Anglican Communion and Ecumenism

An important distinction exists between membership in the Anglican Communion and ecumenical relations with a member Church of the Communion. An important example exists in the relationship between the Church of England and the Porvoo Communion.  The Church of England is a partner in the Porvoo Agreement, but the Porvoo Communion is not in communion with the See of Canterbury.  It seems that this is a contradiction, but in terms of the Anglican Communion, there is not. 

The Porvoo Agreement is, as is stated on the Porvoo website, "an agreement to 'share a common life in mission and service'. These churches are either Anglican or Lutheran. The Porvoo churches agree on certain fundamental issues, but Porvoo is not a new confession. The churches maintain their respective identities." 

The Porvoo Communion has an ecumenical relationship with the Church of England, it does not have the same relationship with the entirety of the Anglican Communion.  In addition, each communion appears to be using the term 'communion' differently from one another.  As an example of the practical application of the difference, there exists in the Church of England a distinct and detailed process for the "appointment of clergy from the Porvoo Communion" to ministry in the Church of England.  The summary of it is that the Porvoo Communion Churches are not in communion with the See of Canterbury per the Anglican Communion.  For this reason, Porvoo is not identified as part of the Anglican Communion. 

   

This situation is similar to the relationship that the Episcopal Church in the United States of America has with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Old Catholic Churches, the Philippine Independent Church, the Mar Thoma Church, and recently now the Moravian Church in North America Northern and Southern Provinces.  While there exists full communion between TEC and these various Churches, nevertheless these Churches do not have full communion with other member Churches of the Anglican Communion.  Rather, as independent autonomous Churches, these Churches and TEC have defined for themselves ecumenical relations that have incorporated constitutional recognition of ordinations.  In fact, the relationship between these Churches, particularly between TEC and ELCA, are closer than the relationship between the Church of England and the Porvoo Communion.  Nevertheless, these ecumenical relationships do not establish any of these Churches as part of the Anglican Communion. 

 

These ecumenical relationships and that of the Porvoo Communion with the Church of England illustrate further that membership in the Anglican Communion is not effected through a relationship of some kind with the Archbishop of Canterbury as though the ABC exercises some special power of decree by fiat.  Membership in the Anglican Communion is attained only through application and petition to the Anglican Consultative Council and by their vote in the affirmative in response.  Though it may seem counter-intuitive, it is not the Archbishop but the ACC that determines whether or not a Church is in communion with the See of Canterbury. 

Jim +