Geneva (ENI). Ecumenical News International and Washington-based Religion News Service (RNS) have launched a shared-content agreement to distribute selected stories from each others’ newswires.
The Vatican official responsible for links with other churches has rejected suggestions of a “standstill” in the search for Christian unity. “There has already been a lot of movement,” Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told Ecumenical News International in Wittenberg, the eastern German town where in 1517, Martin Luther published his 95 Theses, thereby setting in train the breach with the papacy.
Orthodox leader ‘resists opposition’ with call for church unity
The Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomeos I, a key leader for the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians, has written a Lenten encyclical that stresses the need for greater unity for churches, and counters accusations from some of his bishops that ecumenism is heresy. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The head of the World Council of Churches in his first official meeting with Pope Benedict XVI has said he wants to strengthen cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church, especially in the Middle East. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The president of the Lutheran World Federation, Bishop Munib Younan has said before meeting Pope Benedict XVI that their churches should issue a common statement on Holy Communion to mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation that Martin Luther began in 1517.
“Our [the Lutheran federation’s] intention is to arrive at 2017 with a common Roman Catholic-Lutheran declaration on eucharistic hospitality,” Younan told the Italian Protestant news agency NEV the day before his audience with the Pope Dec. 16. … Read more »… lire la suite »
A gathering to improve relations between the many Protestant denominations in the Netherlands recently took place on the site of an earlier historic synod, though any idea of complete church unity taking place was said to smack of “an unrealistic utopia.” About 700 Christians from 50 Protestant churches attended what was billed as a “national synod” December 10-11 in the main church in the town of Dordrecht. … Read more »… lire la suite »
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. … Read more »… lire la suite »
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. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Leaders of the Church of England and the Methodist Church have been urged to work more closely in the future in order to strengthen Christian unity.
A statement issued by the Church of England’s communications office on June 16 said the Joint Implementation Commission (JIC) set up under the Anglican-Methodist Covenant of 2003 to enhance unity is recommending the two churches share their mission and ministry more widely.
A new JIC report, “Moving Forward in Covenant,” is due to be considered by the Methodist Conference and the Church of England’s General Synod, both taking place this summer. The JIC’s role is “to monitor and promote the implementation of the Covenant.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
In a historic move, the Anglican diocese of Rupert’s Land appointed a Lutheran pastor, the Rev. Paul Johnson, as dean of the diocese and incumbent for St. John’s Cathedral in Winnipeg, reports the Anglican Journal. This is the first time a Canadian Lutheran pastor has been appointed dean in an Anglican cathedral in Canada. A dean is the priest in charge of a cathedral (“mother church”) and occupies a senior position in a diocese. … Read more »… lire la suite »