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Finding Our Delight in the Lord:

A Proposal for Full Communion

Between

The Episcopal Church;

the Moravian Church–Northern Province; and

the Moravian Church–Southern Province

Table of Contents

I.

Preface

II.

Introduction

III.

Foundational Principles

IV. Ministry of Bishops

V.

Reconciliation of Ministries

a)

Ministries of Oversight

b)

Ministry of Bishops

c)

Ministry of Presbyters

d)

Ministry of Deacons

VI. Interchangeability of Clergy

VII. Joint Commission

VIII. Wider Context

IX. Existing Relationships

X.

Other Dialogues

XI. Conclusion

XII. Appendices

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I.

Preface

Preaching at the opening service of the Second World Conference of Faith and Order in

1937, William Temple (then Archbishop of York and later Archbishop of Canterbury) noted two

“great evils” caused by the divisions of the church:

The first is that [the divisions] obscure our witness to the one Gospel; the second is that

through the division each party to it loses some spiritual treasure, and none perfectly

represents the balance of truth, so that this balance of truth is not presented to the world at

all.1

It is because of these two “great evils” of Christian disunity that our churches—The Episcopal

Church and the Moravian Church in America (Northern and Southern Provinces)—have pursued

a formal dialogue resulting in this proposal for full communion, a necessary step toward “the

goal of visible unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship expressed in worship and

common life in Christ.”2 We seek this relationship of full communion so that our mission as

Christ’s church will be more effectively fulfilled and each of our communions might be more

complete because of the spiritual treasures of the other; and we do this for the sake of the world,

“so that the world may believe.”3

We have also been motivated by the ecumenical history and legacy of our two churches.

For Moravians, ecumenical commitment is rooted in the vision of Count Nicolaus Ludwig von

Zinzendorf, bishop and theologian of the renewed Unitas Fratrum. In the spirit of Count

1 William Temple, “Sermon at the Opening Service” in Michael Kinnamon and Brian E. Cope,

(eds.) The Ecumenical Movement: An Anthology of Key Texts and Voices. Grand Rapids:

Eerdmans, 1997, 18.

2 Toward a Common Understanding and Vision of the World Council of Churches, 3.10,

www.coe.org/wcc/who/cuv-e.html.

3 John 17:20–21: “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe

in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you,

may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (NRSV)

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Zinzendorf’s ecumenical commitment, “The Ground of the Unity,” endorsed and accepted by all

the provinces of the Moravian Church, states that “through the grace of Christ the different

denominations have received many gifts and that the Church of Christ may be enriched by these

many and varied contributions. It is our desire that we may learn from one another and rejoice

together in the riches of the love of Christ and the manifold wisdom of God. We welcome every

step that brings us nearer the goal of unity in Him.”4 The Episcopal Church’s ecumenical

commitment is expressed through the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral (endorsed by numerous

General Conventions of The Episcopal Church and Lambeth Conferences of Bishops), which

commits The Episcopal Church to the search for the more visible unity of the church on the basis

of what it considers the essentials of the Christian faith. It is the prayer of all who have

participated in this dialogue that Finding Our Delight in the Lord: A Proposal for Full

Communion may empower our churches to share their treasures with each other, strengthen their

witness to the Gospel, and advance the unity and renewal of the church.

On the basis of this agreement, The Episcopal Church, the Northern Province of the

Moravian Church, and the Southern Province of the Moravian Church agree that, in their

respective General Convention and Provincial Synods, there shall be one vote to accept or reject,

without amendment, the full set of agreements to follow. If adopted, each church agrees to make

the legislative and any other necessary changes appropriate for full communion between the

churches.

4 Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum (Moravian Church) 2002, “The Ground of the Unity,” ś6.

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II.

Introduction

2.

At their respective 2002 Synods the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian

Church voted to enter into a relationship of Interim Eucharistic Sharing with The Episcopal

Church. In August of 2003 the General Convention of The Episcopal Church passed an identical

resolution. These actions inaugurated a relationship of Interim Eucharistic Sharing between the

two churches. Building upon over two centuries of ecumenical dialogues between Anglicans and

Moravians,5 the Moravian-Episcopal Dialogue, meeting from 1999–2003, and working from the

Fetter Lane Declaration,6 came to consensus on the fundamental aspects of the Christian faith

and recognized one another as belonging to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.7 Since

2003, the Moravian-Episcopal Dialogue has focused on the one remaining issue upon which

consensus has not been reached: the ordained ministry. An interchangeable ministry is an

essential element of each of our churches’ understanding of full communion with another

Christian denomination.8

5 For the background on Anglican-Moravian relations, see Anglican-Moravian Conversations:

The Fetter Lane Common Statement with Essays in Anglican and Moravian History (London:

Council for Christian Unity, 1996), 72–82.

6 From 1989–1995 the Church of England and the Moravian Church in Great Britain and Ireland

engaged in a dialogue which produced substantial theological agreement, as well as noted areas

upon which consensus had not been reached. This dialogue summarized their work in Anglican-

Moravian Conversations, and in the Fetter Lane Declaration the two churches “acknowledged

one another’s churches as belonging to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church” and

committed “to share a common life and mission.” See Anglican-Moravian Conversations, 30–32.

7 See Resolution A087 of the 74th General Convention; Resolution 23 of the 2002 Southern

Province Synod; First Partial Report, Committee on Ecumenical Affairs and Faith and Order,

2002 Northern Province Synod. See also “The Meaning of Full Communion for Moravians,” as

approved by the 2006 Synod of the Moravian Church–Northern, Fifth and Final Partial Report,

Mission with Our Ecumenical Partners, Resolution 11.

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3.

The Moravian-Episcopal dialogue has set full communion, defined as follows, as the

means to the greater unity to which our churches strive, and for which we believe our Lord

prayed (John 17:20–22):

We understand full communion to be a living relationship between distinct churches in which

they recognize each other as catholic9 and apostolic churches holding the essentials of the

Christian faith, whereby the reconciliation, mutual availability, and interchangeability of

ordained ministries is then fully possible. Full communion is not the same as organic union or

merger. Rather, it is widely recognized as a significant expression of the full visible unity of all

Christians, which we do not yet discern but for which we pray. Within this full communion, we

understand that the churches are fully interdependent while remaining responsible for their own

decisions. Full communion includes a commitment to establish, locally and nationally,

recognized organs of regular consultation and communication in order to express and strengthen

the fellowship and enable common witness, life, and service. Striving to end our divisions but to

preserve our diversity, neither of our churches seeks to remake the other in its own image, and

each seeks to be open to the gifts of the other as it seeks to be faithful to Christ and his mission.

8 See the Guidelines on Unity endorsed by the 1979 General Convention: “The visible unity we

seek is one eucharistic fellowship….In this communion the churches will all recognize each

other’s members and ministries….” See also Called to Common Mission: A Lutheran Proposal

for a Revision of the Concordat of Agreement (hereafter CCM), ś 2; see also “Meaning of Full

Communion for Moravians,” 2006 Northern Province Synod and 2002 Southern Province

Synod.

9 Our two churches are catholic in the original sense of the word, meaning “universal.” The

Episcopal Church understands itself to be catholic in that it “proclaims the whole Faith to all

people, to the end of time” (Book of Common Prayer, hereafter BCP, 854). The Moravian

Church likewise understands catholic to mean “universal” (Moravian Book of Worship, hereafter

MBW, 3).

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Each church shall be open to the encouragement and admonition of the other church for the sake

of the gospel.10

4.

The two churches have also put forward their understandings of the basis upon which full

communion is to be reached. For the Moravian Church in America, this understanding is found

in “The Ground of the Unity,” and for The Episcopal Church in the Chicago-Lambeth

Quadrilateral.

5.

