Anglican Synod

The Anglican Synod in York has voted to accept women into its episcopacy, long after the Episcopal community in the US did so, and about year after the Church of Ireland appointed its first woman bishop. The move was inevitable, regardless of what critics within the Anglican Communion said. Once women could be accepted for ordination as deacons there was no way they could be excluded from the other orders. Traditionalist and orthodox members of the Anglican Communion now have to consider their position and they are not be envied: these are hard times for them.

As Fr Z says on his blog, the Catholic Church is ready to welcome them. Thanks to Pope Benedict's founding of the Anglican Ordinariates, they can come and bring their traditions with them. We might all just offer a prayer for them at this time. Mgr Newton, Ordinary of the English Ordinariate, has issued an invitation to Anglicans to come into the Church.

As for Anglican reunion with the Catholic Church, that may well now be impossible, although the Bishops of England and Wales are still hopeful. That said, we have an obligation to maintain good relations with members of the Anglican Communion as they too are baptised and are counted among the followers of Jesus Christ, and we must find ways to work with them as brothers and sisters. Of course reunion with the Orthodox Churches is possible and to be desired. They have held to the faith, they have a valid episcopacy and priesthood, valid sacraments and we share much in common with them. Let us continue to pray for unity there. 

     

For Unity

 

I  had an interesting encounter over the summer which made me realise that some of my hopes of Christian unity might just be a little too optimistic at the moment.  I had visited, in private, the shrine of an Orthodox saint and while the laity welcomed me with gentle hospitality, the same could not be said of their priest.  I won't go into details, but the thrust of the encounter was such that because I was not a minister of the Orthodox Church my validity as an ordained priest was not accepted.  That is why, this year, today's feast is poignant for me and leads me to particular prayer for unity with our Orthodox brothers and sisters.

 

St Josaphat laid down his life for Christian unity.  I know he is a controversial figure among many of our separated brothers and sisters, but for us he is one who recognised that union with Peter was vital for Christians, and so worked to bring Eastern Christians back into communion with the See of Peter.  His hard work both in the East and with Rome to promote the Eastern rites brought many blessings both to Eastern rite Catholics and to the Church as a whole.  St Josaphat teaches us that there can be a legitimate diversity within the Church.  His work also reveals that there is little that now divides us from the Orthodox: yes, the position of the Pope is a problem for the Orthodox, but the real barrier to unity, I think, is ultimately human difficulties, and all the theological discussions in the world might not overcome them.  At the end of the day it is God's grace that finds success in reconciliation.

 

So today, my friends, let us pray for reconciliation, that the hearts of Catholics and Orthodox may be opened to God's grace and healing so we may all be one.  The authenticity of martyrdom is revealed in the martyr's willingness to forgive those who kill him: Josaphat forgave his enemies, and laid down his life for them and for reconciliation.  May his sacrifice yield fruit in our lives, our efforts and our sacrifices.  And today, though many may have problems with St Josaphat, I wish all our Orthodox brothers and sisters every blessing and grace.

 

St Josaphat's incorrupt body now preserved in St Peter's Basilica in Rome