National news

 — Dec. 31, 200131 déc. 2001

Members of the Lutheran Biennial Convention and of the Anglican General Synod,
meeting separately in Waterloo, voted in favor of the Waterloo Declaration
establishing full communion between the two Churches on July 11. They will share resources
and work closely together on common goals while maintaining their distinct identities.
Rev. Sven Oppegaard, Lutheran World Federation Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical
Affairs, who attended the convention, described the Canadian churches’ endorsement of the Waterloo
Declaration as a significant one in the global Anglican-Lutheran relationship. The Porvoo
Declaration (1996) between the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran churches and the Anglican
churches of Great Britain and Ireland, Called to Common Mission (2001) between
the Episcopal Church in the USA and Evangelical Lutherian Church in America and now the Waterloo
Declaration which enables the exchange of pastors/priests and bishops, represent a
significant level of fellowship where Christian unity is made manifest in concrete ways,
he said. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada with over 191 000 members and the
Anglican Church of Canada with 800 000 members, belong both to the Canadian Council of
Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Both the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Canada marked the 25th anniversary of the ordination of women this year. Since
the beginning of women’s ordination in 1976, the ELCIC and its predecessor churches have
had a total of 141 women serve in the ministry of word and sacrament. The Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Canada with over 191,000 members and the Anglican Church of Canada with
800,000 members belong both to the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of
Churches. In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the ordination of women, the ELCIC
National Church Council authorized a study of ordained women which will be published later
this year.

Posted: Dec. 31, 2001 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=26
Categories: CCE • In this article: Centre Canadien d’œcuménisme Transmis : 31 déc. 2001 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=26
Catégorie : CCE • Dans cet article : Centre Canadien d’œcuménisme