From Rev. Toon:  

Visible Unity

Perhaps in the West we have gotten so used to the idea of different and competitive Christian denominations that the scandal of the disunity of the one Church of God rarely strikes us. We see it from our childhood and it becomes a part of the regular scenery. For several centuries Protestantism has divided and subdivided and this has left the Christian Church presenting itself today as the accumulation of hundreds of denominations. And, let us admit, that even as competition between commercial companies causes them to be more committed in the way they trade, so it would appear that competition between denominations within a town does in a strange way actually help them to get on with their task of mission, evangelism and social service. So we can provide pragmatic arguments for the continuance of denominational rivalry and avoid serious thought and discussion of the concept of the unity of the Church.

Furthermore, many of us are rarely impressed by the statements from, and the activities promoted by, the World Council of Churches from the Geneva office. Also the long and tedious negotiations, which appear to happen when denominational bureaucrats and long-worded theologians talk about unity, seem to be ineffectual and so far from reality. And even when our ecumenical negotiators appear to find a successful agreement in terms of ways forward, their proposals are not always treated with enthusiasm at the grass-roots level. Instead of being keen to promote a real, visible unity, many of us are half-hearted and do not want to think too seriously about it – despite the prayers we offer in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. We dismiss it either on pragmatic or, sometimes, on dogmatic grounds.

The most common dogmatic ground on which visible unity is rejected as a goal is that the true unity of the Church is, and was meant only to be, spiritual and invisible. God alone sees it as a whole and welcomes it as a whole. In this way of thinking, common among evangelicals, the ‘one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church’ is presented as being the total number, known only to God, who are born again. This is the true, invisible Church. And while members of this Church will normally be members of a visible, local church, it does not follow that each member of a local church is a member of the invisible, true Church. Thus it is argued that to work for unity is a waste of energy; it is far better to use that energy to add to the number of the true, invisible Church. We must be realistic and live with competitive denominations and societies.

Catholic-minded Christians who are gripped by the Evangel, must seek not to allow either pragmatic or supposed dogmatic views to reduce their commitment to the will of God on earth. While it is true that God alone knows his elect, it is also true that his will is that the Church is to be a visible unity on earth, so that it may testify to his reconciling love. Unity does not mean uniformity; but unity does ultimately require that in each locality there be only one true church serving Christ in that area, and that such a local church be in fellowship with similar churches in surrounding areas, and that the churches (= Church) of one country be in fellowship with the churches (= Church) of other countries.

Of course, in any growth toward unity there would be intermediate positions in which several churches in the one specific area found ways of growing together first into eucharistic and then into organic communion. The aim must be to come to the situation in which there is one worshipping and witnessing congregation in one area and that the scandal of competitive churches be removed. Such a local church would have a variety of ways of worship, of forms of ministry and expressions of mission, but it would be one church and one fellowship. Naturally in a town or city there would be an association of such churches, with perhaps a central one being regarded as ‘the first among equals’. We do not know precisely how the Lord would guide us if our hearts and wills were truly motivated by Christ’s desire for the unity of his people.

In the high priestly prayer of Jesus there are definite indications that God wills the unity of the Church on earth: ‘I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me. I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one: I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me’ (John 17:21–23 TEV). The mission of the Church in and to the world is adversely affected unless there is genuine unity among those who follow Jesus. Writing to the Ephesians St. Paul wrote that ‘there is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one hope to which God has called you. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; there is one God and Father of all mankind, who is Lord of all, works through all, and is in all’ (Eph. 4:4–6 TEV).

Anglicans presuppose this unity when they pray in the Eucharist: ‘We humbly beseech thee … to inspire continually the universal Church with the spirit of truth, unity and concord, and grant that all they that do confess thy holy name may agree in the truth of thy holy word and live in unity and godly love’ (The Book of Common Prayer). Then in the modern Litany we pray: ‘Govern and direct your holy Church; fill it with love and truth; and grant it that unity which is your will’.

