wfn.org | Lutherans Debate "Full Communion" with Episcopal Church

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 17, 1997

LUTHERANS DEBATE "FULL COMMUNION" WITH EPISCOPAL CHURCH
97-CA-12-FI

     PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- "Unity in Christ has never been uniformity.
Divisions in the church have injured us, but diversity has been enriching,"
the Rev. Michael Rogness, professor of homiletics at Luther Seminary, St.
Paul, Minn., told voting members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America as they met in assembly here Aug.  16.  He opened formal debate
after a day of hearings on a proposal to enter into "full communion" with
The Episcopal Church.
     "The goal of ecumenism has never been 'You must be like me,'" said
Rogness.  If Lutherans accept the proposal outlined in the Concordat of
Agreement, he added, "we become Episcopalian and they stay Episcopalian" in
the way the ministries of the two churches are structured.  "The definition
of the nature of ministry in the Concordat is clearly the threefold form"
held by The Episcopal Church and not the ELCA, he said.
     Rogness quoted the Concordat: "We agree that the threefold ministry
of bishops, presbyters and deacons in historic succession will be the
future pattern of the one ordained ministry."
     "It seems obvious to me that the Concordat sets in motion a trend
which will invariably end up in full-fledged threefold ministry," he said.
That would contradict actions of the 1991 ELCA Churchwide Assembly which
decided there would be one office of ordained ministry -- pastors.  Bishops
would be pastors elected to offices of oversight in the synods or
churchwide.  A new order of diaconal ministers would not be ordained.
     The Concordat also contradicts what Lutherans have been saying since
the 16th century, said Rogness.  "The Augsburg Confession says that
agreement in Word and Sacrament is the only condition for unity," he said.
"The requirement of the Concordat is that we adopt the hierarchical system
of episcopal structure as an additional condition for full communion, thus
adding a condition for unity which we have never had before."
     "'Full communion' means affirming that in another church the gospel
is proclaimed and the Sacraments appropriately administered," the Rev.
Walter R.  Bouman, professor of systematic theology at Trinity Lutheran
Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, told the assembly as he spoke in favor of the
proposal.  "It means that we can cooperate with each other fully, do
mission together," he said.  "It means that we adopt agreements by which
churches can exchange ministers."
     Lutheran-Episcopal dialogues that began 28 years ago had come to an
impasse, said Bouman.  "The Episcopal Church required that bishops who
participate in the 'historic episcopate' ordain all clergy.  The historic
episcopate means new bishops are installed by bishops who can trace their
succession back to about the third century after Christ.  The Episcopal
Church has bishops who share in this succession.  The ELCA does not," he
said.  "Lutherans don't think the historic episcopate is necessary for
ordained ministry."
     Bouman said that, as in all "genuine dialogue," there were several
attempts by each side to move toward a compromise.  "Lutherans saw that
they needed to take some action which would enable The Episcopal Church to
recognize the historic episcopate in our bishops.  Episcopalians saw that
they needed to take some action that would recognize Lutheran ministry
now," he said.
     The General Convention of The Episcopal Church adopted the Concordat
when it met here in July.  By that action the Episcopalians agreed to
accept the ordinations of ELCA pastors, said Bouman, and now the Lutherans
are being asked to accept the historic episcopate for its future bishops.
     "The Lutheran confessions state that Lutherans have no objection to
the historic episcopate," Bouman said.  "Indeed some Lutheran churches
throughout the world actually have bishops in historic succession.  The
ELCA could agree that in the future all newly-elected bishops could be
installed by having three Episcopal bishops as well as three Lutheran
bishops share collegially in the laying-on of hands.  Thus the Episcopal
requirement would be met."
     A 45-minute discussion period followed that allowed voting members to
comment and ask questions.  When time ran out more than 30 Lutherans were
left at microphones hoping to speak.  The assembly's agenda allows for more
debate on Aug. 17 and 18, with a decision expected by the end of the
afternoon on Aug. 18.
     The Concordat would "build up the hierarchy of the church," in
Melissa O'Rourke's opinion, putting bishops in positions elevated over
pastors.  "As a lay person, that makes me feel further away from what is
decided in the church," she said.
     O'Rourke, Woonsocket, S.D., said the Concordat is confusing and
possibly misleading, and its goal of implementing full communion is too
important to rely on such a document.  "You don't have to feel guilty about
saying 'no,'" she said, implying that some voting members were already
circulation an alternative resolution to recognize Episcopal ministries
without adopting their structures.
     The Concordat is "a small step toward the Episcopal church," said Ken
A. Grant, Midland, Mich.  "It does not sacrifice the good order of the
Lutheran church."
     The "pros and cons" of the proposal for Lutherans to enter into full
communion with The Episcopal Church were also argued in earlier sessions of
the ELCA Churchwide Assembly being held here Aug. 14-20.  Voting members of
the ELCA took part in three hearing on Aug. 15.
     Capacity audiences at each of the hearings made it possible that all
1,040 voting members took part.  A panel of people who have been involved
in various ways in the Concordat's history answered questions and heard
opinions about the agreement.
     The Rev. Richard L. Jeske, Immanuel Lutheran Church, San Jose,
Calif., and the Rt. Rev. Edward W. Jones, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese
of Indianapolis, co-chairs of the Lutheran-Episcopal Coordinating
Committee, served as the hearing's key resource people.
     Jones explained that for years Episcopalians have viewed the historic
episcopate as being the same thing as apostolic succession -- the passing
of the Christian faith for 2,000 years through the preaching of the gospel
and the administration of sacraments.  Dialogue with Lutherans has
illustrated apostolic succession "in a broader sense," he said.  "Historic
episcopate is a strong way to keep the church in the apostolic succession."
     The Rev. David Preus, former bishop of the American Lutheran Church,
told the hearing that Lutherans have recognized the ministry of
Episcopalians since an agreement reached in 1982.  But Episcopalians wanted
more.  "In the years since, the 'more' has been granted," and it has been
written down in the Concordat.
     Unity in mission and ministry are already going on, said Preus.  It
should not be necessary for the Lutheran church to adopt the structures of
the Episcopal church.
     "The Concordat puts us in a position where we are not free to adopt
the structures that we see necessary for mission," he said.  "We accept the
Episcopal church's ministries and sacraments.  The historic episcopate is
not needed."
     Preus said, if Lutherans accept the historic episcopate as necessary
for full communion, it would actually "mute the witness" of unity Lutherans
and Episcopalians already enjoy.

For information contact:

Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html