Ecumenical Efforts in the UK: An introduction to my Special Studies while abroad

This semester, I am in a Theology class called THEO 44001-01 Special Studies. The second 4 means it's in London, and the Special Studies means it was custom-designed, in this case by myself and Prof./Rev'd/Dr. Paul Bradshaw, an Anglican priest and Notre Dame Professor of Liturgy. I have already established contact with 4 people involved intimately with ecumenism in the UK, and before I go to meet them, talk with them, and maybe see some ecumenical efforts in action, I have been doing some reading of official documents to warm up to all of this.

I have learned a lot already in just two weeks of introductory reading. I read one lengthy document by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, which was longer than it needed to be. I also read a reaction document by the House of Bishops of the Church of England to an ecumenism statement by the Conferences of England and Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. Finally, I just finished a few documents by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission from a few decades ago.

Aside from learning where differences lie and where surprising similarities exist, I learned a few cool facts and concepts that ground me well for my ongoing work and being a Christian:

-The Catholic Church more readily and compatibly allows fuller communion with Eastern rites because of closer sacramental practices. I was aware of closer relations with them institutionally and in some practice, but the overlap allowed because of a lot shared things in sacraments and communion surprised me. At one point, the Catholic bishops discuss the possibility of multiple traditions owning the same Church and sharing the facilities for worship and socializing. For sharing with Protestants, Catholics would need assurances for things like the tabernacle and Eucharistic reverence. With Orthodox, Catholics would need to promise higher reverence for their stricter observances. Additionally, it is good that I was reading from all three perspectives because the Anglicans point out that inconsistency may exist in communion standards within Catholicism. The Eastern rites, like Anglicans, do not assent to the authority of the pope or explicitly affirm transubstantiation (they teach it as a high mystery that cannot be eloquently articulated or explained) but do affirm a real presence in the Eucharist. Anglicans wonder about Catholic standards for communion and desire to have more dialogue on the consistency of Eucharistic inclusion, which I would be interested to see and hear.

-The Greek word, koinonia, which more precisely describes the communion between all Christians, who Christ prays may "all be one". This concept underlies much of the statements from all three points of view. It centrally describes how the Church of Christ is mystically One. It is felt and practiced through Triune prayer and worship--union with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Eucharist is the visible sign, and the episcopacy is the chief servant of the Church. It is a cool concept that uses the Greek word because present-day words oversimplify the mystical bond that unifies all Christ's people as His Body.

-The communion between all Christians has been damaged but not destroyed. Despite human greed and error, historical schisms and breaks in the Church, the Church that Christ established while on earth to be His Body after He ascended to heaven remains and endures. Humans can never destroy the unity that Christ established. It continues to exist in, what Anglicans describe as, "latent but needing to be more fully realized". It is up to us to recoup the damage that our ancestors and society have done.

-One last bit: the Churches Together in England, official ecumenical organization here in the UK, teaches that three crucial elements will lead the way in ecumenical progress: Church, unity, and visible unity. We must decide that the Church is the Body of Christ including all who believe in Him and His Gospel, which acts locally and globally simultaneously. We must achieve closer unity in our prayer and faith, which can begin in our one Christian Baptism and the Eucharist that we all share. Finally, visible unity is participating socially together in ways that make tangible our Christian unity. While Eucharistic sharing remains contentious, other ways of interaction in meaningful ways are very possible. It starts well with basic social needs, from things like dinners and outings to practical needs like babysitting and daycare.

If you have any questions or comments, please post them and let me know. Visit http://www.nd.edu/~dmastert for links to my research journal of summaries and reactions so far (research journal.doc) and to the syllabus I designed with Prof. Bradshaw's help (Ecumenical Efforts in the UK.pdf). I'll have my first real meeting on research tomorrow, and from there, I will probably start working on getting to see the people involved to get a human element going.