wfn.org | ACNS3585 The Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3585     |     COMMUNIQUI	   |	 19 SEPTEMBER 2003 

The Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission

The Commission, now two-years into its study of the meaning and maintenance
of 'Communion', met under the Chairmanship of the Rt Revd Professor S W Sykes
from 4 - 9 September as guests of Virginia Theological Seminary. The work of
the Commission is being pursued as an active conversation with member
churches of the Anglican Communion, a process which was approved at the
Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Hong Kong in 2002. Several hundred
dioceses and theological centres, a number of parishes and individuals have
participated in this dialogue by responding to the Four Key Questions and Six
Propositions on ways in which Anglicans understand and experience koinonia.

Whenever the Commission has gathered it has been vividly aware of the need
for the sort of trust and solidarity which Communion anticipates. The initial
meeting of the Commission was disrupted by terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington, and the next overshadowed by the mounting rhetoric which preceded
the invasion of Iraq. On this occasion members were acutely conscious of the
controversy surrounding the election of a non-abstinent homosexual priest as
the next Bishop of New Hampshire. The circumstances of our meetings have
demonstrated how urgent it is, within the church as much as throughout the
wider human community, to encourage good argument on disputed matters so as
to nurture the unity promised by the gospel in an increasingly polarised
global context.

We have been made aware by our correspondents of the variety of threats to
koinonia which they face, and also the high value which is placed on
membership of a worldwide Communion of Anglican Churches, especially in
situations where Christian discipleship can be a lonely, challenging and
dangerous calling. The response which the Commission is making seeks to learn
from that evidence. It is developing an argument which tries to discern how
God addresses his creation and how his people receive and respond to his
word; it is taking seriously the way the Gospel addresses theological and
ethical disputes; and, in a world so challenged by global and local tensions,
it is asking how recent developments in Anglican polity may impact on its
developing understanding of Communion.

During its meeting the Commission also gave the document To Mend the Net
further consideration, it discussed the papal encyclical, On the Eucharist
and the Church, and began to explore ways in which theological education
resources might be shared throughout the Communion, perhaps in concert with
the Theological Education Initiative being commissioned by the Primates
Meeting. The next phase of the Commission's work will be to integrate the
three lines of its discussion - continuing reflection on the responses to the
Six Propositions which have been received, developing a response to the
document To Mend the Net, and working on the processes by which the Communion
can sustain its life. Together it is hoped these will lead into the
development of a dynamic description of how our life as a Communion can be
carried forward.

The generous hospitality and resources of the Virginia Theological Seminary
were again greatly appreciated by the Commission, which next year expects to
meet in Kenya.

The Commission will report its proceedings as usual to the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Primates, and the Anglican Consultative Council. Compilations
of replies received to the Six Propositions and other information about the
study process will be posted to
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/ecumenical/iatdc/index.html in the next few
days.

Stephen Sykes
Chairman

Enquiries on the work of the Commission may be addressed to:

Gregory Cameron
Secretary
Anglican Communion Office
Partnership House
157 Waterloo Road
London SE1 8UT
England
gregory.cameron@anglicancommunion.org

Philip Thomas
Assistant to the Chair
The Vicarage
Heighington
Co Durham
DL5 6PP
England
philip.thomas@durham.anglican.org 

The members of the Commission are:

The Rt Revd Professor Stephen W Sykes (Chair)
The Revd Dr Philip H E Thomas (Assistant to the Chair)
The Revd Canon Gregory Cameron (Secretary)
The Revd Professor Kortright Davis
The Rt Revd J Mark Dyer
The Rt Revd Tan Sri Dr Lim Cheng Ean
The Revd Dr Katherine Grieb (Observer)
Dr Esther M Mombo
The Revd Canon Luke Pato
The Revd Dr Stephen Pickard
Dr Jenny Te Paa
The Rt Revd Paul Richardson
The Revd Dr Nicholas Sagovsky
Dr Eileen Scully
The Rt Revd Dr N Thomas Wright
The Very Revd Paul F M Zahl
The Rt Revd Tito Zavala

Not present on this occasion were:

The Revd Victor R Atta-Baffoe
The Rt Revd Dr Samuel R Cutting
The Revd Dr Bruce N Kaye
The Rt Revd Dr Matthew Oluremi Owadayo

Administrative staff:

Mrs Christine Codner 
The Revd Terrie Robinson

___________________________________________________________________
ACNSlist, published by Anglican Communion News Service, London, is
distributed to more than 6,000 journalists and other readers around
the world.  For subscription information please go to:
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/acnslist.html