Council for Christian Unity related articles

Archbishop Justin Welby welcomed Anglican Ecumenical Officers to an online meeting

A number of Anglican Ecumenical Officers attended the "All Ecumenical Representatives Conference" organised by Churches Together in England (CTE) in September 2023.

This conference brought together a large number of people in ecumenical roles.  John Bell from the Iona Community was the main speaker and he talked about the history of the Iona Community, the link between singing and belief, and the future of ecumenism.

Anglicans, including Jeremy Morris and Tim Norwood from the ecumenical team at Lambeth Palace, were present at Westminster Abbey for Evensong and a reception with the Anglican-Lutheran Society. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Great Britain is a close ecumenical partner, through the Porvoo agreement, and it was lovely to have a chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

Anglican and Old Catholic theologians and church people met at Neustadt an der Weinstrasse in Germany

This year, the Council of Lutheran Churches, formerly known as the Lutheran Council of Great Britain, is celebrating its 75th Anniversary. The festive day was Reformation Day on the 31st of October, culminating with a service at the Norwegian Church.

The Enabling Group of Churches Together in England (CTE) met in Swanwick in October 2023.   The twenty-four hour residential included a panel of young ecumenists, plus input from Victoria Turner.  The gathering included the CTE AGM which welcomed new member churches and charities and networks in association.

A big highlight was the launch of the Bill Snelson Young Ecumenists Fund.

Ecumenical Reception at Lambeth Palace Library

The Porvoo Communion, which unites the Anglican Churches in Great Britain, Ireland, and the Iberian Peninsula and Lutheran Churches in Nordic countries, the Baltic, and Great Britain, met in Madrid, Spain, in October 2023 for its thematic consultation on ’Life in the Eucharist’.

The Meissen Commission of the Church of England and the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) met for the 33rd meeting from October 12 to 15, 2023, in Loccum, under the leadership of Co-Chairs, the Rt Revd Dr. Jonathan Gibbs (CofE) and Landesbischof Ralf Meister (EKD).

The Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Forum met at Trinity House, Southwark on Thursday 7 December.  We had a very lively discussion about the current situation in Armenia and in the Holy Land, as well as catching up on news across our various churches in the UK.