“The Ground of the Unity,” first adopted by the international synod of the Moravian

Church in 1957, is a brief statement of the Moravian understanding of Christian faith and

discipleship. Its ecclesiological paragraphs define the church as a unity, a fellowship, and a

community of service. “The Ground of the Unity” affirms, first and foremost, that Christian

unity is God-given and that our Savior is leading us to its ever deeper realization. Moravians

recognize that “through the grace of Christ the different churches have received many gifts,”11 all

of them necessary for the upbuilding of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:15–17). The Moravian

Church understands its particular calling to be the promotion of Christian unity among the

denominations in the service of more effective mission. Moravians believe that, even though

ecumenical engagement is “laid upon us as a charge,” unity cannot be achieved by human effort

alone but is received as an unfolding promise from the Lord. In the words of “The Ground of the

10 See CCM, ś 2; “Meaning of Full Communion for Moravians,” as stated by the Southern

Province at its 2002 Synod. See also the definition of full communion endorsed by the 2006

Synod of the Northern Province of the Moravian Church. Each of these statements may be found

in the Appendix to this agreement.

11 Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum (Moravian Church) 2002, “The Ground of the Unity,”

(hereafter COUF) ś6.

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Unity,” “We believe in and confess the unity of the Church, given in the one Lord Jesus Christ as

God and Savior. He died that he might unite the scattered children of God. As the living Lord

and Shepherd, he is leading his flock toward such unity.… It is the Lord’s will that Christendom

should give evidence of and seek unity in Him with zeal and love.”12 “The Unitas Fratrum is

committed to the unity of the children of God as a reality created by God in Jesus Christ.”13

6.

The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1886, as endorsed and modified by the Lambeth

Conference of 1888, is the foundation upon which The Episcopal Church seeks this relationship

of full communion. The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral has been endorsed by numerous General

Conventions of The Episcopal Church and commended by several Lambeth Conferences of

Bishops. There are four essential elements to the Quadrilateral as affirmed by the Lambeth

Conference of 1888: 1) The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the revealed

Word of God; 2) The Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian Faith; 3) The two

Sacraments,—Baptism and the Supper of the Lord,—ministered with unfailing use of Christ’s

words of institution and of the elements ordained by Him; 4) The Historic Episcopate, locally

adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples

called of God into the unity of His Church.14

12 Ibid.

13 Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum (Moravian Church) 2002, “The Witness of the Unitas

Fratrum,” ś150.

14 BCP, 877–878.

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We see the Moravian Church and The Episcopal Church as being led together toward the

unity our Lord enjoins for the sake of furthering Christ’s mission. This agreement is a step

towards fulfilling that promise.

7.

The Episcopal Church and the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church

commend “The Ground of the Unity” and the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral as the sources

which inform our two churches’ journey towards full communion. We seek not only to recognize

our ministers, but to work together in the mission of God (mission Dei). We are striving to carry

out this mission dei in a closer partnership. As a means of doing this, we also seek ways to allow

for the interchangeability of our ordained ministries as well as ordained ministers.15

III.

Foundational Principles

We now seek to state our agreement on how oversight is expressed in both of our churches and

the ministry of bishops/historic episcopate, locally adapted.

8.

We understand the ministry of oversight to be the way our churches delegate the good

ordering of the church to representative bodies as well as to certain individuals called and

15

On this path towards a reconciled ministry, for Episcopalians this agreement affirms that the two

churches are in complete agreement on the first three points of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral. In the

respective Resolutions on Interim Eucharistic Sharing, each church declared that: “We recognize in one

another the faith of the one, holy, catholic, apostolic, and undivided church as it is witnessed in the

Moravian Church in America in the Moravian Book of Worship, ‘The Ground of the Unity,’ the Moravian

Covenant for Christian Living, and the Books of Order of the Northern and Southern Provinces and the

Book of Common Prayer and the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.” In the same

Resolution establishing Interim Eucharistic Sharing both churches also affirmed the doctrinal statement

produced by the Church of England-Moravian Church dialogues, which may be found in the Appendices.

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commissioned to a ministry of oversight in a collegial fashion. In both of our churches, oversight

is expressed conferentially and collegially through a variety of mutually complementary bodies.

9.

Each of our churches is part of a global communion. Member churches of the Anglican

Communion are autonomous provinces governed by representative synods which include clergy

and laity.16 Individual provinces of the Unitas Fratrum are governed by representative synods

which include clergy and laity, and are also part of a single, worldwide church governed by a

Unity Synod which includes clergy and lay representative from the provinces.

10.

In addition, between Provincial Synods and General Conventions, regular oversight of

the church is provided by an elected, representative body or bodies which consist of clergy and

laity. In the Northern and Southern Provinces, oversight is provided by a Provincial Elders’

Conference (hereafter abbreviated PEC). In the Northern Province, the PEC is comprised of four

clergy and four lay persons; in the Southern Province, three clergy and two lay persons. The

PECs and the President of the PEC are elected by provincial synods.

11.

In The Episcopal Church, between meetings of General Convention, oversight is

provided by an Executive Council, the Presiding Bishop, and relevant Commissions,

Committees, Agencies, and Boards. On the diocesan level, each diocese holds a diocesan

16 See the Preamble to the Constitution of The Episcopal Church: “The Protestant Episcopal

Church in the United States of America, otherwise known as The Episcopal Church (which name

is hereby recognized as also designating the Church), is a constituent member of the Anglican

Communion, a Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, of those duly

constituted Dioceses, Provinces, and regional Churches in communion with the See of

Canterbury, upholding and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of

Common Prayer.”

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convention once a year for the purpose of managing its affairs. Each diocese also has a Standing

Committee consisting of clergy and lay representation, elected at diocesan convention. The

Standing Committee works in conjunction with the diocesan bishop in providing oversight for

the diocese.

12.

At the parish level, Episcopal congregations are governed by a rector and Vestry. The

Vestry consists of lay members elected at an annual meeting and shares in the oversight of all

aspects of congregational life with the rector. Most Moravian congregations have a Board of

Elders, chaired by the pastor, which oversees the spiritual affairs of the congregation and a Board

of Trustees which oversees and directs the financial affairs and cares for the church property.

13.

Furthermore, each of our churches has bishops ordained in an historic succession. There

are similarities in the way bishops function in our two churches: bishops ordain candidates for

the ministry17 and have particular aspects of pastoral responsibility. There are also differences. In

the Moravian Church, bishops are primarily pastoral and consultative. They do not function in

administrative oversight by virtue of their episcopal office, but may be elected to an

administrative office of oversight (such as the PEC). In The Episcopal Church and the Anglican

tradition, bishops exercise pastoral and administrative oversight. We do not see these differences

as mutually exclusive—rather as mutually complementary.

17 In the Moravian Church, bishops ordain candidates at the request of the PEC. In The Episcopal

Church, the Standing Committee of the diocese must also approve ordinations of deacon and

priests.

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14.

Thus oversight in both of our churches is exercised in a conferential and collegial

fashion, with clergy and laity sharing in the governance of the church at all levels, from the local

to the provincial. In addition, all persons in our churches, lay and ordained, are called in baptism

to engage in God’s mission through ministry. The following paragraphs summarize our agreed

understanding of the ministry of lay persons, deacons, presbyters, and bishops.

15.

Ordained Ministry and the Whole People of God. All members of Christ’s church are

commissioned for ministry through baptism.18 Both churches understand the ministers of the

church to be lay persons, bishops, presbyters/priests, and deacons.19 The ministry of the ordained

is an expression of the ministry of the whole people of God and a response to the call and gifts of

Christ who is Chief Elder of the Church and its ministry.20 However, in order to further the

mission and witness of the Church, God calls forth in the church particular ministries of persons

to serve the people through proclamation of the Word and administration of the sacraments.21

Within the priesthood of the whole Church, the ministry of the ordained is an appointed means

through which Christ makes his priesthood present and effective to his people.22 The threefold

18 CCM, ś 6; MBW, 165; Following Our Shepherd to Full Communion (the ELCA-Moravian full

communion agreement), ś38; see also COUF, ś682.