In the light of the known will of God for the visible unity of the Church, our commitment to Catholicity requires that we do all within our power to grow together with other Christians towards unity in Christ. The best place to start is in the local diocese and parish. Here ways, appropriate for that locality, can be developed to enable Christians from different traditions to meet and grow together in and towards Christ. Where there is a large variety of local churches (from Roman Catholic through Greek Orthodox to Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist) this would appear to be an impossible calling from God. Our only comfort is that Christ is on our side (because we are on his) if we pray and work for that unity which is gospel-centered. There is such a chasm between some local Christian groups that only as Christ leads is there any hope of reconciliation in him. Further, the speed of local growth toward unity will both affect and be affected by what is achieved by the interdenominational commissions on unity. Certainly, too, many unity schemes have been too top heavy and have had little support at the grass roots. Thus we have to find the right combination of activity both at the grass roots and denominational level. And leadership in each particular Church or denomination is important – think of the beneficial effects of the Second Vatican Council.

In the two gospel-sacraments we already have signs of visible unity, even though baptism is the only one of the two which is universally accepted as valid. Baptism is incorporation into Christ and it is also incorporation into his Church, which includes into the local church as the microcosm of the whole. If there are competitive congregations in one locality, then the full meaning of this sacrament of initiation is obscured or its efficacy hampered. The Eucharist presupposes that there is one local expression of the Body of Christ for all share in one bread and one cup. It makes little sense for several Eucharists to be celebrated at the same time by competitive (or even sympathetic) congregations if the sacrament is the sacrament of unity.

Then, as Anglicans, we are to take seriously the historic episcopate as the sign of the unity of the Church in space and time. The order of bishops cannot guarantee unity; but, those of us who are united together around a bishop have a particular duty to pray and work, in charity and with humility, for the visible unity of all local Christians around that episcopate. To believe in bishops is to be committed to the visible unity of the people of God.

It is possible for an individual to get so obsessed with the methods and management of the ecumenical exercise that he or she becomes an ecumaniac. Perhaps you have met such a person. The argument being offered here is that, if the Anglican Church is rising to the call to be wholly evangelical and wholly catholic, then, as part of its total life and experience, it will do all within its power to work towards visible unity. If the pursuit of unity is undertaken in a spirit that is similar to the promotion of a new commercial product, then it will only generate further division and hostility. The pursuit of visible unity is to be the result of the commitment of the people of God to the Gospel and to Catholicity. Unless the growth towards unity occurs on this foundation, and within this ethos, it will have very little spiritual momentum and minimum effect upon the divided people of God. The potential of the Anglican Communion to serve the Lord as a catalyst and promoter of unity has only rarely been allowed to function. We must remedy this sin of omission.

As long ago as 1888 the Lambeth Conference adopted (from the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church held in Chicago in 1886) four statements known as the Lambeth Quadrilateral. They state the basic essentials for a united Church, as perceived from an Anglican viewpoint:

A. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as ‘containing all things necessary to salvation’ and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.

B. The Apostles’ Creed, as the Baptismal Symbol; and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian Faith.

C. The two Sacraments as ordained by Christ himself – Baptism and the Supper of the Lord – ministered with unfailing use of Christ’s Word of Institution, and of the elements ordained by him.

D. The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and people called of God into the Unity of his Church.

Rightly viewed this Quadrilateral should function as a symbol of the fullness of genuine Catholic tradition. The appeal to the Scriptures points to the recovery of a biblically-based faith in the living God, our Creator, Redeemer and Judge. It also points to the living and exalted Lord Jesus, Viceregent of the Father, and to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete and Sanctifier of the Church. The appeal to the Creeds directs the Church in its understanding of the Gospel and Scriptures while the appeal to the two Sacraments, together with the Creeds, keeps before us the great tradition of evangelism, mission and corporate worship over the centuries. Finally the order of bishops is presented in such a way as to include the appeal to primitive times when bishops were responsible for only one congregation or a small cluster of congregations. This allows for different developments of episcopacy in different places and cultures.