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May 16, 2011 | Matthew Davies

Ecumenical Bonds Reinforced in Europe

[Episcopal News Service, Utrecht, Netherlands] Two Christian denominations in Europe -- one in full communion with the Episcopal Church and the other exploring the potential for such a relationship -- welcomed Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori this week for key talks and a keynote address, a signal that many global ecumenical relations are in fine shape and continue to be strengthened.

 

Following a three-day visit to the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden, with which the Episcopal Church is hoping to formalize a full-communion partnership, Jefferts Schori traveled to Utrecht in the Netherlands to deliver the Quasimodo Lecture, an annual event hosted by the Old Catholic Church.

 

The Episcopal Church entered into full communion with the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht on the basis of the Bonn Agreement in 1934. The Old Catholic Church consists of several national churches in Europe -- located in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland -- that could not accept the definition of papal infallibility presented by the first Vatican Council in 1870.

 

Old Catholic Archbishop Joris Vercammen told ENS that cooperation between the Episcopal Church, the Old Catholic Church and the Church of England – all of which have a presence in Europe -- is "essential for contributing to the gospel" on the continent.

 

"It's important to really enter into one another's theology and that is where you will really find more unity," he said. "Churches must collaborate more with one another, and that means tearing down boundaries, which is very possible between Anglicans and Old Catholics."

 

Full story: http://bit.ly/iyu5I2

 

A video of the presiding bishop preaching at St. Gertrude's Cathedral in Utrecht on May 14 is available at http://bit.ly/meYIUq

 

The Quasimodo Lecture will be available as a video stream on ENS on May 16.