19 “An Outline of the Faith, Commonly Called the Catechism,” BCP, 855.

20 COUF, ś 682

21 The COCU Consensus: In Quest of a Church of Christ Uniting (hereafter Consensus), Chapter

7, ś30, which is a paraphrase of Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (hereafter BEM), śM13 and its

commentary.

22 The Fetter Lane Common Statement: Towards Visible Unity between the Church of England

and the Moravian Church in Great Britain and Ireland (hereafter Fetter Lane), ś 29, as found in

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pattern of deacon, presbyter, and bishop has been in existence since the first century.23 The

threefold ministry is a gift from God for the nurture of God’s people and for the proclamation,

witness, and spread of the Gospel everywhere.24 These differing forms of ministry complement

one another and must be seen in relation to one another within the context of the ministry of the

whole people of God.25 Each of these ministries is expressed in personal, collegial, and

communal manners. They are personal in that each is exercised by a person who has been

baptized and ordained. They are collegial in that baptism and ordination alike associate the

individual with others who share the same call. Each is communal in that each is rooted in the

life of the worshiping and witnessing congregation and that ministry is exercised with the

cooperation of the whole community.26

16.

Ministry of lay persons. Through Baptism, lay persons are called into the ministry of

Jesus Christ and therefore at the same time into a relationship with other Christians.27 They are

Anglican-Moravian Conversations: The Fetter Lane Common Statement with Essays in Anglican

and Moravian History (London: Council for Christian Unity, 1996), 21.

23 BEM, śM19.

24 BCP, 510.

25 Consensus, Chapter 7, ś21; see also BEM, śśM5–M6.

26 Consensus, Chapter 7, ś22.a–c; based on BEM, śM26. Both The Episcopal Church and the

Moravian Church in America, Northern and Southern Provinces, have accepted and issued

formal responses to BEM. The Episcopal Church has specifically commended it as a resource for

ecumenical discussions (see Resolution A061 from the 1985 General Convention), and the

Moravian Church–Northern Province, issued its formal endorsement of BEM in the 6th Partial

Report of the Committee on Ecumenical Affairs and Faith and Order of the 1986 Provincial

Synod. The 1986 Southern Province Synod affirmed the response to BEM given by the PEC of

the Southern Province.

27 Consensus, Chapter 7, ś24.

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called to bear witness to Christ wherever they may be, and, according to the gifts given to them,

to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world. They are to take their place in the life,

worship, and governance of the Church.28 Lay persons who are subsequently ordained continue

to bear responsibility for the ministry common to all Christians to which they were called at

Baptism.29

17.

Ministry of deacons. By struggling in Christ’s name with the myriad needs of societies

and persons, deacons exemplify the interdependence of worship and service in the Church’s

life.30 Deacons are ordained to a ministry of service and servanthood.31 Deacons are to interpret

to the church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world through a special ministry of

servanthood.32 The deacon is understood to be an icon of Christ’s own servant ministry and to

make Christ’s redemptive love known, by word and example, in both the church and the world.33

Both churches have retained the ancient practice of first ordaining as deacons those called

to serve as presbyters. However we acknowledge that there are differences in how each church

has chosen to interpret the diaconate In The Episcopal Church, deacons are ordained to a

ministry of Word and Service. After a duration normally between six months to one year, those

28 BCP, 855.

29 Consensus, Chapter 7, ś24.

30 BEM, M31.

31 Book of Order, Moravian Church–Northern Province, ś204 (f)

32 BCP, 543; COUF, ś684.

33 BCP, 543.

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persons called to the presbyterate are so ordained.34 For the Moravian Church, the intention of

the ordination rite is to ordain deacons to a ministry of word and sacrament.35 One serves as a

deacon for several years before being approved for consecration as a presbyter.36 For both

churches, this is considered a time of practical training for those also called to presbyteral

ministry. In addition, The Episcopal Church ordains persons as deacons not called to presbyteral

ministry. There is no equivalent to this in the Moravian Church.

18.

Ministry of presbyters/priests. Presbyters serve as pastoral ministers of word and

sacraments in a local eucharistic community.37 Presbyters are called to work as pastors and

teachers in a collegial fashion with other presbyters, with deacons, and with their bishops.38 They

also bear responsibility for other pastoral acts of the Church such as preparing persons for

confirmation and marriage, declaring forgiveness of sin, and pronouncing God’s blessing.

Mission is a responsibility of all who share the ministry of Christ. In the context of this overall

34 Constitution and Canons, Together with the Rules of Order for the Government of the

Protestant Episcopal Church n the United States of America Otherwise Known as

The Episcopal Church (2006) (hereafter Constitution and Canons), Title III, Canon 9, Sec. 7.

35 See the rite for the Ordination of a Deacon, Moravian Church, Supplemental Liturgies, S-2, S-

4, and S-7. In the ancient Unitas Fratrum, deacons served primarily as assistants to the bishop

and did not have sacramental functions. With the renewal of the church in 18th-century Germany,

the influence of Count Zinzendorf and the state Lutheran Church led to the adaptation of the

office of deacon to include sacramental functions.

36 COUF, ś868; Moravian Church–Southern Province, Book of Order, ś802; Northern Province,

Book of Order, ś205 (a).

37 Fetter Lane, ś33; BEM, śM30; Moravian Church, Supplemental Liturgies, Consecration of a

Presbyter, S-14.

38 BCP, 531.

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mission of the church, presbyters, accordingly, are called to leadership in mission. As evangelists

they proclaim the gospel, teach God’s purposes, and share their personal faith. They bear witness

to God’s work in the world as well as in the Church. They lead the Church in calling persons to

faith in Jesus Christ and in establishing congregations. As ministers of word and sacraments,

they pioneer in new forms of mission. They enlist, renew, equip, and accompany God’s People

as they go out into the local community, the nation, and the world.39 In addition, presbyters serve

in a variety of specialized ministries where they exercise their pastoral ministry. These include

hospital and military chaplains, service in denominational agencies and boards, and in other

ecumenical settings.

19.

Ministry of bishops. Bishops represent Christ and his Church; guard the faith, unity, and

discipline of the whole Church; proclaim the Word of God; and act in Christ’s name for the

reconciliation of the world and the building up of the church; and ordain others to continue

Christ’s ministry.40 They have pastoral responsibilities in the area to which they are called.41

They are to be the chief pastors in their area of oversight and have particular responsibilities in

matters of faith and doctrine.42 Bishops in The Episcopal Church are elected by a diocese and

exercise oversight of a specific area.43 Bishops in the Moravian Church are also elected by

39 The description of presbyters in this paragraph is drawn from Consensus, Chapter 7, ś56. In

addition, all the functions of presbyters described in this paragraph may be exercised by deacons

in the Moravian Church.

40 BCP, 855.

41 BEM, śM29.

42 BCP, 517; COUF, ś688.

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representative assemblies of a specific geographic area, namely, a particular province as a whole,

but are also available as bishops of the entire Unitas Fratrum.44 Bishops exercise oversight in

conjunction with lay persons, deacons, and presbyters. In The Episcopal Church, this is through

Standing Committees, diocesan conventions, Vestries, and General Convention; and in the

Moravian Church through the Provincial Elders’ Conference, Provincial Synods, and

congregational Boards of Elders. Bishops preside at the ordination (and consecration) of deacons

and the ordination and consecration of presbyters,45 and with other bishops participate in the

consecration of new bishops.46

IV.

Ministry of Bishops

20.

As a means to deepen our joint mission and witness, to allow for an interchangeability of

ordained ministers, and as a symbol of overcoming the scandal of our division, we seek to

reconcile our episcopal ministries. In the Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum the Moravian

Church has recognized the office of bishop as representing “the vital unity of the church and the

43 Diocesan and suffragan bishops are elected by dioceses which cover specific geographic areas.

The House of Bishops collectively may elect bishops for certain specific areas of oversight, such

as overseas missionary dioceses, and elects a bishop with jurisdiction over chaplains in federal

institutions such as Veterans’ Administration, the Armed Forces, and prison chaplains.

