| A |
A New Opportunity |
| 1 |
Through the gracious leading of God Anglicans and Lutherans
all over the world are sharing together in mission and service, and
discovering how much they have in common. In Europe our churches have
lived side by side in separate nations for centuries. For a considerable
time our churches have maintained in each other's countries chaplaincies,
which are of growing significance with the increased mobility of population
between the churches. Where both church traditions are present in
the same place, as in North America and Southern and East Africa,
new relationships have developed and new local agreements have been
made. At the same time there is a growing closeness between European
Anglicans and Lutherans, which convinces us that the time has come
for us to review and revise the existing agreements. |
| 2 |
These agreements, which make possible differing degrees
of communion, have been only partially implemented. For example, the
political situation of the Baltic states hindered effective implementation
for fifty years from 1939 to 1989. The agreements differ widely because
in the past Anglicans have distinguished between the different Lutheran
churches, principally on the criterion of the historic episcopate.
However, the Nordic and Baltic churches have always enjoyed eucharistic
communion. Moreover, the Nordic countries are increasingly regarded
as one region and the churches now cooperate closely with one another
and within the Nordic Bishops' Conference and the Nordic Ecumenical
Council. Political change in Eastern Europe has given new hope to
the churches of the Baltic countries. They are now developing their
own life and are increasingly making their contribution to the wider
fellowship. Cooperation with them becomes more important in a rapidly
changing situation offering new possibilities for the churches. |
| 3 |
The Nordic and Baltic churches wish to relate to the
Anglican churches in Britain and Ireland, not only as separate national
churches, but also as groups of churches. The Commission is glad of
new links with the Lutheran Church in Lithuania. It believes that
the possibility of a new agreement, which will not differentiate between
our churches, is opening up before us. |
| 4 |
We are encouraged in this belief by an evident theological
convergence in several Anglican-Lutheran conversations. Furthermore,
the official acceptance of The Meissen Common Statement by the Church
of England and the Evangelical Church in Germany indicates a growing
common understanding of the Church. |
| 5 |
Anglicans and Lutherans are also helped by the broader
ecumenical convergence, to which Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant
churches have contributed, on the doctrines of the Church, the ministry
and the sacraments. This convergence has enabled us to move beyond
both ways of thought and misunderstandings which have hindered the
quest for unity between Anglicans and Lutherans. Of particular importance
is the understanding of the mystery of the Church as the body of Christ,
as the pilgrim people of God, as fellowship (koinonia), and also as
participation through witness and service in God's mission to the
world. This provides a proper setting for a new approach to the question
of the ordained ministry and of oversight (episcope). |
| 6 |
Above all, we face a common challenge to engage in God's
mission to the people of our nations and continent at a time of unparalleled
opportunity, which may properly be called a kairos. |
| B |
Our Common Ground as Churches |
| 7 |
The faith, worship and spirituality of all our churches
are rooted in the tradition of the apostolic Church. We stand in continuity
with the Church of the patristic and medieval periods both directly
and through the insights of the Reformation period. We each understand
our own church to be part of the One, Holy, Catholic Church of Jesus
Christ and truly participating in the one apostolic mission of the
whole people of God. We share in the liturgical heritage of Western
Christianity and also in the Reformation emphases upon justification
by faith and upon word and sacrament as means of grace. All this is
embodied in our confessional and liturgical documents and is increasingly
recognized both as an essential bond between our churches and as a
contribution to the wider ecumenical movement. |
| 8 |
Despite geographical separation and a wide diversity
of language, culture and historical development, the Anglican and
Lutheran churches in Britain and Ireland and in the Nordic and Baltic
countries have much in common, including much common history. Anglo-Saxon
and Celtic missionaries played a significant part in the evangelization
of Northern Europe and founded some of the historic sees in the Nordic
lands. The unbroken witness of successive bishops in the dioceses
and the maintenance of pastoral and liturgical life in the cathedrals
and churches of all our nations are an important manifestation of
the continuity of Christian life across the ages, and of the unity
between the churches in Britain and Ireland and in Northern Europe. |
| 9 |
Each of our churches has played a significant role in
the social and spiritual development of the nation in which it has
been set. We have been conscious of our mission and ministry to all
the people in our nations. Most of our churches have had a pastoral
and sometimes a legal responsibility for the majority of the population
of our countries. This task is today increasingly being carried out
in cooperation with other churches. |
| C |
Our Common Mission Today |
| 10 |
Our churches and their nations are today facing new
tasks and opportunities, in the context of many ideological, social
and political changes in Europe.
These include: |
| |
a |
a growing awareness by the European nations of their interdependence
and mutual responsibility, and the need to rectify injustices resulting
from the European wars of many centuries, but especially the twentieth
century, which have affected the whole world |
| |
b |
new opportunities which are especially dramatic in the Baltic context
for evangelism, re-evangelism and pastoral work in all our countries,
and the challenge to restate the Christian faith in response to both
a prevalent practical materialism and a yearning among many people
for spiritual values; |
| |
c |
a need to react to the vacuum arising from the collapse of a monolithic
political system in Eastern Europe and to the increasingly pluriform
character of society in Britain and Ireland and in the Nordic countries; |
| |
d |
opportunities to work for peace, justice and human rights, to diminish
the imbalance between the prosperous nations and those impoverished
and suffering from undue economic dependency, and to protect the rights
and dignity of the poor and desolate in particular, migrants, refugees
and ethnic minorities; |
| |
e |
an ecological debate within and between the countries of Northern
Europe, to which the churches have begun to bring a positive theology
of creation and incarnation according permanent value to the earth
and life in all its forms; |
| |
f |
a need for dialogue and understanding with people of other races,
cultures and religious traditions as partners and fellow-citizens
of a new Europe. |
| 11 |
All the major European churches are now consulting together
about these issues, especially in the follow-up to the European Ecumenical
Assembly (Basel, 1989), co-sponsored by the Conference of European
Churches (CEC) and the Council of Catholic Bishops' Conferences in
Europe (CCEE). We are committed to encouraging this process of consultation
and to playing an active part in the initiatives arising from it.
Through such joint efforts in witness and service we shall build upon
the unity we already enjoy, and contribute to a deeper unity which
lies ahead of us. |
| 12 |
Within the wider relationship of the Lutheran World
Federation and the Anglican Communion our churches have become aware
of the necessity of facing problems and undertaking tasks in a global
perspective. |
| 13 |
In the face of all the questions arising from our common
mission today, our churches are called together to proclaim a duty
of service to the wider world and to the societies in which they are
set. Equally, they are called together to proclaim the Christian hope,
arising from faith, which gives meaning in societies characterized
by ambiguity. Again they are called together to proclaim the healing
love of God and reconciliation in communities wounded by persecution,
oppression and injustice. This common proclamation in word and sacrament
manifests the mystery of God's love, God's presence and God's Kingdom. |
