Pope Benedict has sent a message to the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, urging the hundreds of bishops gathered for a global meeting to find the solution to their divisions in God’s Word.
“The words and the message of Christ are what offer the real contribution to Lambeth and only in being faithful to the message … and God’s words can we find a mature way … to find a road together,” said the Pope in his message to Dr. Rowan Williams this week.
The Roman Catholic Church and Anglicans have been in consistent dialogue for the last three decades in an effort to establish closer unity between the two communions. The ordination of homosexual and female clergy in parts of the Anglican Communion has, however, threatened to derail talks.
The Pope, who is currently in Australia for World Youth Day, has signaled the extent of his concerns by taking the unprecedented step of sending three cardinals to join in the Lambeth Conference, held only once every 10 years.
They include the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor; the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, Cardinal Walter Kasper; and Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Cardinal Ivan Dias.
Earlier in the year, Cardinal Kasper told Anglican leaders that it was time to “clarify its identity.”
"Does it belong more to the churches of the first millennium – Catholic and Orthodox – or does it belong more to the Protestant churches of the 16th century? At the moment it is somewhere in between, but it must clarify its identity now and that will not be possible without certain difficult decisions,” he said.
Kasper, who was invited to speak at the global Anglican conference by Williams, said at the time that the conference should be used to clarify “fundamental questions” in order to ensure continued dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans.
More than 600 bishops arrived in Canterbury for the start of the conference on Wednesday, while another 230 are staying away in protest of the participation of pro-gay bishops.
The conference will begin in earnest on Sunday with a celebration in Canterbury Cathedral.
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Christ was the last pope? Lol then where on earth does Benedict fit in? XD
Calvin and other didn't decide that there were only two offices. They simply rejected authority, not that they got some great revelation from God. There are three offices in scripture; Bishop(episcopos), Priest(presbyter) and Deacon(diaconai).
The Bishop was also a Priest. In the early church most Bishops were Priests. Today, that is not the case only because of the size of the Church. There are less overseers(Bishops) than Priests, but only a Priest can be a Bishop. Deacons are to serve the Priest and Bishop and the congregation.
By the way, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists all have Bishops and ofcourse the other elderly churches of the Orthodox all have Bishops.
Calvin simply rejected a teaching authority and apostolic succession. It makes sense since he had neither of these.
I too beleive deacons of churches should be men regardles if some give authority over aspects of the church to them. deacons in the hierarchy of the church still requires use of interpreting scripture and applying it. I do beleive women in the general use of the word as one who serves can be leaders of missionaries as long as the directives are approved by the pastor and counselship is directed appropiately.
james, biblically you're right on target, but for instance in most Southern Baptist churches the deacon is more of an elder than a deacon and has leadership authority as a result. That's why most Southern Baptist churches do not have female deacons because to do so would automatically give them spiritual headship over men which most believe violates the teachings of the Word of God.
From my understanding of scripture, Christ was the last High Priest (pope) that is why the veil was torn into two parts so that we can have a direct personal relationship with God the father through God the son, and the God the spirit helps guide us and to understand scripture. I don not see any hierarchy in the new testament except for those to lead in discerning the truth to His followers (preacher, pastor, reverend) and those who have been tested and been found to be held upright in the body of Christ to serve the church (deacons). The deacons do not hold authority over church but help to serve its members so that the pastor can effectively lead the church( which requires constant studying of scripture, prayer, and to remain aware of culture) so that he can help equip members to better serve Christ. I also disagree with the catholics view on sainthood. The Bible clearly says that all true followers of Christ are called saints. It is the Spirits dwelling in our souls that make us special enough to be called saints.
msnchris, the hierarchy you write about long served the church well, but at the Reformation, Calvin and others discerned that there were only two orders in scripture: elder (or presbyter or priest) and deacon. Calvin declared that one of the functions of an elder was to be an "overseer" or episcopos, but that episcopos (or bishop) was not a separate order. To me, this is arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but these reformers were trying - praying earnestly - that the "truth" would be revealed to them, so that they might bring God's Kingdom on earth. I guess we have all failed at that goal, whatever church polity we subscribe to.
And in aggrement with what Chris just said, what a parallel to our personal and family lives! No matter what, when we depart from God's will, purpose, and structure, we will always eventually find ourselves in trouble. <><...
Sacr1fyce,
I see where you come from in your last comment. However, in Acts, Timothy and Titus we clearly see the Holy Spirit setting up the physical hiearchy of the Church which is; Bishop, Priest and Deacon.
The Pope is saying that their departure from Scriptural and Traditional Christian history by allowing women as Priest or Bishops is a departure from the bible and tradition. The Anglicans, Methodists,Lutherans and Presbyterians and many more Protestant groups who have added women to these offices or abandoned these offices in general are suffering in other areas like morality; abortion, gay marriage, clergy actively gay, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell, etc. God will not bear fruit in your church if you depart from His holy Word.
When your hiearchy departs from the structure given by God, then it is no wonder why these churches are falling a part in so many other areas. All practices and all doctrines must not contradict the Word of God.
Have a blest day.
We do gather in physical buildings called churches to worship and learn about God. I certainly don't deny that. However, that is not the point of the Pope's message. He is saying that the Anglican church should choose to align with a certain physical tradition, strand, or branch of Christianity. The true universal church does not consist of such divisions. Each church may have different styles, understanding, and also weaknesses, but in the end we are all one under Christ. Nothing else matters.
Hey hlerwin, you're absolutly right, the Pope is a reasonable man, a gentleman, a man of God, a very intelligent and highly educated man. Your earlier comment about "do is his way" was a little unfair, instead what the Pope always means to say is "Do it Christ's Way".
And if you can simply think of him as a "pastor" with a solid message in Christ, then those prejudices will dissolve. Read some of the papal writings. Google " Veritatis Splendor" (Truth in Splendor), or "Evangelium vitae" (Of Human Dignity) as just a couple examples of papal writings. Head down to your bookstore and purchase a copy of "The Theology of the Body" or Christopher West's synopsis of it "The Theology of the Body for Beginners", you'll likely be amazed!
Have a wonderful day in Christ my brother...<><...
I need to try to overlook the prejudices I was raised on: "The pope is ______ ________ ________!!!" Fill in the blanks with your strongest invective. Why do we nurture these poisonous views?!?
This pope seems to be a sensible man. Of course, the Roman Catholic Church is his culture, but he must struggle with some of his church's more peculiar doctrines.
Well put, FullGospel.
Without trying to start a firestorm of comments, "church" is both a spiritual and physical entity, visible and invisible. A church is a physical building with visible people who belong to a physical, visible entity called the body of Christ.
What I think is great about this is that the Pope is saying "turn to the word of God for a mature resolution to this crisis." How can you argue against that?
What the Pope really means is: "Do it my way." (That's what many who post here on CP mean, also.)
The CHurch is both physical and spiritual. Yes, we all belong to Christ and yes we also belong to our own particular churches which is expressed by our own particular beliefs. If you go to a baptist church, then you belong to Christ and you are a member of the universal church who claim Christ as their Lord, and you also profess your faith through a baptist, Catholic or Orthodox Tradition.
Physical is not a building, it is a hiearchy with a specific set of beliefs.
God bless the Pope.