Subversive Ecumenism 3: Ecumenical Authorities

In England there are five main traditions, namely Roman Catholic, Church of England (Anglican / Episcopalian), Methodist, United Reformed and Baptist.  There are other major traditions in other parts of the world.  Their best kept secret is, all are already ecumenical.  All are coalitions, held together by authority of some type.  This internal ecumenism is sometimes called catholicity, the ability to hold together people who might otherwise be in deep disagreement. 

Let me briefly treat with each of the five traditions:

1. The Roman Catholic Church, with over one billion members, is arguably the largest single-organisation faith body in the world.  It holds together its great diversity, through many small organisations, within the formal structure centred on Rome.  These organisations, such as religious orders, are independent and yet part of the formal structure of the whole church.  It is limited by its attempts to enforce a single approved interpretation of scripture on all its parts.  Its rejection of historical critical methods of interpreting scripture and of liberation theology, are examples where authentic new theological approaches are constrained by the political compromises made by the Vatican.
2. The Church of England's genius is holding together disparate theological traditions.  The main ones are Anglo-Catholic, Liberal and Evangelical.  The church uses episcopacy, liturgy, common prayer and the parish system to unite different approaches under one common discipline.  This compromise has had a major positive impact on English society but these days it is falling apart owing to differences over such matters as women priests and bishops, and sexuality.
3. The Methodist Church can claim to be the first to enter into an ecumenical arrangement.  Its 1932 Deed of Union, brought together several Methodist Churches.  It holds significant theological differences together through a single ecclesiology.  But it has to be said there is little evidence in England that the church's unique ecclesiology allows for compatibility with other traditions, no matter how hard Methodists press for wider church unity.
4. The URC can also claim it is already a united church.  It is a union of several congregational churches, dating back to 1972.  They make joint decisions on a conciliar basis.  It is hard to see what further options they have for wider unity, which would imply a move away from congregationalism.
5. The Baptist Union of Great Britain is not itself a church, but made up of many local churches.  They are independent entities, able to make limited decisions together.

Each of these churches can claim to be ecumenical, as they have each found ways to use authority to hold together disparate theological positions.  It is these churches, alongside several other smaller but equally catholic churches, that are engaged in ecumenical conversations and currently experiencing an ecumenical impasse. 

As Faith and Order talks become increasingly log jammed, it must be asked whether their leaderships are able to find a way out of the impasse.  The question is if not the leadership, who?

One possibility is the laity in these churches.  Lay people have had an influence on formal conversations in the past.  Examples include the 1986 Not Strangers but Pilgrims exercise and the foundations of the Anglican Methodist Covenant.

But there is another source of change, from outside the mainstream churches, and I will explore this in the next post.