A dialogue document on Church, Eucharist and Ministry published by Lutherans and Roman Catholics in Finland in 2017 could pave the way for an international declaration between the two Christian churches, church leaders in the Nordic nation say.
Communion in Growth, a report from the Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue Commission of Finland, found that despite differences of emphasis between the Roman Catholic Church in Finland and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Eucharist and (ordained) Ministry, they don’t need to be church dividing issues in the light of the achieved consensus on the basic truths of faith regarding these themes. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The Third Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) has issued its first agreed statement with the title Walking Together on the Way: Learning to be the Church – Local, Regional, Universal. Since its first meeting in 1970, ARCIC has published thirteen agreed statements. The third phase of the dialogue began in 2011 with the dual mandate to explore “the Church as Communion, local and universal, and how in communion the local and universal Church come to discern right ethical teaching.” The current document completes the first part of this mandate.
Walking Together on the Way employs the method of Receptive Ecumenism to examine the structures by which Catholics and Anglicans order and maintain communion at the local, regional and universal level. It examines common theological principles that Anglicans and Catholics share, and the differentiated structures, based on these principles, by which they make decisions. This method invites both traditions to repentance and conversion, by looking at what is underdeveloped or wounded in themselves. It is also predicated on the belief that in our dialogue partner we meet a community in which the Holy Spirit is alive and active. We can therefore ask firstly, where our communities are in need of reform, and, secondly, what we can learn from the our dialogue partner to help us in this growth. The Commission described this process as “receptive learning.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
Le Dialogue de l’Église catholique romaine et de l’Église Unie a publié un rapport sur le changement climatique intitulé l’Espérance en nous. Depuis octobre 2012, le Dialogue de l’Église catholique romaine et de l’Église Unie du Canada s’est réuni huit fois pour examiner les réponses de nos Églises à la crise écologique, en portant une attention particulière au changement climatique. Le rapport explore les ressources spirituelles de notre tradition commune pour faire face au changement climatique et travailler pour la justice écologique. Sans fermer les yeux sur les dangers réels des crises écologiques, le dialogue offre une vision d’ espérance fondée sur notre foi chrétienne commune, voulant qu’une nouvelle relation entre l’humanité et la création soit possible. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The Roman Catholic‒United Church of Canada Dialogue has released a report on climate change entitled The Hope within Us. Since October 2012, the Roman Catholic‒United Church of Canada Dialogue has met eight times to explore our churches’ responses to the ecological crisis, with particular attention to climate change. The report explores the spiritual resources of our common tradition for addressing climate change and working for ecological justice. While not turning away from the real dangers of the ecological crises, the dialogue provides a vision of hope, based on our common Christian faith, that a new relationship between humanity and creation is possible. … Read more »… lire la suite »
There are hundreds of denominations within Christianity, and it can be easy to focus on the differences between them all. But a group of Mennonites and Anglicans is breaking through those walls. A group of 12 people from both denominations gathered from May 24 to 26 at the University of Manitoba’s St. John’s College in Winnipeg. They spent the weekend sharing the struggles each church experiences and the resources they offer, a practice they have labelled the “exchanging of gifts.”
“It seems that denominational affiliation is becoming less important, and Christianity is shrinking in many sectors in Canada,” says Melissa Miller, interim pastor at Home Street Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. “So it seems more important that Christians from different denominations engage with each other and learn from each other and lay down some of those divisions.” Miller is the Mennonite co-chair of the dialogue, and Christopher Trott, warden of St. John’s College, is the Anglican co-chair. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The final report on the Lutheran-Mennonite-Roman Catholic Trilateral Conversation has been published. The report summarizes five years of theological consultations between the three communions on the understanding and practice of baptism in light of contemporary pastoral and missional challenges facing all three Christian communities.
“The report shows that today these three churches agree that baptism is for discipleship,” says Mennonite delegation member Larry Miller. “It raises the question for each of these churches: are there ways of acknowledging our different practices of baptism that grow the unity for which Jesus prayed?”
Representatives of the Catholic Church (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity), Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and Mennonite World Conference (MWC) met from 2012–2017 to discuss understanding and practice of baptism. … Read more »… lire la suite »