(SE): Bishops from the Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions gathered for a weeklong summit of ecumenical discussions and pilgrimages in Rome and Canterbury between January 22 and 29. The summit coincided with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
On Sunday, January 28, the bishops attended the sung Eucharist at Canterbury Cathedral, where Cardinal Stephen Chow, S.J., preached. In his sermon, the cardinal said:
“We Anglicans and Roman Catholics are called to be Jesus’ partners, individually and collectively. The 12 apostles and disciples were not called to form camps, working for their own missions, or competing against each other. They were called to become an assembly, a community, a communion, a synodal koinonia [fellowship], praying and discerning, teaching and serving for the mission of our Triune God.
“May God’s ever-loving and ever-inclusive mission of salvation, and what we have learned at this summit enlighten us, spur us forward so that we can be counted as worthy mission partners of the Son of God. May God bless you all, my sisters and brothers, in the Church that is of Christ!”
The event was organised by the International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission [IARCCUM], which aims to foster closer co-operation between the Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions.
IARCCUM was established in 2000, by Archbishop George Carey and Edward Cardinal Cassidy, the then president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
The summit, entitled, “Growing Together” has seen pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops gather for a series of ecumenical discussions and visits to holy sites in Rome, that have significance to the common roots shared by both traditions.
Over 50 Anglican and Catholic bishops in pairs from 27 countries participated in the summit. It has been a week seasoned with themes of friendship where the bishops have explored the importance of listening and learning from one another, celebrating what they have in common and how faith traditions can work together as partners in the gospel.
We Anglicans and Roman Catholics are called to be Jesus’ partners, individually and collectively. The 12 apostles and disciples were not called to form camps, working for their own missions, or competing against each other. They were called to become an assembly, a community, a communion, a synodal koinonia [fellowship], praying and discerning, teaching and serving for the mission of our Triune God.
Cardinal Stephen
This sense of partnership was celebrated most significantly on January 25, when Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury commissioned the bishops in joint mission, during Vespers, at the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity celebrated at the church of Saint Paul Outside The Walls.
The summit saw the bishops undertake pilgrimages to holy sites in both Rome and Canterbury. On their last day in Rome, they prayed at the church of San Gregorio al Celio, from where Pope St. Gregory the Great sent St. Augustine who was influential in the bringing Christianity to Anglo-Saxon Britain in 597, later becoming the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
During the service, Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, head of the Anglican Communion and Bishop Anthony Poggo, the secretary general, along with Archbishop Donald Bolen and Bishop David Hamid, co-chairpersons of IARCCUM, stood at the Chair of Gregory the Great.
The Canterbury phase of the programme involved continued discussions on Church and world affairs. The bishops participated in a candlelit tour of Canterbury Cathedral, visiting the altar of the martyr, St. Thomas Becket. They attended a vigil Mass at the parish church of St. Thomas of Canterbury.
