Updated at 5.30 pm
Here is the Order Paper for today’s business at General Synod.
Order Paper III – Wednesday 9th February
This is the text of the motion on Common Worship baptism provision as carried by Synod after amendment.
That this Synod request the House of Bishops to ask the Liturgical Commission to prepare material to supplement the Common Worship Initiation provision, including additional forms of the Decision, the Prayer over the Water and the Commission, expressed in accessible language.
In the afternoon there was a debate on the ARCIC (Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission) report Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ after which this motion was carried unamended.
That this Synod, affirming the aim of Anglican – Roman Catholic theological dialogue “to discover each other’s faith as it is today and to appeal to history only for enlightenment, not as a way of perpetuating past controversy” (Preface to The Final Report, 1982), and in the light of recent steps towards setting up ARCIC III:
(i) note the theological assessment of the ARCIC report Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ in the FOAG briefing paper GS 1818 as a contribution to further dialogue;
(ii) welcome exploration of how far Anglicans and Roman Catholics share a common faith and spirituality, based on the Scriptures and the early Ecumenical Councils, with regard to the Blessed Virgin Mary;
(iii) request that, in the context of the quest for closer unity between our two communions, further joint study of the issues identified in GS 1818 be undertaken – in particular, the question of the authority and status of the Roman Catholic dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary for Anglicans; and
(iv) encourage Anglicans to study the report with ecumenicalcolleagues and in particular, wherever possible, with their Roman Catholic neighbours.
And here are the official summaries of all the day’s business, with links to audio recordings of the debates.
morning: General Synod – Summary of business conducted on Wednesday 9th February 2011 AM
afternoon: General Synod – Summary of business conducted on Wednesday 9th February 2011 PM
May I suggest that those working on the alternate baptismal language refer to the baptismal rite in the 1979 BCP of the Episcopal Church? I find it moving and poetic, but still in modern language.
Very pleased to see that the attempt to sabotage the reception of the ARCIC report by the imposition of a reference to the 39 Articles into the reponse was rejected by the Synod.
In fact the reference to the 39 Articles wasn’t rejected. That amendment was just never reached.
Good to find that the ARCIC process has not been completely derailed by the nonsense of the new Ordinariates. A.C.s who have moved in that direction may find it a bit suprising that there are many of us (A.C.s) who still have some sort of affinity with Rome – despite her sontinuing stance against the ordination of women. It is just a pity that the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham is still implacably opposed to allowing A.C. women clergy (yes, there are some) to celebrate Mass there. Future Mariological studies might well centre on ‘The Priesthood of Mary’… Read more »
Re: Interestiing, too, is that fact the the C.of E. have virtually translated the Feast of the Motherhood of Mary, on August 15th, the same day as Roman Catholics celebrate her Assumption. I don’t know about the C. of E. per se, but my Episcopalian church (of strong A/C tendencies) celebrates the Feast of The Assumption on August 15th, not some nebulous ‘Feast of the Motherhood of Mary’. I much prefer it when Episcopal parishes call the feast its real name, ‘Assumption’. Re: Is the Mother of God not just as worthy of this dignity? Very true, Fr. Smith. For… Read more »