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Anglicans and Orthodox: The Cyprus Agreed Statement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2009

Abstract

The article takes the form of a report on the current state of the international Anglican–Orthodox theological dialogue. It offers a critical reading of the Church of the Triune God: The Cyprus Agreed Statement of the International Commission for Anglican–Orthodox Theological Dialogue, 2006, outlining the major issues considered, together with points of convergence and continuing disagreement. Starting from acknowledged areas of previous agreement on questions of the Triune God and the nature of the Church, the statement gives special consideration to the issues arising from the ordination of women in provinces of the Anglican Communion. It considers the historical practice of ministry in both churches and the possibility of reception of new expressions of ministry. The theological question at the heart of these considerations is whether the ordination of women constitutes a church dividing matter. For this reason the statement gives some consideration to the terminology of heresy, schism and reception.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Journal of Anglican Studies Trust 2009

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Footnotes

1.

Honorary Research Associate, Melbourne College of Divinity; Member, International Commission for Anglican–Orthodox Theological Dialogue.

References

2. For a useful history of the early stages of this relationship, see Pinnington, Judith, Anglicans and Orthodox: Unity and Subversion 1559–1725 (Leominster: Gracewing, 2003).Google Scholar

3. The Church of the Triune God: The Cyprus Agreed Statement of the International Commission for Anglican–Orthodox Theological Dialogue, 2006 (London: Anglican Communion Office, 2006).Google Scholar

4. Both statements are published in Anglican–Orthodox Dialogue: The Dublin Agreed Statement 1984 (London: SPCK, 1984).Google Scholar

5. ‘The Porvoo Common Statement’, in Oppgaard, SvenCameron, Gregory (eds), Anglican–Lutheran Agreements: Regional and International Agreements 1972–2002 (Geneva: Lutheran World Federation, 2004), pp. 145176.Google Scholar

6. Administration is an ambiguous and disputed term in anglican circles: it is used here to mean distribution of the consecrated bread and wine.

7. See von Arx, Urs and Kallis, Anastasios (eds), ‘Gender and the Image of Christ’, Anglican Theological Review, 84.1 (2002), pp. 489752.Google Scholar

8. Anglican/Roman Catholic International Commission, The Gift of Authority: Authority in the Church III: an Agreed Statement of the Anglican/Roman Catholic International Commission (Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 1999)Google Scholar. See also Bishops in Communion: Collegiality in the service of the Koinonia of the Church: an occasional paper of the House of Bishops of the Church of England (London: Church House Publishing, 2000).

9. Anglican/Roman Catholic International Commission, Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ: an Agreed Statement of the Anglican/Roman Catholic International Commission (Harrisburg/London: Morehouse, 2005).Google Scholar

10. This paper is a shortened and updated version of a public lecture given at the Institute for Spiritual Studies, whose leadership I thank for the invitation to speak, at St Peter’s Eastern Hill, Melbourne, in early 2006. In writing this paper I wish also to acknowledge my indebtedness to comments on the draft by Professor William Green, and to his at that stage unpublished paper ‘The Anglican–Orthodox Dialogue and its Future’, now published in Doll, Peter M. (ed.), Anglicanism and Orthodoxy 300 Years After the ‘Greek College’ in Oxford (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2006), pp. 379–393.Google Scholar