wfn.org | ELCA Bishop Experiences Friendship of Other Christian Leaders

[Brenda Williams <BRENDAW@elca.org>]

Reply-To: ElcaNews <ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG>
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 9, 1998

ELCA BISHOP EXPERIENCES FRIENDSHIP OF OTHER CHRISTIAN LEADERS
98-13-080-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "The overwhelming experience for me was the
friendship that seems to flow from leaders around the world to us as we try
to carry out God's mission here," the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding
bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said of his
first official visit to three world ecumenical centers -- Istanbul, Rome
and London.
     "In every place people were eager to talk with us about what we are
doing in this country and how projects which they have or missions in which
they are interested relate to the work we are doing," said Anderson.  A
delegation of ELCA synod bishops, officials and staff from the U.S. church
accompanied Anderson to Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican offices March
14-24 before continuing on to Geneva.
     "It was very heartening to recognize how God's power is at work in
all these churches, each of them doing their own particular tasks in the
immense mission that God has before the whole world," said the presiding
bishop.  "I hope that we, as Lutherans in this country, will keep them in
our prayers -- the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the
Anglican Church around the world."
     His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew I addressed the group in
English and recalled his visit to the United States last year in
celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America.  The delegation visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople, headquarters of world Orthodoxy, Istanbul, Turkey, March
16-17.
     "It was quite interesting and a little surprising to discover that
the Patriarch of Constantinople -- this ancient traditional church -- was
excited about ecology," said Anderson.  "He has sponsored several
conferences on environmental problems and is planning to lead another
conference next year on a trip down the Danube" to see first-hand how this
river that once inspired waltzes has become "the chief polluter of the
Black Sea."
     The delegation met with staff of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's
Synodical Commission on Inter-Christian Affairs.  Chrysostomos Kalaycis,
Metropolitan of Myra, announced several plans to celebrate "The Millennium
of 2000, with Christ and in Christ."  He said a pan-Orthodox celebration
will be held in Bethlehem on Orthodox Christmas, Jan. 6, 2000; a conference
on "The Creation of the World, the Creation of Humanity: The Challenges and
Problems of 2000 Years" will be held Aug. 28-Sept. 2, 2000, in Istanbul;
Istanbul will also be the site of a special celebration of St. Andrew's Day
on November 30, 2000; and a "jubilee day" celebration on Aug. 6, 2000,
Transfiguration Day in the Orthodox tradition, with participation by the
Roman Catholic Church.
     The Lutherans visited the Vatican of the Roman Catholic Church in
Rome March 18-20.  Anderson said the reception was warm.  "We are
approaching our appointment with the Roman Catholic Church on the question
of justification.  The ELCA has already approved a joint declaration with
the Roman Catholics on this central doctrine," he noted.
     The ELCA is one of 124 members of the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF).  Those churches are considering a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine
of Justification between the Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches.  The LWF
plans to announce the consensus of the Lutheran churches in June.
     "It looks as though there will be a positive consensus saying that it
is time to recognize that the condemnations that Lutherans and Roman
Catholics hurled at each other in the 16th century are no longer
appropriate given the belief systems of the churches today," said Anderson.
He hoped that both churches could signal their agreement before the end of
1998.
     The delegation compared Roman Catholic procedures with those of the
ELCA and LWF.  It met with Cardinal Francis Arinze and Bishop Michael
Fitzgerald, president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue, as well as with staff of the Pontifical Councils
on the Laity, for Justice and Peace and for Promoting Christian Unity.
     The next stops in the ecumenical journey were the offices of the
Anglican Communion and Lambeth Palace in London, March 23-24, to meet with
officials of the Church of England and the Anglican Consultative Commission
-- the international voice of the Anglican Communion.
     "In both cases we had the opportunity to talk about our own
relationships with Episcopalians in this country," said Anderson.  "It was
clear after conversations there that they are wholeheartedly supportive of
ways that we could work more fully together including the achievement of
full communion."
     Archbishop of Canterbury George L. Carey "encouraged us to go forward
and take as much time as it might take to get the possibility of full
communion realized in a document that all could be happy with," said
Anderson.
     Carey told the Lutheran delegation about plans for the Lambeth
Conference which will bring some 750 Anglican bishops and their spouses
from around the world to London in August.
     Anderson returned to Chicago on March 25, and much of the delegation
continued on to offices of the LWF and the World Council of Churches (WCC)
in Geneva, March 26-30.  The ELCA is also a member church of the WCC.
     In Geneva the delegation visited with executives of the two
organizations and of the World Alliance for Reformed Churches and the
Conference of European Churches.  The group met with LWF General Secretary
Ishmael Noko and WCC General Secretary Konrad Raiser of the Evangelical
(Lutheran) Church of Germany.
     Noko expressed confidence that the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine
of Justification will be approved by Lutherans and Roman Catholics, said
the Rev. Larry V. Smoose, member of the ELCA Church Council and pastor of
Reformation Lutheran Church, Media, Pa.  "He believes the document will be
approved with some comment."
     "The LWF continues to face a number of challenges.  One of the most
important challenge involves refugees and particularly the killing of
refugees and even staff members in places like Rwanda," said Smoose.  "Noko
also suggested that we need to grapple with what it means for LWF to be a
'communion' of churches and the implications of 'full communion' decisions
with other church bodies."
     "Raiser underlined the restructuring of the World Council and is
confident that the proposed changes will strengthen the work of the council
while also providing a more vital role for member churches," said Smoose.
The WCC's proposed structure will also find ways to involve other Christian
bodies in conversation.
     The delegation heard plans for the WCC's 8th Assembly which will be
held in December in Harare, Zimbabwe.
     In addition to Anderson and Smoose, the delegation included the Rev.
April Ulring Larson, bishop of the La Crosse (Wis.) Area Synod; the Rev.
Duane Larson, associate professor of systematic theology, Lutheran
Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pa.; the Rev. Daniel F. Martensen,
director of the Department for Ecumenical Affairs, Chicago; the Rev. Donald
J. McCoid, bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, Pittsburgh;
Beverly A. Peterson, member of the Church Council and vice president of the
Montana Synod, Billings, Mont.; the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director of the
Department for Communication, Chicago; the Rev. Edgar R. Trexler, editor of
The Lutheran, magazine of the ELCA, Chicago; and the Rev. Ronald B. Warren,
bishop of the Southeastern Synod, Atlanta.

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