ARCIC completes second phase of co-operation

26 April 2004 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=3778

The Director of Ecumenical Affairs at the Anglican Communion Office (the Revd Canon Gregory K Cameron) last month reported to the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) that the current Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue had reached a significant milestone.

In a report to the Joint Standing Committee, which was held in Canterbury in March, Canon Gregory Cameron confirmed that the Anglican – Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) had completed its work on a document “Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ” setting out an agreed framework for the theological and devotional understanding of Mary in the Christian faith.

The completion of the document, which will be published in the first half of next year – alongside two commentaries from Anglican and Roman Catholic perspectives – is significant since it completes the work of the second phase of ARCIC. This means that the dialogue has now addressed all the items on the agenda for dialogue between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church set out by Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey in 1966. The contextual commentaries are currently under preparation.

Early agreements on the Eucharist, the ordained Ministry, and Authority in the Church, have been succeeded over the years with agreed statements on salvation, ethical teaching, and further consideration of the nature of the Church and Authority. The last agreed statement by ARCIC was “The Gift of Authority” in 1999.

In December 2003, the Anglican Communion Office and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity indicated that, after the completion of the Agreed Statement on Mary, attention would be given to planning the future agenda for the next phase of the theological dialogue. The Joint Standing Committee has consequently passed a motion asking the Most Revd Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Pope John Paul II to consider the establishment of the third phase of ARCIC’s work as soon as possible.

Mandate approved for Anglican-Lutheran Commission

The long-standing commitment to closer co-operation between the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran World Federation has also taken a significant step forward with the ratification of a mandate for a new Anglican Lutheran Commission.

The meeting of the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the ACC approved the Anglican-Lutheran mandate, giving substance to the resolutions of the 12th meeting of the ACC in Hong Kong in 2002 and to those of the 10th Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation in Winnipeg in July 2003.

According to the text of the mandate, the new commission will provide guidance on the implementation of the report of the Anglican-Lutheran Working Group (1992-2002), explore the possibility of joint actions and statements, and, in particular, seek ways to promote joint study projects for issues relevant to both Churches. It will also consider ways to engage with and promote the wider ecumenical movement.

The Joint Standing Committee also looked at proposals for the 2008 Lambeth Conference, the ACC Meeting in 2005 and the appointment of a new Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, as Canon John L. Peterson retires at the end of 2004.