(ACNS) In the name of the Triune God, and with the blessing and guidance of our Churches, the International Commission for Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue (ICAOTD) met at the University of Chester, United Kingdom during 3-10 September 2012. The Commission is grateful for the hospitality extended by the Anglican Communion.
The ICAOTD is continuing in its in-depth study of Christian anthropology, particularly in regard to what it means to be a human person created in the image and likeness of God. The Commission discussed the draft of its joint theological work on this subject, developed through the collaborative studies of previous meetings and enriched by presentations at this meeting on nature and grace, marriage, celibacy and friendship, and creation. Recognizing the need for our churches to address the urgent issues of contemporary humanity, the Commission explored the application of its study, particularly in the area of ecology.
Memo to the Revered Hierarchs of the Orthodox Catholic Church:
When you are reduced to ecology as the only point where you can even hint at agreement then it’s time to hang it up and move on.
Not sure I would agree AO. The Orthodox will presumably continue doing what they have always done – stick to their doctrine, and spend their time infighting among the various branches in that Mediterranean sort of way.
Meanwhile the door is being kept open on ecumenical dialogue, much as it is with the RC’s:
1. to at time when the madness in the Anglican church has passed, as it will, and the ground is more conducive to dialogue; and moreover,
2. in recognition that the heresy rampant in some parts of the Communion is not definitive for the Communion in its voiceless majority in the Global South, or for that matter some of the emerging organisations in the Western Communion.
I am reasonably hopeful that God has not finished with His church as it is expressed in the Anglican Communion. In some ways it is a positive and exciting time. Churches like TEC are withering on the vine as they have cut themselves off from the root and head of the church, and yet even there things are on the move in some parts. In much of the world faithful Anglicanism is growing as it has remained rooted in the vine.
Churches like mine are having to decide who we serve and with whom we will stand – will it be the white liberal and collapsing provinces of Wales, Canada and so on, or with the exciting and growing churches of the Global South. The question we are facing is as ever the old one Jesus asked: ‘Who do you say I am?’
I hope churches like the Orthodox will continue to keep the door open to hopefully a better time and meanwhile to continue to support and encourage us, and most importantly to pray for us as I would like to feel you would.