44 Under certain circumstances the Unity Synod, the governing body of the worldwide Moravian

Church, may elect bishops for individual provinces. See COUF, ś 260.

45 In The Episcopal Church, the terms “ordain” and “consecrate” are used in reference to all three

orders of ministry in the ordination rites. In the Moravian Church’s ordination rites, ordination is

used in reference to deacons, but only consecration is used with reference to presbyters and

bishops.

46 In The Episcopal Church, this number is at least three, following ancient practice established

by the Canons of the Council of Nicaea. In the Moravian Church, this number is at least two; see

COUF, ś 689.

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continuity of the church’s ministry.”47 The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral outlines four

elements of the “substantial deposit of Christian Faith and Order” considered integral to the

visible unity of Christ’s church. The fourth of these is the “Historic Episcopate, locally adapted

in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God

into the unity of His Church.”48

We jointly affirm the following understandings of the office of bishop as locally adapted by our

churches:

21.

We affirm that a component of the ministry of bishops is the exercise of oversight in

conjunction with clergy and lay persons, as described in paragraphs 8–14 and 19 above. This

nature and form of this oversight is exercised in different ways in our churches.

22.

We affirm the value of the office of bishop as a sign, but not a guarantee, of the

succession of the apostolic faith of the church as a whole.49 We hold that the office of bishop is a

visible and personal way of focusing the apostolicity of the whole Church.50

47 COUF, ś687.

48 BCP, 877.

49 See CCM, ś12; BEM, śM38; see also COUF, ś687; see Fetter Lane, śś42–45.

50 Porvoo Common Statement, ś46. The Porvoo Statement established full, visible unity between

the Church of England, Church of Ireland, the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the Church of

Wales with the Church Sweden, the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Church of

Norway, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of

Iceland, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

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23.

We affirm that The Episcopal Church demonstrated its intent to maintain the office of

bishop through the actions of state conventions, clergy associations, and the first General

Conventions. Priests were elected by representative bodies to exercise ministries of oversight and

to serve as chief pastors and missionaries in designated geographic areas. The Episcopal Church

further demonstrated its intent to maintain the office of bishop when these individuals sought and

received consecration through prayer and the laying-on of hands by bishops from the the Scottish

Episcopal Church and the Church of England.

24.

We affirm that the Moravian Church has also demonstrated its intent to maintain the

office of bishop. To further the cause of the necessary reform of the Church, in 1467 the first

members of the Unitas Fratrum elected persons from among themselves to receive episcopal

consecration. It is not possible today to determine the source of this consecration, once attributed

to a Waldensian bishop.51 We honor the Moravian Church’s valiant actions to continue the

succession in the office of bishop in the ancient Unitas Fratrum despite extensive persecution,

and in the renewal of the office of bishop for the sake of the mission of church.

51 For a discussion of the Unitas Fratrum’s belief that they received their episcopate from a

Waldensian elder, who in turn was understood as having preserved a “pure” succession dating

from the pre-Constantinian Church, see Edwin Sawyer, “The Waldensian Influence on the

Moravian Church,” Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society, Volume 25 (1988), 47–61.

See also Thomas Ferguson, “The Moravian Episcopate and The Episcopal Church,” Anglican

and Episcopal History 71:4 (2002), 498–518; Colin Podmore, “The Moravian Episcopate and

The Episcopal Church: A Personal Response,” Anglican and Episcopal History 72:3 (2003),

351–384; Thomas Ferguson, “A Reply to Colin Podmore,” Anglican and Episcopal History 72:3

(2003), 385–390.

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25. We affirm the intent of the Moravian Church to continue to ordain in this succession with

the rebirth of the modern Moravian Church in 1722, after the near extermination of the ancient

Unitas Fratrum in the aftermath of severe persecution following the Thirty Years’ War. One of

the last remaining bishops of the ancient Unitas Fratrum consecrated new bishops for the

Moravian Church in order more effectively to carry out its newly begun work in the field of

global missions.

26.

The renewed Moravian Church received the episcopate as an inheritance from the ancient

Unitas Fratrum although it regards the episcopate in the renewed Unity in a different way from

that of the ancient Unity. Formerly, a bishop had a governmental and administrative function in

the church. Today, however, this function is not linked to the episcopal office. Moravians, along

with other Christians, hold to the understanding, common to both the ancient and renewed Unity,

that Christ is head of the Church and pastoral oversight is exercised in responsibility to him. This

has received particular emphasis since the action taken in 1741 to recognize Christ as Chief

Elder of the Moravian Church.52 A bishop of the Moravian Church is consecrated to a special

priestly, pastoral ministry in the name of and for the whole Unity. In the Moravian Church the

52 For several decades following the 1722 renewal, the Moravian Church did have a Chief Elder

who exercised oversight over the whole Unitas Fratrum. However upon the resignation of

Leonard Dober as Chief Elder in 1741, the Moravian Synod was unable to agree upon a

successor. After prayer and discernment, the Moravian Church chose to recognize Christ alone

as Chief Elder and this decision was affirmed by the lot which the Moravians often used in

discerning the Savior’s will in decision making. Thereafter no single individual would govern the

Moravian Church, but all authority flowed from Christ, the Chief Elder. November 13, 1741, is

kept as a festival on the liturgical calendar of the Unitas Fratrum as a celebration of the Chief

Eldership of Christ.

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office of bishop represents the vital unity of the church and the continuity of the church’s

ministry.53

27.

We affirm the local adaptation of the ministry of bishops through the tremendous

faithfulness that the Moravian Church has demonstrated in maintaining a succession of bishops

which they had originally understood to be of apostolic origin.

28.

We also affirm the local adaptation of the historic episcopate by The Episcopal Church.

Bishops in The Episcopal Church are elected by representative bodies; they exercise oversight in

conjunction with other bishops, clergy, and lay persons, function collegially in a House of

Bishops which meets regularly, and elect a Presiding Bishop as Chief Pastor and Primate but

with no jurisdictional authority. Though many of these elements have been adopted by other

provinces of the Anglican Communion, at their origin they were innovative adaptations of the

Anglican historic episcopate for the needs and concerns of the nascent Episcopal Church.

29.

Our two churches are already exploring areas of common mission, worship, and witness

on local, national, and global levels. We believe that sharing in ministry of bishops is one of

several ways to deepen areas of joint mission and witness, and to facilitate more visible

expressions of the unity to which we are called. Our two churches affirm that we understand that

each church has locally adapted the historic episcopate for the sake of mission in each of our

churches.

53 COUF, ś687.

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V.

Reconciliation of Ordained Ministries

a)

Actions of Both Churches

30.

Receiving the gifts of episcopal ministries. Both churches pledge to receive the gifts of

one another in regard to the ministry of bishops. The Episcopal Church therefore pledges to

receive the gift of the Moravian Church’s understanding that the bishop is consecrated to a

special pastoral ministry in the area to which he or she exercises oversight. The Episcopal

Church recognizes that the Moravian Church, through its emphasis on the bishop as being a

pastor of pastors (pastor pastorum), has a special gift to offer in this relationship of full

communion. We believe that this Moravian emphasis may well strengthen the historic

association of the bishop as chief pastor in the Anglican tradition.54 The Moravian Church in

America acknowledges that The Episcopal Church has sought to maintain a succession of

apostolic faith and historic episcopate which the Moravian Church has deemed important in the

establishment and continuation of its own ministry. Both of our churches recognize that sharing

in episcopal ministries is a sign of the greater unity of the church for which we all pray.

31.

The Episcopal Church recognizes that bishops in the Moravian Church are consecrated to

a special priestly, pastoral ministry. The Episcopal Church acknowledges that the understanding

of the office of bishop in the Moravian Church in America falls within the parameters of the

historic episcopate, locally adapted. The Moravian Church recognizes that Episcopal bishops are

54 As expressed in BCP, 518, 855. For a description of the role of bishops in the Moravian

Church, see COUF, ś687: “A bishop has responsibility primarily for providing pastoral care to

pastors and the Church.”

