wfn.org | LWF General Secretary Hails Archbishop Carey's Ecumenism

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Significant Results in Anglican-Lutheran Relations

GENEVA, 11 January 2002 (LWI)  - The General Secretary of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, has
described Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. George Carey as a strong
advocate of biblically founded spirituality of the church.

"The vision he has set forth of a living church, growing from a
living faith in Christ, active in love, and shared by women and
men in a holy and visible fellowship is one with which Lutherans
readily identify," Noko says in a statement today, after the
recently announced retirement of the leader of the 70-million
member worldwide Anglican Communion.

Citing significant ecumenical agreements, Noko says relations
between Lutherans and Anglicans have resulted in remarkable
achievements, notably in Europe and North America, during Carey's
tenure more than in any other previous period.

On January 8, Carey, 66, Canterbury Archbishop since 1991,
announced he would step down on 31 October 2002.

The full text of Dr. Noko's statement follows:

On the Announced Retirement of His Grace Archbishop Dr. George
Carey

Statement by Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko
General Secretary
The Lutheran World Federation

Ahead of the 31 October 2002 retirement of the Archbishop of
Canterbury Dr. George Carey, announced recently, I wish at this
stage to highlight some of the ecumenical developments that have
taken place during Dr. Carey's tenure as the head of the Church of
England and spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion
since 1991.

During this period, the ecumenical relations between Anglicans and
Lutherans have resulted in remarkable achievements notably in
Europe and North America, more than in any other previous period.
The communion relations that were established and celebrated in
1996 between Nordic and Baltic Lutheran churches and the British
and Irish Anglican churches through the Porvoo Common Statement
represent a significant breakthrough with regard to the hitherto
seemingly insoluble ecumenical problems related to the historic
episcopate. By this agreement interchangeability is made possible
between ordained ministers of the participating churches. Also in
Europe, an agreement of church fellowship was established in 2001
by the Reuilly Common Statement between the British and Irish
Anglican churches and the French Lutheran and Reformed churches.

In North America, "full communion" relations were established in
2001 between the Episcopal Church in the USA and the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America by the agreement Called to Common
Mission, and between the Anglican Church of Canada and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada by the Waterloo Declaration.
Also in these cases interchangeability of Anglican and Lutheran
ordained ministers are made possible.

When the LWF President, Bishop Dr. Christian Krause was invited to
visit the Archbishop of Canterbury last fall, these significant
achievements were recognized and the future of Anglican-Lutheran
relations worldwide were discussed. Anglican-Lutheran global
relations are also the topic of an Anglican-Lutheran International
Working Group established by the Anglican Communion and the LWF,
which is expected to present its report later this year. Regular
joint staff meetings have also been put in place between the LWF
and the Anglican Communion Office.

Like his predecessor Dr. Robert Runcie, who strongly promoted the
Anglican-Lutheran relations that led to the 1991 Meissen Agreement
between the Church of England, the Federation of Evangelical
Churches (of the former East Germany) and the Evangelical Church
in Germany, Dr. Carey is appreciated by Lutherans as a firmly
committed ecumenist, supporting and contributing to new ecumenical
developments wherever possible.

His concern for social justice and peace often found him on the
road to Sudan, India, Palestine and many other troubled world
spots where he also sought audiences with political leaders to
convey concerns rooted in his search to be faithful in the Lord's
vineyard. His ecumenical and social commitments have complemented
each other.

In the Lutheran communion Archbishop Carey has also been
recognized as a strong advocate of biblically founded spirituality
in the life of the church. The vision he has set forth of a living
church, growing from a living faith in Christ, active in love, and
shared by women and men in a holy and visible fellowship is one
with which Lutherans readily identify. There is also now a growing
awareness ecumenically that the true church is not a hidden
spiritual reality but the body of Christ in the world. It is in
this perspective that great ecumenical achievements, such as the
ones mentioned above, have their deep spiritual meaning.

Archbishop Carey's deserving ecumenical efforts in several
directions simultaneously will be recognized and honored in the
time ahead and will remain a central part of his legacy.

Geneva, 11 January 2002

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 133 member churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5
million of the 64.3 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted,
material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the
LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
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with acknowledgment.]

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