wfn.org | Episcopal ecumenical commission addresses Lutheran ordination by-law

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2001-310

Episcopal ecumenical commission addresses Lutheran ordination by-law

     October 26, 2001

     The Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations (SCER), meeting at the 
Lutheran Church Center in Chicago, Oct. 23-27, 2001, gave careful and prayerful 
consideration to developments in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 
related to our relationship of full communion since the last meeting of SCER in 
January, 2001.

     We noted particularly the action of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in passing 
a by-law allowing "ordination in unusual circumstances," whereby a pastor would 
be delegated by a bishop to preside at the ordination of a pastor to the ministry 
of Word and Sacrament.   Prior to this action, the ELCA consulted with the 
Episcopal Church.  In these consultations, the Episcopal Church conveyed its 
concerns in forthright but collegial terms, as summarized by the Presiding Bishop 
of the Episcopal Church in his letter to ELCA Presiding Bishop Anderson prior to 
the Churchwide Assembly and Presiding Bishop Griswold's statement following the 
passage of the by-law by the Churchwide Assembly.

     Now that the by-law has been passed, we believe it is time for the SCER to 
offer our assessment of its significance.  

     First, we see the by-law in light of St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians 
(4:1-6):  "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy 
of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, 
with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain 
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, 
just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one 
baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all."

     Second, we affirm that the Episcopal Church is deeply and irrevocably 
committed to the unity of Christ's Church as of central and fundamental 
importance to our faithful response to the call of God to us in Christ through 
the power of the Holy Spirit.  We recognize that increasing unity often requires 
us, like all Christians, "in all things of human ordering or human choice" to be 
willing to "forego preferences of [our] own."  (Chicago Quadrilateral, 1886)  We 
affirm that the call to unity is also a call to ever greater openness to God and 
to each other, with patience and generosity of spirit expressed in word and deed, 
even--or perhaps particularly--when we find such generosity difficult.  

     Third, we see the by-law in the context of our developing full communion 
with the ELCA.  We rejoice in the fact that CCM is being implemented in both 
churches through such events as the participation of our Presiding Bishop in the 
installation of Mark Hanson as Presiding Bishop; the participation of other 
bishops of the Episcopal Church in the installation of synodical bishops; the 
participation of bishops of the ELCA in the consecrations of bishops of the 
Episcopal Church; the many and varied shared ministries and common worship in so 
many locations across the U.S.; and the continuing expansion and deepening of 
conversation, consultation, and cooperation between our two churches in more and 
more areas of mission.  We look forward to the continued participation of ELCA 
bishops in the consecrations of bishops in the Episcopal Church, and of Episcopal 
Church bishops in the installation of bishops in the ELCA; to the increase in the 
scope and number of shared mission and ministry programs; and to the involvement 
of the ELCA in the life of the Episcopal Church.  Above all, we are grateful to 
God for the many opportunities that are now available to both churches for 
increasingly faithful life together according to the Gospel as we respond to our 
call to common mission.  

     The teaching of Scripture, the Episcopal Church's deep commitment to the 
unity for which Christ prayed, and the realities and possibilities of full 
communion constitute the context in which the ELCA's provisions for ordination in 
unusual circumstances must be assessed.

     In light of this context, we conclude that, while any provision for 
exceptions to CCM is a matter of serious concern, the passage of the by-law 
addressing ordination in unusual circumstances need not impair or hinder our 
relationship of full communion with the ELCA.  We offer this summary of the 
reasons supporting this conclusion:  

     1.	Both churches have always acknowledged that full communion is 
something that must be lived into, and we see the by-law as an expression of the 
commitment of the ELCA to do so.  Such commitment entails the fostering and 
preserving of communion not only with the Episcopal Church, but also within the 
Lutheran Church.  We are grateful for the ELCA's care in preserving and 
increasing unity within the ELCA as well as with the EC.

     2.	The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, so important for our ecumenical 
relations, addresses the Historic Episcopate, not ordination of priests and 
deacons.  At the Churchwide Assembly and in the actions noted above, the ELCA has 
reaffirmed its commitment to the historic episcopate.  

     3.	The actions of the Churchwide Assembly preserve and support the 
ministry of bishop as particularly concerned with the unity of the church, and as 
overseer of ordination, a key element of CCM.  We see the actions of the 
Churchwide Assembly as expressing such adaptation, including in the provisions 
and procedures of the by-law.  

     4.	CCM para. 14 indicates that full communion for the Episcopal Church is 
realized through the shared ministry of bishops in the historic succession, a 
reality that will come into being over a period of time.  The ELCA Churchwide 
Assembly affirmed the ELCA's movement into that reality.

     We continue to be deeply concerned about how the by-law may be used.  We 
have received strong and frequent assurances from the ELCA that the provisions in 
the by-law will effectively restrict to the rarest and most serious of 
circumstances exceptions to a bishop's participation in the laying-on-of-hands at 
the ordination of a member of the clergy (CCM para. 20).  We also note that our 
own General Convention has stated officially that those ordained in unusual 
circumstances will not serve congregations in the Episcopal Church.  While we 
wait to see how the by-law is used in practice, we are guided by St. Paul's 
exhortations to forbearance and Christian love, and by our Lord Jesus Christ's 
high priestly prayer that we all may be one, that the world may believe.

     The Lutheran response

     Text of the motion the ELCA Ecumenical Affairs advisory committee, passed 
October 27. 

     The Department for Ecumenical Affairs of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
America express our thanks and appreciation to the Standing Commission on 
Ecumenical Relations of the Episcopal Church for their gracious understanding and 
thoughtful commentary on their analysis of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
America's by-law actions with regard to full communion.