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consecrated to a special ministry of oversight which includes pastoral oversight but also other

additional elements which are exercised in the Moravian Church in different ways.55

32.

The pattern of sharing in the episcopal ministry will take the following form. At the

inaugural celebration of this full communion agreement, there will be a liturgical ceremony.

Members of the PECs of the Northern and Southern Province, the Presiding Bishop of The

Episcopal Church, and the President of the House of Deputies of the General Convention, as

representatives of bodies which provide oversight in our churches, will attend and divide the

duties of presiding among them as appropriate. This celebration will involve lay persons,

deacons, presbyters, and bishops, and will be planned by a joint liturgical commission appointed

by the relevant decision-making bodies in both churches. This ceremony will include bishops in

good standing of the Northern Province, the Southern Province, the Presiding Bishop of The

Episcopal Church, Episcopal bishops drawn from dioceses with Moravian congregations located

within them, and one bishop from each province of The Episcopal Church. Because both of our

churches are in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, bishops of

the ELCA, including the Presiding Bishop, will be invited and may participate as they are able.

Bishops from other provinces of the Unitas Fratrum and Anglican Communion will be invited to

participate in this ecumenical event as a sign of the relationship between The Episcopal Church

and the Moravian Church as provinces of global communions.

55 For example, by the Provincial Elders’ Conferences which are elected boards of laity and

clergy that administer each province of the Unitas Fratrum.

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As part of this ceremony, the two churches will reconcile episcopal ministries as a means to

reconcile our ordained ministries. Each church will use liturgical symbols and actions

appropriate in each communion.

i.

At an appropriate time in the liturgy, Episcopal bishops will kneel before Moravian

bishops. The Moravian bishops will lay hands on them and pray, “Eternal God, with

thanksgiving we acknowledge the ministry these servants have already received and exercised,

and we ask you through your Holy Spirit to bestow upon them the grace and authority as

understood and required by this church for the exercise of the ministry of a bishop, for the sake

of the unity of the church, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the

Holy Spirit, one God, forever. Amen.” The Moravian bishops then will lay hands on the

Episcopal bishops and pray the Aaronic blessing: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord

make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon

you and give you peace. In the name of Jesus, Amen.” The Episcopal bishops will then stand,

and the Moravian bishops will offer them the right hand of fellowship. This liturgical symbol is

distinct from the passing of the peace. In the tradition of the Moravian Church, clergy from other

denominations are welcomed into ministerial fellowship through the Aaronic blessing and the

right hand of fellowship. Through these actions, Episcopal bishops present will be understood to

have been welcomed into fellowship with those who sustained a witness of unity and fidelity to

the gospel since 1457 as the Unitas Fratrum.

ii.

The Moravian bishops will kneel before the Episcopal bishops. The Episcopal bishops

will lay hands on the Moravian bishops and pray, “Eternal God, with thanksgiving we

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acknowledge the ministry these servants have already received and exercised, and we ask you

through your Holy Spirit to bestow upon them the grace and authority as understood and

required by this church for the exercise of the ministry of a bishop, for the sake of the unity of

the church, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever. Amen.” They will then lay hands on the Moravian bishops and pray the

Aaronic blessing: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you

and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. In the

name of Jesus, Amen.” The peace will then be exchanged. Through these actions the Moravian

bishops present will be understood to have been incorporated into the historic episcopate, as

understood by The Episcopal Church, for the sake of full communion.

33.

Following this inaugural ceremony, in order to provide for a visible expression of the

unity our two churches have now received in full communion, and to strengthen mission and

witness in areas of the Moravian Church where full communion will have the greatest impact:

In The Episcopal Church, at least one Moravian bishop will be present and participate in

the laying-on of hands at the consecrations of bishops for Episcopal dioceses in the states

of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, areas with the greatest concentrations of

both Moravians and Episcopalians.

In the Moravian Church. At all consecrations of Moravian bishops, at least one bishop of

The Episcopal Church will be present and participate in the laying-on of hands.

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Bishops of the ELCA will also be invited as a sign of our mutual full communion relationship.

b)

Ministry of Presbyters: Actions of The Episcopal Church.

34.

In this present document, our two churches recognize one another as belonging to the

one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic church and summarize our convergence on the apostolic faith.

This document has summarized significant convergence on the understanding of the office of

presbyter. To further empower the full communion that is coming into being by means of this

agreement, The Episcopal Church now recognizes and affirms the ministries of presbyters in the

Moravian Church as fully interchangeable. In The Episcopal Church, no persons are allowed to

exercise the offices of bishop, priest, or deacon unless they have already received such ordination

with the laying-on of hands by bishops who are themselves duly qualified to confer Holy

Orders.56 Following the inaugural liturgy of full communion, The Episcopal Church will

consider bishops in the Moravian Church as bishops duly qualified to confer Holy Orders. The

purpose of this action will be to permit the interchangeability and reciprocity of presbyters

between the Moravian Church and The Episcopal Church, without any further ordination or

reordination or supplemental ordination whatsoever, and will fulfill the provisions of the Preface

to the Ordination Rites of the Book of Common Prayer and the Constitution and Canons of The

Episcopal Church. All current ordained Moravian ministers in good standing as of the date of the

full communion celebration will thus be considered clergy ordained by bishops in full

communion with The Episcopal Church and thus eligible to minister in The Episcopal Church.

56 BCP, 510.

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c)

Ministry of Presbyters: Actions of the Moravian Church in America.

35.

The Northern Province of Moravian Church and the Southern Province of the Moravian

Church recognize the ministry of presbyters of The Episcopal Church as fully interchangeable. In

practice, as a matter of its ecumenical ecclesiology, the Moravian Church already recognizes

ordaining authorities of other communities as being duly qualified to ordain. Currently all

ministers from other denominations who seek to be received into the Moravian Church are

received as deacons. In order to allow for interchangeability of ministries, it pledges to request

the international Unity Synod to amend ś685 of the Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum and

pledges subsequently to amend its own Books of Order to allow for presbyters of The Episcopal

Church, should they seek to be received into the Moravian Church to minister permanently, to be

received as presbyters following completion of the appropriate procedures.57 This proposed

change will not apply to those seeking occasional service, but only to those who seek to minister

permanently in the Moravian Church.

36.

The ministry of deacons. While acknowledging that there are differences in how our

churches have applied the office of deacon, we do not see these differences as church dividing,

nor do we intend to diminish the Moravian Church’s understanding of the office of deacon as a

minister of word and sacrament or The Episcopal Church’s understanding of the deacon as

ordained to a ministry of word and service. As acknowledged in paragraph 17, there are

differences in how each church has chosen to interpret the diaconate. At this time, in the

57 The Unity Synod is the governing body of the worldwide Unity of the Brethren. It meets once

every seven years. The Unity Synod approves a Church Order for the Unitas Fratrum. Member

provinces may not contradict this church order, thus the Northern and Southern Provinces must

wait until the next Unity Synod in 2016 to amend its Books of Order.

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Moravian Church, deacons are ordained to a ministry of Word and Sacrament and in process

towards consecration as a presbyter. In The Episcopal Church, deacons are ordained to a ministry

of Word and Service and are either in formation process towards the presbyterate or are

vocational. As we enter into full communion, we are learning from each other’s approach to the

diaconate, lifting up the Moravian emphasis on formation and the Episcopal emphasis on service.

As deacons in both Churches are called for specific ministries in their tradition, and since there

are no parallels to the vocational diaconate in the Moravian Church, deacons would not be

interchangeable.

