wfn.org | Lambeth welcomes 'Porvoo' bishops

["Christopher Took" <storm@indigo.ie>]

ACNS LC043 - 24 July 1998

By Randall R. Lee

Section Communicator

More than 50 people attended a reception and program Thursday
night (July 23) to welcome the three Lutheran bishops from
Scandinavia who for the first time are members of the Lambeth
Conference.

"There are many things we have learned we can do more effectively
together than separately," said Oslo's Bishop Andreas Aarflot
(Norway), at the reception hosted by Bishop John Neill of Cashel
& Ossory Diocese in Ireland.

The Porvoo Declaration was signed in 1996 and established
communion between the Anglican Churches of the British Isles and
the Lutheran Churches of Scandinavia and the Baltic States.

"The establishment of the Porvoo Communion is one of the most
important ecumenical steps of this century," said Archbishop John
Vikström, of Turku and Finland. "We believe it is a gift to the
whole Church."

Commenting on the important dimensions of the Porvoo Declaration,
Bishop John Hind (Gibraltar) said it did not represent a
theological breakthrough as much as a "hermeneutical breakthrough
of an enormous kind."

Bishop Hind argued the Porvoo Declaration forced the ecumenical
community to think seriously about apostolic succession, and the
"degree of risk worth taking when you agree on the ultimate
goal."

Several bishops pointed to the twinnings of dioceses that have
characterized Anglican-Lutheran cooperation since the declaration
was signed.

Bishop Ian Harland of Carlisle, whose English diocese is paired
with the Diocese of Stavanger in Norway: "Because of Porvoo we
share Eucharistic hospitality as those who belong to one another,
not simply out of politeness."

Although none of the bishops of the Baltic nations are present at
Lambeth '98, Bishop Jonas Jonson of Strängnäs (Sweden) asserted:
"We must not forget the inclusion of the Baltic Churches, which
have been so isolated through the Cold War. Porvoo lends a
dynamic of great significance in our own relationships," he said.

Bishop Jonson went on to say that the future importance of the
Porvoo Declaration will be lived out in places such as Tanzania
and Zimbabwe where the Lutheran churches have a Swedish
character. "The question now," he said, "is how these churches
will relate to the provinces of the Anglican communion."

But Porvoo breaks new ground that can serve as a catalyst for
ecumenical relations worldwide, according to Archbishop Vikström.
"I hope it will inspire and encourage the whole ecumenical
movement at the end of this century when it faces such serious
threat," he said.

Bishop Neill pointed to the importance the Conference is placing
on the participation of the Lutheran bishops by holding aloft a
copy of Lambeth Praise, the song book of the Conference. The
flags of Sweden and Finland are prominently displayed in the
center of the cover.

For further information, contact:

   Lambeth Conference Communications
   Canterbury Business School
   University of Kent at Canterbury
   Telephone: 01227 827348/9
   Fax: 01227 828085
   Mobile: 0374 800212

   http://www.lambethconference.org