Christian Unity and Dialogue
New version of inter–church and inter–faith directory now available
A fresh edition of the Directory of Anglican, Porvoo, Ecumenical and Inter–faith links has been published by the Church of Ireland’s Commission for Christian Unity and Dialogue, as guide which seeks to summarise the scale of work carried out in this area of the Church’s ministry.
Each year, the Church of Ireland contributes around €120,000 (currently equivalent to around £100,000) towards the operational costs of ecumenical organisations, whose remit ranges from local to global.
Commending the booklet, the Commission’s Chair, Bishop Michael Burrows, provided the following outline of the Commission and its role in the life of the Church of Ireland and the wider Church to which we belong:
‘The Commission for Christian Unity and Dialogue operates through a consortium of working groups, dealing respectively with matters ecumenical, intra–Anglican contacts (including our relationship with the Porvoo churches and other churches with whom we similarly enjoy communion), and inter–faith dialogue.
‘Although each has clearly distinctive responsibilities it is crucial that they do not exist in isolation from one another, hence the umbrella structure of the Commission. The Commission also has a brief regarding European affairs, particularly how the Church of Ireland contributes to the wider ecumenical task of engaging with the structures of the EU and the many issues under discussion in that context.
‘It is important also for the well–being of the Church of Ireland that neither the Commission nor any of its working groups should ever be regarded as in any sense to do simply with the “external” relationships of the Church of Ireland, almost in the sense of a diplomatic service. What the Church of Ireland does in its relationship with other Christian traditions and the other provinces of the Anglican Communion, and in its dealings with other faiths, defines what we ourselves truly are, as one tradition within a wider Church.’
The Directory runs to 44 pages and can be downloaded at this link.