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Cytûn - Churches Together in Wales

Ecumenism: An introduction

What is Ecumenism?

Ecumenism (from the Greek oikoumenh meaning ‘the whole inhabited world’) refers to the movement in the church towards the recovery of the unity of all believers in Christ, transcending differences of creed, ritual and polity.

 

Why is Ecumenism important?

Ecumenism is very important for many reasons – drawn from scripture, tradition and reason/experience.

• Because Our Lord tells us that it is (e.g. John 17:6-11; I Corinthians 12:12-26).

• Because church history has shown how damaging division can be.

• Because experience testifies to the power of unity in witness and mission.

What is the background of the Ecumenical Movement?

Ecumenical aspiration can be clearly traced from the New Testament, but the movement itself may be identified as a particular theological development of the twentieth century. Important landmarks during this century include:

• 1925 Universal Conference Life and Work (concerned with Christianity in society).

• 1927 World Conference Faith and Order (concerned with theology of unity).

• 1948 World Council of Churches (WCC) was born as ‘the fellowship of Churches which accept our Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour’. This included all mainstream confessions and denominations except the Roman Catholic Church and the Unitarian Church.

• 1961 Roman Catholic observers were permitted to attend WCC and in 1963 non Roman Catholic Churches were invited to attend the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church.

How has the Church in Wales been part of this Ecumenical Movement?

The Church in Wales (CIW) has been very active ecumenically on many levels.

On a World level:

• The CIW is one of the 326 member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC)

On a European level:

• The CIW participates in the Conference of European Churches (CEC). Since 1959 this has been the ecumenical organisation of Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic and Protestant Churches of Europe.

• The CIW gave its support to the Meissen Declaration in 1992. This was a commitment by the Church of England and the Federation of the Evangelical Churches in the German Democratic Republic and the Evangelical Churches in Germany to strive for ‘full visible unity’.

• The CIW entered into the Porvoo agreement in 1996. This created common membership and a single interchangeable ministry and structure amongst the four Nordic Lutheran Churches, the two Baltic Lutheran Churches and the four British and Irish Anglican Churches.

On a British and Irish level:

• The CIW is a part of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) inaugurated in 1990 which has 31 members and exists so that ‘they may listen to and appreciate one another in their diversity and increasingly share their talents and traditions’.

On a Welsh level:

• The CIW entered into a Covenant for Union in 1975 (later named ENFYS) which brought together the CIW, the Presbyterian Church in Wales, the Methodist Church (in Wales) and the United Reformed Church of England and Wales. In 1977 certain Baptist Churches came into the covenant. (Since 2005, this Covenant for Union - formerly called ENFYS - has now found a new home within CYTÛN and is called The Covenanted Churches within CYTÛN). The CIW entered into CYTÛN (Churches together in Wales) in 1990.

Different activity takes place at each of these levels but they all seek in some way to:

• Enable Churches to improve relations and to understand each other better.

• Enable Churches to worship and pray together.

• Enable Churches to engage together in practical projects and issues of justice.

How does the Church in Wales encourage ecumenism at grass-roots level?

The CIW encourages us to worship and work together with other churches in many ways.

Worship together

• Through welcoming Christians of other denominations to worship with us and accepting the invitation of other Churches to worship with them.

• Through the opportunities provided in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

• Through sharing buildings (Sharing of Church Buildings Act 1969)

• Through the possibility of a local covenant or LEP (see ch 3 and 4)

Work together

• Through working together in issues of social justice, internationally, nationally and locally – e.g. through response to Wales: A Moral Society (CYTÛN) and Unemployment and the Future of Work (CTBI).