Interchangeability of Clergy

37. In this agreement, the two churches declare that each believes the other to hold all the

essentials of the Christian faith although this does not require from either church acceptance of

all doctrinal formulations of the other. Ordained ministers serving in time-certain or temporary

capacities (for example as supply clergy) will be expected to undergo the appropriate procedures

of that church always respecting the internal discipline of each church. For The Episcopal

Church, such ministers will be expected to teach and act in a manner that is consistent with the

doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church.58 For the Moravian Church in

America, such ministers will be expected to promise “obedience to the faith and order of the

Moravian Church as formulated under Scripture and the Holy Spirit by our Synods and

constituted authorities.”59 Ordained ministers from either church seeking long-term ministry with

58 CCM, ś22.

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primary responsibility in the other will be expected to apply for clergy transfer and to agree to

the installation vow or declaration of conformity in the church to which she or he is applying to

minister permanently.

Joint Commission

38. To assist in joint planning for mission, both churches authorize the establishment of a joint

commission, fully accountable to the decision-making bodies of the two churches. Its purpose

will be consultative, to facilitate mutual support and advice as well as common decision making

through appropriate channels in fundamental matters that the churches may face together in the

future. The joint commission will work with the appropriate boards, committees, commissions,

and staff of the two churches concerning such ecumenical, doctrinal, pastoral, and liturgical

matters as may arise, always subject to approval by the appropriate decision-making bodies of

the two churches.

Wider Context

39. Both churches agree that the historic episcopate can be locally adapted and reformed in the

service of the gospel. In this spirit they offer this Agreement and growth toward full communion

for serious consideration among the other churches of the Reformed tradition and to the greater

church. In addition, both the Moravian Church in America and The Episcopal Church are

members of global communions, and they offer the fruits of this dialogue to other conversations

59 Ordination of a Deacon, Supplemental Liturgies, S-5. A similar promise is part of the rites of

Consecration of Presbyters.

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between Anglicans and Moravians worldwide, particularly to the Anglican Church of Canada

and to the Canadian District of the Moravian Church in America,60 and to other Moravian

provinces where there are judicatories or provinces of The Episcopal Church, with the hope that

they too will be able to subscribe to this full communion agreement. Each church promises to

issue no official commentary on this text that has not been accepted by the joint commission as a

legitimate interpretation thereof.

Existing Relationships

40. Each church agrees that the other church will continue to live in communion with all the

churches with which the latter is now in communion. We are especially grateful that both our

churches are already in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. This

agreement will mark the first time three different churches have entered into full communion

with one another based on separate full communion documents. We welcome this as the

occasion in which the church of the First (Hussite) Reformation and churches which arose from

the second Reformation have reconciled themselves on the path towards the visible unity of the

church. In addition, The Episcopal Church continues to be in communion with Provinces of the

Anglican Communion, with the Old Catholic Churches of Europe, with the united churches of

the Indian subcontinent, with the Mar Thoma Church, and with the Philippine Independent

60 There are Moravian congregations in Canada which are structurally part of the Moravian

Church in America–Northern Province. Thus passage of this Agreement would be effective for

those congregations which are part of the Northern Province. Honduras, Alaska and the Eastern

West Indies are separate provinces of the Unitas Fratrum while the dioceses of Alaska and the

Virgin Islands are structurally part of The Episcopal Church.

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Church. The Moravian Church in America, Northern and Southern Provinces, continues to be a

constituent member of the Unitas Fratrum. This agreement does not imply or inaugurate any

automatic communion between the Moravian Church in America and those churches with whom

The Episcopal Church is in full communion, including other provinces of the Anglican

Communion, nor does this agreement imply or inaugurate any automatic full communion

between The Episcopal Church and any other provinces of the Unitas Fratrum but does not

preclude provinces of the Unitas Fratrum which overlap Episcopal dioceses from adopting this

agreement.

Other Dialogues

41. Both churches agree that each will continue to engage in dialogue with other churches

and traditions. Both of our churches are in dialogue with churches of the Reformed tradition, and

we offer this Agreement in the spirit of fellowship to those dialogues. Both churches agree to

take each other and this agreement into account at every stage in their dialogues with other

churches and traditions. Where appropriate, both churches will seek to engage in joint dialogues.

On the basis of this Agreement, both churches pledge that they will not enter into formal

agreements with other churches and traditions without prior consultation with each other. At the

same time both churches pledge that they will not impede the development of relationships and

agreements with other churches and traditions with whom they have been in dialogue. Both of

our churches have regularly consulted with our common full communion partner, the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

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Conclusion

42. We receive with thanksgiving the gift of unity which is already given in Christ.61 In the

words of the Moravian hymn, we give thanks:

What brought us together, what joined our hearts?

The pardon which Jesus, our High Priest, imparts;

’tis this which cements the disciples of Christ,

who are into one by the Spirit baptized.

Is this our high calling, harmonious to dwell,

and thus in sweet concert Christ’s praises to tell,

in peace and blessed union our moments to spend

and live in communion with Jesus our Friend?

O Yes, having found in the Lord our delight

he is our chief object by day and by night;

this knits us together, no longer we roam;

we all have one Father, and heav’n is our home.62

43. Repeatedly Christians have echoed the scriptural confession that the unity of the church is

both Christ’s own work and his call to us. It is therefore our task as well as his gift. We must

“make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). We

pray that we may rely upon, and willingly receive from one another, the gifts Christ gives

through his Spirit “for building up the body of Christ” in love (Ephesians 4:16).

44. We do not know to what new, recovered, or continuing tasks of mission this agreement will

lead our churches, but we give thanks to God for leading us to this point. We entrust ourselves to

61 See COUF, ś 6.

62 MBW, 675. Text by Ludolph Ernst Schlicht (1744), tune Confession. Alt. tune 1982 Hymnal

Lyons, e.g., Hymn 636.

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that leading in the future, confident that our full communion will be a witness to the gift and goal

already present in Christ, “so that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). Entering full

communion and thus removing limitations through mutual recognition of faith, sacraments, and

ministries will bring new opportunities and levels of shared evangelism, witness, and service. It

is the gift of Christ that we are sent as he has been sent (John 17:17–26), that our unity will be

received and perceived as we participate together in the mission of the Son in obedience to the

Father through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

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Appendices

The Meaning Of Full Communion For Moravians

As adopted in the Fifth Partial and Final Report of the Mission with Our Ecumenical Partners Mission Team of the

2006 Synod of the Moravian Church–Northern Province, June 19, 2006.

Why We Pursue Full Communion

In pursuing full communion with another church, Moravians are remaining faithful to Christ’s

will for his church and to our Moravian heritage:

▪ On the night before he died, our Lord Jesus prayed “…that they may all be one. As you,

Father, are in me, and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe

that you have sent me.” (John 17: 21 NRSV);

▪ “We believe in and confess the unity of the Church, given in the one Lord Jesus Christ as

God and Savior. He died that he might unite the scattered children of God. As the living

Lord and Shepherd, he is leading his flock toward such unity.… It is the Lord’s will that

Christendom should give evidence of and seek unity in Him with zeal and love.”63 “The

Unitas Fratrum is committed to the unity of the children of God as a reality created by

God in Jesus Christ.”64

When we can remove any perceived barriers between ourselves and another church, we live out

our affirmations about Christ’s Church.

How We Pursue Full Communion

When we mutually affirm a relationship of full communion with another church:

▪ We recognize and value the gifts present in each other as part of the Body of Christ, and

we will be mutually enriched by sharing those gifts with each other.

▪ We will cooperate in common ministries of evangelism, witness, and service.

▪ We mutually recognize and respect each other as part of the one holy catholic and

apostolic Church, which affirms its faith through the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene

Creed.

▪ We mutually recognize each other’s practice of the two sacraments ordained by Christ

himself—Baptism and the Lord’s Supper—thus allowing for joint worship, including the

celebration of the Holy Communion, and for the transfer of membership between

churches as within each church.

▪ We recognize the validity of the ministerial orders of the other church, allowing for the

orderly interchange of ordained ministers subject to the regulations of church order and

practice of each church.

