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The Bishop As Servant of Catholic Renewal

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The Bishop As Servant of Catholic Renewal The Bishop as Servant of Catholic Renewal A Pastoral Letter to the People of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion from Peter Elder Hickman, Presiding Bishop “Where the Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be; even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church.” (Saint Ignatius of Antioch, 1st century) Greetings to All the Sisters and Brothers of Our Beloved Communion! My Dear Friends in Christ, Introduction For ten years the Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC) has been engaged in the renewal of the Catholic world. This activity is more than the reform of policy, for it is not simply the pursuit of justice regarding the ordination of women to the ministerial priesthood, the welcoming of divorced Catholics back to the sacramental life, or the inclusion of lesbian and gay people in the life of the Church.1 The activity of the ECC has centered upon the constant call of God to proclaim the Gospel in Word and Deed and to respond to renewal through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a call to return to the ancient vision of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is lived in the tradition of the Church.2 Part of this call means the recognition of the three voices of the Catholic tradition: that of the bishop, of the laity and of the clergy. When these voices are in conversation, the Church is able to faithfully discern the call of the Spirit. When any of these voices is silenced, the vital process of discernment is impaired. The Witness of Scripture To discover that ancient vision, we begin by an examination of our roots – turning to the sacred record of our foundation in apostolic times: the Church of the New Testament. The question at hand is, “Where does Church authority reside in the New Testament?” 1 ECC Constitution, Canon 16 2 ECC Constitution, Preamble 1 When we examine the Acts of the Apostles, the scriptural document that gives the widest picture of the life of the apostolic Church, we discover that the authority of the Church resides in the conciliar and synodal structure of the Church. In exploring the roles of bishop, clergy and laity in the Acts of the Apostles, we find archetypal images that we can use for the renewal of each role and voice in the church of today. Specifically, as we restore the ancient place of the bishop in the Church, we will find that the roles of the other elements – laity and clergy – are also restored to the active role that was originally intended for them. Their voices will come forth with strength, once the voice of the bishop is clarified in the synodal process. In the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, the entire apostolic community of Christians is gathered in the upper room, before the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The structure of the Church is evident in its seminal form, as the community chose two men to replace Judas, and the community prayed for guidance. After casting lots, Mathias was chosen. The scripture then says, “so he was added to the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:15-26) It is important to point out that the apostles were understood by the whole Church as a collegium – a college of apostles. This was so important to the Church that the apostles did not simply lament the betrayal and passing of Judas, but felt compelled to replace him – to bring the collegium to its complete standing again – in line with their understanding of the intentions and ministry of Jesus, who called “The Twelve.” This designation can be found in the gospels, and is continued in the Acts of the Apostles. The emerging Church structure is again witnessed in a later passage, when the apostles ask the community to choose individuals for the task of overseeing the social service work (the daily distribution of food) for the community. The apostles instructed the community, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word.” Already, the roles and tasks of each segment of the apostolic community were emerging as the seven, who are chosen by the community, are ordained as the first deacons by the apostles through prayer and the laying on of hands. (Acts 6:1-5) The conversation between the apostles and the rest of the community is evident in these passages. The community is asked to choose worthy individuals, then the apostles affirm that choice through sacred rites. This is the model for the conciliar or synodal polity in the Church. It is a model that the ECC applies in its own polity, following an ancient continuation of this model in the Catholic tradition. This conciliar element is also evident in the unfolding narrative of the Acts of the Apostles. After traveling through Asia Minor, Paul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 15. In this passage, Paul and Barnabas are joined by others from the Church in Antioch to participate in a Council convened by James in Jerusalem, in order to determine how Gentile Christians were to observe Jewish religious law as embodied in Torah. The Jerusalem Council made a decision, which they expressed in a letter to Antioch. The scripture says, “Then the 2 apostles and elders, along with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.” From this passage we see that the Jerusalem Council is again a conversation that includes “apostles,” “elders,” and “the whole Church.” These are three distinctions made by the scripture – which point us to a differentiation of role and ministry – but a continuous conversation that becomes an archetype for the synodal polity of the Church. This event forms the basis of conciliarism which is the highest form of church authority advocated by the conciliarist tradition of the Catholic Church. As opposed to the Ultramontane Catholics of the Vatican Curia we remain Conciliar Catholics which is an even more ancient, and therefore an even more authentic, tradition of Catholicism. In the twenty-first chapter of the Acts, we again see the Apostle Paul returning to Jerusalem, after further missionary journeys. Luke the writer tells us, “When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. (Acts 21:17-19) The scripture also gives us insight into the apostolic mission of Saint Paul. He is the apostle to numerous Churches around the Mediterranean. His legacy and mission will be given to other bishops, the successors of the apostles. In the various letters of Paul, we discover two wonderful pastoral qualities: warmth and wisdom. Again and again, Paul includes greetings to individuals of each community in his letters. He includes instructions about clothing that he needs, and asks about the welfare of certain individuals. Paul also writes the archetypal words that become the beginning of Christian theology and spirituality. His wisdom is both deeply profound and extremely practical. In this, Paul becomes a model for all bishops. The Church of the First Millennium After an initial period of intense persecution the Church begins to emerge without the repression of the Roman government, and group around five major Patriarchates and numerous metropolitan dioceses. An example is North Africa, which had an estimated 700 bishops. Leadership for these bishops was provided by such dioceses as Alexandria (a patriarchate) and Carthage (headed by a provincial primate – a Metropolitan bishop). The fact that North Africa had so many bishops–one for each city or town–tells us that the model set by Paul continued in the Church. Each town was a diocese (local church), with its local bishop. In each town, the people knew their bishop and had access to him. Furthermore, the tradition of electing a bishop3 can be easily seen in the first millennium practice of Rome, in which the clergy reviewed candidates for the election, and the people chose their bishop – who was then consecrated by other bishops of the province. Again, the conciliar form of Church polity was evident in the numerous councils held throughout the Christian world – where bishops represented their local churches (dioceses) in the process of deciding questions that affected the whole Church. Thus, the bishop consulted with the clergy and laity within the 3 ECC Constitution, Canon 61.1.1.8; Canon 67.5 3 diocese on issues affecting the local church and consulted with other bishops (representing other dioceses) for issues affecting the province or region.4 This was a conversation on all levels – the synodal process and conciliar approach to discerning the lead of the Holy Spirit for the local, provincial and universal Church. It was used for the entire Church – East and West – in the first seven Ecumenical Councils held in Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus and Chalcedon. The Renewal of the Contemporary Church Now we turn our attention to the qualities of a bishop that we hope for in the ECC. While we agree that the character of the bishop should be strong, and the experience and pastoral skills of the bishop should be extensive, the question remains as to what qualities should be the guiding lights of the office of a diocesan bishop.
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