion, was presented as an important basis for Anglican-Lutheran relations in the area of public theology.

The Commission members are very grateful to Pastor Imad Haddad of the Evangelical Lutheran Good Shepherd Church for the support and accompaniment of the Summit and to Archdeacon Fae’q Haddad of the Anglican Church of the Redeemer for his welcome. They are particularly grateful for the gracious and generous hospitality offered to them in this time of great trial. The Christians of Jordan and the Holy Land are Living Stones, bearing witness to the Gospel with faith and resilience. Commission members shared worship and meals with both Anglican and Lutheran congregations in Amman, and, having heard their stories of struggle and hope, stand in solidarity with the peoples of the Holy Land. Those who come from other places leave with a fresh commitment to pray and work for a just and lasting peace in this region.

Notes:

1. The member churches of Porvoo are: (Anglican): Church of England, Church of Ireland, Lusitanian Church of Portugal, Scottish Episcopal Church, Reformed Episcopal Church of Spain, Church in Wales; (Lutheran): Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Church of Iceland, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania, Church of Norway, Church of Sweden, Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide, Lutheran Church in Great Britain. See porvoocommunion.org.
2. The signatories of Called to Common Mission are The Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. See resources.elca.org/wp-content/uploads/Called_To_Common_Mission.pdf.
3. The signatories of the Waterloo Declaration are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada. See www.anglican.ca/resources/called-to-full-communion-the-waterloo-declaration/.
4. The signatories of the Augsburg Agreement are The Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria. See oekumene.bayern-evangelisch.de/dialog-mit-der-episcopal-church.php.

Members of the Steering Group

Co-Chairs
The Rt Revd Dr Given Gaula, Bishop of Kondoa, Anglican Church of Tanzania
Bishop Cindy Halmarson, Bishop (retired) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Lutheran Members
The Revd Terry Kee, Pastor of Jurong Christian Church, Singapore; former Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Singapore
Ms Titi Malik, Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria; Director of Women’s Ministry, Yola Diocese; former member of the LWF Council
Bishop Dr Oliver Schuegraf, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe

Anglican Members
The Revd Canon Professor Charlotte Methuen, Scottish Episcopal Church; Convener of the SEC Inter-Church Relations Committee
The Revd Canon Dr Scott Sharman, Anglican Church of Canada; Animator for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
The Revd Professor Jeremiah Yang Guen Seok, Anglican Church of Korea; former president of the Sungkonghoe University, Seoul

ALICUM pairs

Cameroon
The Rt Revd Dibo Thomas-Babyngton Elango, Bishop of Cameroon, Church of the Province of West Africa
Bishop Jean Lamy Limangna, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon

Canada
The Rt Revd Chris Harper, National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop and Presiding Elder of the Sacred Circle, Anglican Church of Canada (unable to attend)
Bishop Jason Zinko, Bishop of Manitoba Northwestern Ontario Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (unable to attend)

Colombia
The Rt Revd Pastor Elías García Cárdenas, Bishop of Colombia, The Episcopal Church
Bishop Atahualpa Hernández Miranda, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia

Germany
The Rt Revd Mark Edington, Bishop in charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, The Episcopal Church (unable to attend)
Oberkirchenrat Michael Martin, Ecumenical Project Leader, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria

Holy Land
The Revd Canon Wadie Far, Canon Pastor to the Arabic Congregation, St George’s Jerusalem, Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East
Pastor Fursan Zu’mot, Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Reformation in Beit Jala, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Hong Kong
The Revd Augusta Leung, Associate Priest, St Luke’s Church and St Stephen’s Church, Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (unable to attend)
The Revd Ben Chun Wa Chang, LWF Vice-President for Asia, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong (unable to attend)

Malaysia
The Rt Revd Dr Steven Abbarow, Bishop of West Malaysia, Church of the Province of South East Asia
Bishop Thomas Kok Chan Low, Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia

Porvoo Co-Chairs
The Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough, Church of Ireland
The Rt Revd Dr Matti Repo, Bishop of Tampere, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

Porvoo
The Rt Revd Dr John Armes, Bishop of Edinburgh, Scottish Episcopal Church
Bishop Kaisamari Hintikka, Bishop of Espoo, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

Tanzania
The Rt Revd Dr Given Gaula, Bishop of Kondoa, The Anglican Church of Tanzania
Bishop Christian Ndossa, Bishop of Dodoma, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (represented at the summit by the Revd Stanley Tabulu, Assistant to the Bishop)

USA
The Rt Revd Betsey Monnot, Bishop of Iowa, The Episcopal Church
Bishop Amy Current, Bishop of Southeastern Iowa Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Staff

Co-Secretaries
The Revd Professor Dirk G. Lange, Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations, Lutheran World Federation
Dr Christopher Wells, Director of Unity, Faith and Order, Anglican Communion Office

Ecumenical Staff
The Revd Neil Vigers, Programme Executive for Unity, Faith and Order, Anglican Communion Office
Ms Monika Rawcliffe, Support Officer in the Office of the General Secretary, Lutheran World Federation

Posted: Apr. 10, 2025 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=14563
Categories: ACNS, Communiqué • In this article: ALICUM, Anglican Communion, full communion, Lutheran World Federation, Porvoo Transmis : 10 avril 2025 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=14563
Catégorie : ACNS, Communiqué • Dans cet article : ALICUM, Anglican Communion, full communion, Lutheran World Federation, Porvoo


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