The Northern Province of the Moravian Church voted June 18 to enter into full communion with the Episcopal Church. Full communion is a relation between distinct churches in which each recognizes the other as a catholic and apostolic church holding the essentials of the Christian faith. The churches become interdependent while remaining autonomous.
The nearly unanimous voice vote came during an evening session on the second day of the church’s June
17-21 Provincial Synod at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
“I am abundantly delighted, and look forward to growth in mutual relationship and mission,” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said after learning of the decision. “I believe we have much to learn from the Moravian tradition.”
The Rev. Thomas Ferguson, interim deputy to the Presiding Bishop for ecumenical and interreligious relations, noted that the Moravian Church does not allow service by openly gay and lesbian members but that the church’s international body, the Unitas Fratrum , has said the issue is not a doctrinal matter. “In this dialogue we have just agreed to disagree on that and we have further said that we do not believe this is an obstacle to full communion between our two churches”, Ferguson said.
The Moravian Church’s Southern Province is expected to vote on full communion during its synod Sept. 9-12 at the Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Each province can independently enter into full communion relationships.
More about the Moravian Church is to be found in one of our previous posts .
The Episcopal Church is also in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America , the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht , the Philippine Independent Church and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, India.
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Also, the National Cathedral in Washington hosted yesterday a special service of consecration of the Rev. Dr. Jay Magness as the new Episcopal suffragan bishop for Federal Ministries (formerly, for the Armed Forces). Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was the chief consecrator. The Rt. Rev. Edwin F. Gulick, Jr., preached an impressive sermon on the ministry of the new bishop. We invite you to enjoy the beautiful Anglican liturgy (you can find it below).
Chłopaki naprawdę przepiękna ta liturgia. Jest coś w liturgii w Kościołach episkopalnych, bardzo często, co sprawia, że czuję się jak ‘w domu’. Zero poczucia obcości.
Nie maaam…
To naprawdę jest the Holy Catholic Church, nie mam wątpliwości
I na dodatek Veni Sancte Spiritus jedno z moich ulubionych, prosto z Taize. I niech mi ktoś powie, że kobiety nie mogą być kapłanami. No niech spróbuje !
Wezwę na pojedynek