▪ We commit ourselves to work toward removing all barriers between ourselves and those

with whom we are in full communion. We acknowledge that current differences in

structure, doctrine, liturgy, and positions on social and ethical issues may require each

church to speak for itself at times. At the same time, being in full communion, we shall

be open to the encouragement and admonition of the other church for the sake of the

Gospel.

63 Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum, “The Ground of the Unity,” §6.

64 Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum, “The Witness of the Unitas Fratrum,” §150.

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The Meaning of Full Communion for Moravians

Report A from the Christian Unity and Ecumenical Witness Ministry Group to the 2002 Synod of the Moravian

Church–Southern Province.

1. In pursuing full communion with another church, Moravians are remaining faithful to

Christ’s will for his church and to our Moravian heritage:

a. On the night before he died, our Lord Jesus prayed in his “High Priestly Prayer,” that

“they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee…that the world may believe

that thou hast sent me.” (John 17:21)

b. In The Ground of the Unity, Section 6, “We believe in and confess the unity of the

Church, given in the one Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior. He died that He might

unite the scattered children of God…. It is the Lord’s will that Christendom should give

evidence of and seek unity in Him with zeal and love.” And in Section 150 of the Church

Order of the Unitas Fratrum, “The Unitas Fratrum is committed to the unity of the

children of God as a reality created by God in Jesus Christ.”

c. When we can remove any perceived barriers between ourselves and another church, we

live out our affirmations about Christ’s Church.

2. When we mutually affirm a relationship of full communion with another church:

a. We mutually recognize and respect each other as part of the one holy, catholic and

apostolic church, which affirms its faith through the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds of the

church.

b. We mutually recognize each other’s practice of the dominical sacraments, thus allowing

for joint worship, eucharistic fellowship, and exchangeability of members.

c. We recognize the validity of the ministerial orders of the other church, allowing for the

orderly exchange of ordained ministers subject to the regulations of church order and

practice of each church.

d. We acknowledge our differences, recognizing the autonomy of each church regarding

structure, doctrine, liturgy, and positions on social and ethical issues. At the same time,

being in full communion, we shall be open to the encouragement and admonition of the

other church for the sake of the Gospel.

e. We recognize and value the distinctive gifts present in each historic but separated part of

the Body of Christ, thus believing we have contributions, which we can make to each

other.

f. We will cooperate in common Christian mission through full communion in faith, life,

and witness.

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Resolution Establishing Interim Eucharistic Sharing

Approved by the 2003 General Convention of The Episcopal Church

Resolved, the House of Deputies and the Synods of the Moravian Church in America (Northern

and Southern Provinces) concurring, that the 74th General Convention meeting in Minneapolis,

MN, July 30–August 8, 2003, authorize continuing dialogue with the Moravian Church in

America (Northern and Southern Provinces) which may lead to a future proposal of Full

Communion including interchangeability of clergy for ministry of Word and Sacrament. And be

it further

Resolved, the House of Deputies and the synods of the Moravian Church in America (Northern

and Southern Provinces) concurring, that the 74th General Convention of The Episcopal Church,

meeting in Minneapolis, MN, July 30–August 8, 2003, establishes Interim Eucharistic Sharing

between The Episcopal Church and the Moravian Church under the following guidelines:

1. Moravian Provincial Elders’ Conferences and Episcopal diocesan authorities are

hereby encouraged to authorize joint celebrations of the Eucharist.

2. An authorized liturgy of the host church must be used, with ordained ministers of both

churches standing at the Communion Table for the Great Thanksgiving.

3. The Preacher may be from either church.

Explanation:

1.

We welcome and rejoice in the substantial progress of the dialogue between The Episcopal

Church and the Moravian Church in America (Northern and Southern Provinces), authorized in

1997 and meeting 1999–2002, and of the progress of the initial North Carolina Moravian-

Episcopal dialogue, which met from 1994–1997. Similar progress has been made in other

Moravian-Anglican dialogues, including the dialogue between the Moravian Church in Great

Britain and Ireland and the Church of England that resulted in the Fetter Lane Declaration of May

19, 1995. We share the hope of the Fetter Lane Declaration: “We look forward to the day when

full communion in faith and life for the sake of our common mission is recognized by our

churches.”

2.

We acknowledge with thanksgiving the dialogue between the Moravian Church in America

and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America which resulted in a full communion agreement

in 1999 on the basis of the document Following Our Shepherd to Full Communion.

3.

We recognize in one another the faith of the one, holy, catholic, apostolic, and undivided

church as it is witnessed in the Moravian Church in America in the Moravian Book of Worship,

the Ground of the Unity, the Moravian Covenant for Christian Living, and the Books of Order of

the Northern and Southern Provinces and the Book of Common Prayer and the Constitution and

Canons of The Episcopal Church.

In addition we concur with the points of agreement in the Fetter Lane Common Statement:

“a We accept the authority of and read the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Each

church provides a lectionary, and in the course of the Church’s year appropriate Scriptures are

read to mark the festivals and seasons.

“b We accept the Niceno-Constantinopolitan and Apostles’ Creeds and confess the basic

trinitarian and christological dogmas to which these creeds testify. That is, we believe Jesus of

Nazareth is true God and true Man, and that God is one God in three persons, Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit.17

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“c We celebrate the apostolic faith in worship, and centrally in liturgical worship, which is both

a celebration of salvation through Christ and a significant factor in forming the consensus

fidelium (the common mind of the faithful). We rejoice at the extent of ‘our common tradition of

spirituality, liturgy, and sacramental life,’ which has given us similar forms of worship, common

texts, hymns, canticles, and prayers. We are influenced by a common liturgical renewal. We also

rejoice at the variety of expressions shown in different cultural settings.18

“d Baptism is both God’s gift and our human response to that gift in repentance and faith.19 It is

a sign of God’s gracious activity in the life of the person baptized. Baptism with water in the

name of the Triune God is the sacrament of union with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,

initiating the one baptized into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Baptism is related

not only to a momentary experience, but to life-long growth into Christ.20 Both our churches offer

baptism to adults and infants and regard it as unrepeatable. Since we practise and value infant

baptism, we also take seriously our catechetical task for the nurture of baptized children to mature

commitment to Christ.21 The life of the Christian is necessarily one of continuing struggle yet also

of continuing experience of grace.22 In both our traditions infant baptism is followed by a rite of

confirmation, which includes invocation of the Triune God, renewal of the baptismal profession

of faith and a prayer that through renewal of the grace of baptism the candidate may be

strengthened now and for ever.23

“e We believe that the celebration of the Eucharist (or the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion)

is the feast of the new covenant instituted by Jesus Christ in which we set forth his life, death, and

resurrection and look for his coming in glory. In the Eucharist the risen Christ gives his body and

blood under the visible signs of bread and wine to the Christian community. ‘In the action of the

Eucharist Christ is truly present to share his risen life with us and unite us with himself in his self-

offering to the Father, the one full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice which he alone can offer and

has offered once for all.’24 In the Eucharist, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church

experiences the love of God and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ and proclaims his death

and resurrection until he comes and brings his Kingdom to completion.25

“f We believe and proclaim the gospel, that in his great love God, through Christ, redeems the

world. We ‘share a common understanding of God’s justifying grace, i.e. that we are accounted

righteous and are made righteous before God only by grace through faith because of the merits of

our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and not on account of our works or merits…Both our

traditions affirm that justification leads to “good works”; authentic faith issues in love’.26

“g We share a common hope in the final consummation of the Kingdom of God, and believe that

in this eschatological perspective we are called to work now for the furtherance of justice and

peace. Our life in the world and in the Church is governed by the obligations of the Kingdom.

‘The Christian faith is that God has made peace through Jesus “by the blood of his cross” (Col.

1.20), so establishing the one valid centre for the unity of the whole human family.’27

“h We believe that the Church is constituted and sustained by the Triune God through God’s

saving action in word and sacraments, and is not the creation of individual believers. We believe

that the Church is sent into the world as sign, instrument and foretaste of the Kingdom of God.

