Bishops in Dialogue issue Testimony: Our Journey Toward Reconciliation

The fifth meeting of the Consultation of Anglican Bishops in Dialogue took place in Coventry, England from May 22 to 25, 2014. Please click here for a full text of their joint statement, “A Testimony of Our Journey toward Reconciliation.”

The Consultation of Anglican Bishops in Dialogue brings together Anglican bishops from Africa and North America toward a deeper understanding of our common life in Christ in a diverse, global Communion.

Beginning in 2010, a group of approximately two-dozen bishops from Canada, the United States, and a number of African countries, have met annually in England, Tanzania, Canada, and South Africa. Their gatherings facilitate learning about each other’s contexts and finding pathways for healing and reconciliation. Their time together in Coventry focused specifically on approaches to reconciliation and becoming a reconciling community.

This intentional dialogue was developed in response to theological controversies that strained relationships across the Anglican Communion in the early 2000s. These included issues relating to human sexuality and the blessing of same-sex marriages. In the face of pain and division arising from these controversies, Archbishop Colin Johnson of the Diocese of Toronto and the Rev. Canon Dr. Isaac Kawuki Mukasa, now Africa Relations Coordinator, spearheaded this important dialogue.

The bishops report their time together as a special blessing, one of powerful transformation and growing companionship. There is also deepening appreciation that all who form this unique group carry out their lives and ministries as faithfully as they can in their local contexts

At the close of this fifth Consultation, the bishops committed themselves to support the Archbishop of Canterbury’s priority of reconciliation in the Anglican Communion. In response to Archbishop Justin’s appeal, the bishops will “pray for wisdom to know what to do, and for the patience to know when to do it, and the courage to act.”

Members of the Anglican Church of Canada are asked to pray for the members of the Anglican Bishops in Dialogue, and for their ministries of reconciliation.

To learn more about the Consultation, and to read A Testimony of Our Journey Toward Reconciliation please visit the Consultation of Anglican Bishops in Dialogue webpage.

Source: Anglican Church of Canada