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The Church Of Ireland
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REPORT OF THE PORVOO THEOLOGICAL CONFERENCE
DURHAM, SEPTEMBER 2000
Rev Dr AW McCormack
I attended the Porvoo Theological Consultation on Diversity at the invitation of the General Synod. The consultation was residential and was based in St John's College, Durham. Other members of the Church of Ireland present included Rt Revd John Neill (Co-Chair), Rt Revd Dr Richard Henderson (who led Bible study) and Valerie Beatty (RCB). A group of over 30 people were gathered from the various signatory churches of the Porvoo Agreement and from a number of interested, but not (yet) subscribing, churches. It was especially good to have representation from the Baltic Lutheran churches.
The consultation established the principle that theological reflection and discussion should be based in the context of prayer and fellowship. Each day was therefore highly structured and centred around the offering of common prayer in the College Chapel and the study of Scripture in the consultation room.
The consultation carried out its business both in plenary sessions and in smaller workshops. I chaired one of the three groups of delegates which met daily, and my secretarial assistance was provided by Magister Joar Haga, of the Church of Norway, one of the consultation staff.
Towards the end of the consultation a report of proceedings with a specific series of recommendations was produced by the group leaders under the editorial direction of the Rt Revd Stephen Sykes, of the Church of England. This report has not yet been released for publication.
It was a humbling experience to be present at the Durham consultation and I had the strong sense of Christians honestly struggling together with the du jour issue of what unity and diversity in communion might actually entail. I feel very strongly that the document produced in Durham should not be allowed by any of the member churches to be filed away and forgotten. For example, one of the exciting recommendations, that there should be a properly constituted study into the emergence of common youth cultures in north European Christianity, is an achievable aspiration of the greatest urgency and importance. I would myself be very keen to be part of such a study and offer my services to the Church of Ireland in this regard.
It also seems to me that another recommendation, enhancing mobility within the communion, is an easily achievable aim. Professor Bartlett of the Theological College (in informal discussions) has already responded warmly to the idea of developing links and exchanges with Theological Colleges in Norway, Finland and Sweden. For my own part, I have recently welcomed Professor Jan Olav Henriksen, one of the Norwegian delegates in Durham, to lecture in Trinity College, while I intend to take the Chapel Choir to visit Finland, Estonia and Sweden in June 2001. Yet what is needed if the Porvoo Agreement is to have any real impact on the Church of Ireland is a mechanism for the activities of individuals and groups to be supported and co-ordinated in some concrete way by the central agencies of the Church. The enthusiasm of individuals and groups needs to be supported in real ways - and obviously and occasionally in financial ways.
The Porvoo Agreement was designed (we learned at Durham) to be active at the popular level of the member churches: it is a challenge to the Church of Ireland to act centrally to make this so.
Further information from:
GENERAL & SYNOD SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Church of Ireland House
Church Avenue
Rathmines
Dublin 6
Tel: (01) 497 8422
Fax: (01) 497 8821
Email: General Synod Services