Archbishop of Canterbury on ecumenism, the ordinariate and Pope's UK visit

The legacy of the past half century of dialogue between the different Christian denominations and the future direction of the ecumenical journey were under the spotlight here in the Vatican last night. Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams and Orthodox Metropolitan John Zizioulas joined past and present members of the Pontifical council for Christian Unity for a celebration recalling the founding of their original Secretariat by Pope John XXIII in 1960 in preparation for the Second Vatican Council.

Drawing inspiration from New Testament texts, Dr Williams spoke of the three dimensions of unity – with Christ, with each other and with the apostolic tradition – which can underpin a new phase of ecumenical dialogue. Urging his listeners not to lose sight of the ‘Ut Unum Sint agenda’, he called for shared reflection on the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed and, above all, on Eucharistic theology which he said has ‘worn thin’ in many Christian communities.

Talking to Philippa Hitchen after the event, Dr Williams also spoke of the five Anglican bishops who announced this week they’d be joining the new Ordinariate to be established for those seeking unity with Rome:“Obviously my reactions to the resignations is one of regret but respect - I know the considerations they’ve been through, particular the two who were my suffragans, we’ve talked about it, we’ve worked through it and parted with prayers and blessings so there’s no ill feeling there. I think the challenge will come in working out shared use of churches, of how we as Anglicans ‘recommend’ people and also of course there will be some parishes without priests so we have a practical challenge here and there.”

Asked to comment on Pope Benedict’s description of the Ordinariate as a ‘prophetic gesture’, he replied, “Well I think if the Ordinariate helps people evaluate Anglican legacy or patrimony, well and good, I’m happy to praise God for it. I don’t see it as an aggressive act, meant to destabilise the relations of the Churches and it remains to be seen just how large a movement we’re talking about.

But prophetic? Maybe yes, in the sense that here is the Roman Catholic Church saying there are ways of being Christian in the Western church which are not restricted by historic Roman Catholic identity - that’s something we can talk about.

Dr Williams also spoke of his recent two week visit to India where he met with victims of anti-Christian persecution: “I think Christians are drawn closer together than in any other circumstances when they face persecution – in Iraq, Pakistan Indonesia, Orissa or Rajasthan, Christians under pressure don’t have the luxury of waiting to stand together until they’ve sorted everything out. I met first hand with a number of people on the receiving end of violence – a woman who’d seen her husband tortured to death in front of her for refusing to abandon his Christian faith – that’s simply a moment when you realise what the basic truths are.”

Listen to the whole interview....