The Church of the Triune God
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Anglican - Orthodox Dialogue The Church of the Triune God The Cyprus Statement agreed by the International Commission for Anglican - Orthodox Theological Dialogue 2006 Published by The Anglican Communion Office, London, UK Acknowledgements Grateful thanks to the Revd Canon Hugh Wybrew, Professor Constantine Scouteris, Canon James M Rosenthal, Mr Ian Harvey and the Revd Terrie Robinson for final editing of the text and its preparation for publication. Copyright © 2006 The Anglican Consultative Council & Metropolitan John of Pergamon A Registered Charity in the United Kingdom, No. 276591 Design & layout by Ian Harvey, Anglican Communion Office ISBN 6-00000006-1 Contents Paragraphs Page Preface ............................................................................................................................. 9 by the Co-Chairmen Introduction .................................................................................................................. 11 The Report Section I : The Trinity and the Church ............................. 1 - 41 13 Section II : Christ, the Spirit and the Church Christ and the Trinity .................................................................... 1 - 8 25 Christ and the Holy Spirit ........................................................... 9 - 19 28 Towards a Synthesis of Christology and Pneumatology .......... 20 - 22 30 Christ, the Spirit and the New Humanity .................................. 23 - 37 31 Christ, the Spirit and the Church ............................................... 38 - 44 35 Concluding Remarks ................................................................. 45 - 47 37 Section III : Christ, Humanity and the Church: Part 1 Introduction ................................................................................... 1 - 5 39 Christ, Church and Culture ......................................................... 6 - 19 40 Christology and Culture ............................................................ 20 - 28 44 Christology and Inculturation ................................................... 29 - 32 47 Conclusion ................................................................................. 33 - 38 48 Section IV : Christ, Humanity and the Church: Part 2 Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 51 The Use of Gender Language in Theology ................................... 2 - 5 51 Christ the Son of God ................................................................... 6 - 8 52 Christ’s Humanity ....................................................................... 9 - 12 53 The Risen Christ ........................................................................ 13 - 14 54 The Risen Christ and the Church .............................................. 15 - 20 56 Section V : Episcope , Episcopos and Primacy Introduction ................................................................................... 1 - 2 59 Historical Developments to the Fourth Century ......................... 3 - 10 59 From the Fourth Century ........................................................... 11 - 12 61 Ecclesiological Issues of Episcope ........................................... 13 - 18 62 Conciliarity and Primacy .................................................................. 19 64 Bishop, Synodality and Primacy ............................................... 20 - 23 64 Conclusion ................................................................................. 24 - 29 66 3 CONTENTS Section VI : Priesthood, Christ and the Church Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 67 The Priesthood of Christ ............................................................... 2 - 7 67 Trinity and Priesthood ................................................................. 8 - 10 69 Priesthood and the Church ........................................................ 11 - 12 70 Ordained Priesthood .................................................................. 13 - 25 71 Section VII : Women and Men, Ministries and the Church Introduction ................................................................................... 1 - 2 77 Lay Ministries ..................................................................................... 3 77 Liturgical Ministries ................................................................ 4 - 12 77 Mission and Evangelism ............................................................... 13 80 Education and Scholarship ............................................................ 14 80 Monasticism .................................................................................. 15 80 Spiritual Direction ......................................................................... 16 80 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 17 81 The Diaconate ........................................................................... 18 - 19 81 Women, Men and the Ordained Priesthood .............................. 20 - 37 82 Issues for further discussion ...................................................... 38 - 39 88 Section VIII: Heresy, Schism and the Church Introduction ................................................................................... 1 - 2 91 The Meaning of Heresy and Schism ............................................. 3 - 5 91 The Criteria for Applying the Term ‘Heresy’ ............................... 6 - 8 93 The Discernment of Heresy ........................................................ 9 - 12 94 Conclusion ........................................................................................ 13 95 Section IX: Reception in Communion Introduction ................................................................................... 1 - 5 97 The Theological Significance of Reception ................................ 6 - 11 98 Reception: The Classical Concept ............................................ 12 - 13 101 Reception: The Present Ecumenical Situation .......................... 14 - 15 102 The Reception of the Faith in Communion .............................. 16 - 25 104 The Reception of Ministry in Communion ............................... 26 - 28 111 Conclusion ........................................................................................ 29 113 The Members of the Commission ............................................................ 115 4 5 6 The Cyprus Agreed Statement The Church of the Triune God 8 Preface by the Co-Chairmen The release of the 1984 Dublin Agreed Statement which concluded with an ‘Epilogue’ summarizing agreements and disagreements as well as points for further study, marked the completion of the second in the current series of theological conversations between Anglicans and Orthodox. It was noted at the time that the work so far, while impressive in both quantity and quality, appeared to lack a central focus and that the time had come for the commis - sion to organize its work more systematically. The Lambeth Conference of 1988 passed a resolution on ‘Anglican/Orthodox Relations’ which “encour - aged the work of the Commission towards the restoration of that unity for which Christ prayed, particularly noting its intention to address the question of ecclesiology which it is hoped will include the increasingly significant concept of ‘reception’, the issue of ecclesial diversity and the inter-relation - ship between faith and culture in which it is expressed, believing that these are pressing issues which affect both our Communions…” (Resolution 6.4). The new Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, in his 1991 enthronement address, expressed esteem for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the entire Anglican Communion. He also voiced his intention “to continue with faith - fulness the long tradition of fraternal relations with the Anglican Church…and [his] desire to promote our theological dialogue until we achieve the unity of faith”. Five years were to pass between plenary sessions of the Anglican - Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Discussions. During this period the Commission was re-con - stituted, reduced in size and given a new Orthodox as well as a new Anglican co-chairman. At its first meeting at the New Valamo Monastery in Finland in June of 1989, a new plan of study was presented. The proposal was to begin with a consideration of ‘the Mystery of the Church in the light of our faith in the Trinitarian God’, then move on to explore the ‘Mystery of the Church in relation to Christology, Pneumatology and Anthropology’. Next the Commission should study some specific ecclesiological matters such as what constitutes heresy and schism and the question of reception in the Church. A third set of questions relate to church structure and order and includes the nature and authority of the episcopal ministry. The results of the Commission’s deliberations are made available here in the hope that Anglicans and Orthodox will come to appreciate the things they have in common and to understand the nature of their disagreements. Membership of the Commission has been an enriching experience both per - sonally and theologically. As one Commission member put it, “Now it is a 9 conversation of delight and illumination. Like all true conversations, it has had its moments of surprise and strangeness…But then it is good to be drawn into a conversation which engages in profound and sustained reflection on what it is that makes the Church the Church and to affirm the