From
Living Theology in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church In America
Volume 2, Number 4
Epiphany 1998
Ecumenism and Full Communion
This is a “special issue” of
Let’s Talk in the sense that it
wasn’t in the “pipeline” of previously-announced topics. The editorial board
felt that the results of the ecumenical decisions at the 1997 ELCA Churchwide
Assembly, especially the defeat of the
Concordat of Agreement between the ELCA and the Episcopal Church, needed
special attention.
The failure of the Concordat sent shock-waves throughout
our Church and the ecumenical community. Its defeat overshadowed adoption of
the Formula of Agreement with three
Reformed Churches and ratification of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint
Declaration on Justification by Faith.
To some extent the failure
of the Concordat is shocking because
ratification seemed all but certain as short as two years ago. It was routinely
said by many in the ecumenical community that if Lutherans and Anglicans
couldn’t get together, no churches could. The Porvoo Agreement, bringing into
full communion the Nordic Lutheran and Anglican Churches in Great Britain and
Ireland, undoubtedly encouraged optimism that the Concordat was a shoo-in, whereas the Formula of Agreement was regarded as “iffy” because of unresolved
sacramental and ethical issues.
Admittedly, requiring
two-thirds vote of the Churchwide Assembly to pass agreements leading to full
communion was setting a high goal. But to approve full communion, with all its
ramifications for church life, ministry, and mission, with less than two-thirds
endorsement, would seem a flimsy basis on which to initiate something this
significant in a Church that supposedly takes its confessional stance
seriously. But the Formula passed by
about 80% and the Episcopal Church endorsed the Concordat overwhelmingly. This is why the failure of the Concordat has occasioned such a great
deal of soul-searching in the ELCA. It forces us to raise questions about
ourselves. The failure of the Concordat
has prompted more discussion about our confessional self-understanding than its
adoption might have done. That’s what this issue of Let’s Talk is about: ecumenism and us, as confessional Lutherans.
The articles included in
this issue follow a certain progression. First, a view from the floor of the
assembly by a member of the Churchwide Assembly from the Metropolitan Chicago
Synod. Then a sermonic reaction by Tony Danielson to the Churchwide Assembly’s
action on the Sunday following the historic vote by a pastor who was not at the
Assembly. This is followed by a reflective view of the ELCA’s ecumenical agenda
in the light of this Church’s historical and cultural context by Leon
Rosenthal. Frank Senn, the Metro Chicago Synod’s Ecumenical Representative
provides us with the text of his report on the failure of the Concordat to a largely Roman Catholic
audience, with some observations on the implications of the difference between
dealing with the ideal church in ecumenical dialogues and dealing with the
actual church which must enact ecclesiastical-political agreements. This is
followed by William Roberts’ challenge to the ELCA concerning its doctrinal
integrity, especially in terms of its confession of the real presence of Christ
in the eucharist. Roberts is the Ecumenical Officer of the Episcopal Diocese of
Chicago.
We also offer a reaction to
the Statement on “The Use of the Means of Grace,” also adopted at the ELCA
Assembly, by an Episcopal priest, Anne Wrider, who demonstrates the different
ways of doing theology between our Churches. She also demonstrates that the
Episcopal Church has more theological strength than Lutherans have given it
credit for. Finally, a Lutheran layman, Wayne Cowell, imagines what kind of ecumenical and confessional catechizing
might be done to bring lay people and pastors up to speed on the issues.
We had also hoped for an
article from someone who did not think the Concordat
should be approved. Perhaps someone will provide such an article that can be
included in a future issue in the spirit of our journal, Let’s Talk.
Read on and please join us in
our ongoing dialog on this important issue.
The Editorial Council