08 March 2013

Convergence vs. consensus

Like Baptism,  Eucharist and Ministry, the new Faith and Order text on the Church is a convergence document, not a consensus. In other words, it articulates a point the churches have reached in their dialogue: a point at which they are ready to send their work forward to their members for further reflection and comment. It does not represent agreement.

The challenge now is to get the member churches to reflect and comment on this text in a way that stimulates critical, constructive thought on the Church today. We Orthodox have insisted on the visible unity of the Church;  how can we convince our fellow pilgrims on the way that this visible unity is as essential as we say it is?

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