But we also recognize that the Church, being at the same time a human organization, stands in

constant need of reform and renewal.28

Official Text: Finding Our Delight in the Lord

37

“i We believe that all members of the Church are called to participate in its apostolic mission.

There are therefore various gifts of the Holy Spirit for the building up of the community and the

fulfilment of its calling.29 Within the community of the Church the ordained ministry exists to

serve the ministry of the whole people of God. We hold the ordained ministry of word and

sacrament to be a gift of God to his Church and therefore an office of divine instutition.30

“Both our churches have a threefold ministry of bishop, presbyter, and deacon and believe it to

serve as an expression of the unity we seek and also a means of achieving it.31 Within this

threefold ministry the bishop signifies and focuses the continuity and unity of the whole Church.

Apostolic continuity and unity in both our churches is expressed in the consecration and

ordination of bishops in succession. The ordination of other ministers in both our churches is

always by a bishop, with the assent of the community of the Church.32 Integrally linked with the

episcopal ordination is our common tradition that the bishop has a special pastoral care for the

clergy as for the whole church.

“j A ministry of oversight (episcope) is a gift of God to the Church. In both our Churches it is

exercised in personal, collegial and communal ways. It is necessary in order to witness and

safeguard the unity and apostolicity of the Church.33 In both our traditions in the course of history

the exact structure and distribution of oversight functions have varied.”

The extract from The Fetter Lane Common Statement is copyright Š Peter Coleman and

Geoffrey Birtill.

We find this agreement sufficient to hereby establish a relationship of interim eucharistic sharing.

4.

We encourage development of common life throughout the Moravian and Episcopal

Churches by such means as the following:

a. Mutual prayer and mutual support, including covenants and agreements at all levels;

b. Common study of the Holy Scriptures, the histories and theological traditions of each

church, and the material prepared by the dialogue;

c. Joint programs of worship, religious education, theological discussion, mission,

evangelism, and social action;

d. Joint use of facilities.

5.

This resolution and experience of Interim Eucharistic Sharing will be communicated at

regular intervals to the other Moravian provinces, to other churches of the Anglican Communion

throughout the world, to other churches with whom this Church is in full communion, as well as

to the ecumenical dialogues in which Moravians and Anglicans are engaged, in order that

consultation may be fostered, similar experiences encouraged elsewhere, and already existing

relationships of full communion strengthened.

17 Cf. Anglican Lutheran International Conversations: the Report of the Conversations

1970–1972, authorized by the Lambeth Conference and the Lutheran World Federation (London,

1973) (Pullach), paras. 23–25.

18 Cf. Helsinki, para. 31; Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (WCC Faith and Order Paper No. 111,

1982) (BEM), Baptism, paras 17–23, Eucharist paras 27–33, Ministry, paras 41–44.

19 Cf. BEM, Baptism, para. 8.

20 Cf. BEM, Baptism, para. 9.

Official Text: Finding Our Delight in the Lord

38

21 Conversations between the British and Irish Anglican Churches and the Nordic and Baltic

Lutheran

Churches, The Porvoo Common Statement (CCU Occasional Paper No. 3, 1993) (Porvoo), para

32(g).

22 Cf. BEM, Baptism, para. 9.

23 Cf. Porvoo, para 32(g).

24 God’s Reign and Our Unity, para. 65.

25 Cf. BEM, Eucharist, para. 1.

26 Helsinki, para. 20; cf. paras 17–21.

27 God’s Reign and Our Unity, para. 18; cf. para 43 and Pullach, para. 59.

28 Cf. para. 21 above.

29 Cf. BEM, Ministry, para. 7.

30 Cf. Helsinki, paras 32–43; God’s Reign and Our Unity, paras. 91–97, BEM, Ministry, paras 4

and 12.

31 Cf, BEM, Ministry, para. 22.

32 Cf. ‘The Office of Bishop in our Churches: Texts’, appended to this Common Statement.

.

COVENANT AGREEMENT WITH THE MORAVIAN CHURCH

That the General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical Relations recommends to the 218^th General Assembly (2008) to:

1. Receive the report of the Moravian/Reformed bilateral dialogue

2.   Receive the Moravian/Reformed Covenant Partnership Agreement as an ecumenical statement (G-15.0302b) and send it to the presbyteries for their ratification.

The General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical Relations further recommends the 218^th General Assembly give the following directions in implementing this ecumenical agreement:

3. Direct staff in the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council to work with Moravian colleagues to develop processes and procedures for the orderly exchange of ministers

4. Direct staff in the General Assembly Council to explore with Moravian colleagues opportunities for strengthening mission partnerships, joint evangelism efforts and development of shared resources and to encourage Presbyterian conferences and gatherings to extend invitations to Moravians for participation as appropriate.

5. Direct staff in the Office of the General Assembly to explore with Moravian colleagues opportunities for appropriate invitations to share in the governance and communal life of each other’s churches.

6. Direct the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council to work with presbyteries in understanding this agreement and facilitating their partnership with Moravian synods.

7. Direct the General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical Relations to give oversight to this agreement and report to the 220^th General Assembly (2012) progress that has been made and any additional recommendations to support this agreement.

AN INVITATION TO THE TABLE:

A PROPOSAL FOR A MORAVIAN/REFORMED COVENANT PARTNERSHIP

We’re gonna sit at the welcome table,

We’re gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days, Hallelujah!

---Traditional Spiritual adapted

            As representatives of five different communions met for theological discussion, worship, and fellowship between 2002 and 2007, the image—and reality—of the table emerged as central in the group’s understanding of its task.  We have identified three ways (happily and conveniently Trinitarian) in which this image speaks to our past work and our future hopes.

First is the table of conversation.  We recognize that each communion brings specific gifts to this table, and that all share a commitment to honest and far-ranging exploration of our differences and similarities.  The table of conversation is graced by sincere questioning and respectful listening.  We have discovered that miscommunication can result when shared terms carry different meanings, and have spent long and fruitful hours expanding our understanding of one another’s polity and practice.

For example, both the Moravians and the Presbyterians include the office of Elder, so at first glance it would appear that this is one instance of commonality.  But as we discovered, the structure and functions of the office are quite different.  Moravian Elders are elected for a fixed term and installed to serve only the congregation, district, or province in which they are elected.  They form a governing board and have oversight responsibility within the jurisdiction, which they serve.  Presbyterian Elders, on the other hand, are ordained for life and can function as elder within any Presbyterian congregation.  They have ministerial duties, which in the Moravian church are reserved for the ordained clergy.

Another example is the office of Bishop. One of the gifts that Moravians bring to the table of conversation is the concept of Bishop as a pastor to pastors, one charged with providing spiritual leadership and praying for the welfare of the church.  Considerable discussion centered on the function of the Bishop within the Moravian Unity.  Reformed partners in the Dialogue were surprised and intrigued to learn that Moravian bishops have no administrative duties by virtue of their office.

As Christians we are a people of story. In sharing the narrative of our faith journeys, as individuals and as denominations, we make of the table of conversation a place to gather in witness to the wonder and graciousness of God’s work in the world.

The second table is the table of fellowship.  The simple act of sitting together to share a common meal recalls the Agape meal of the early church, with its emphasis on hospitality to all who gather.  While all of our denominations recognize the benefits to the community of church suppers and other opportunities for food and fellowship, the Moravians demonstrate with their practice of Lovefeast a way to integrate meal and liturgy in a service of worship engaging all the senses.  The Lovefeast, precisely because it is not sacramental in nature, has the added advantage of being a liturgical meal in which all may participate freely. 

        The Psalmist invites us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8) In the Lovefeast hymns, participants taste sweet words of praise and thanksgiving, and in the Lovefeast meal itself they taste the sweet buns and pungent coffee, filling mouths and hearts with gratefulness for the Lord’s bounty.  The table of fellowship invites all to delight in God’s graciousness.

The third table is, of course, the Eucharistic table.  It is the place where each of us encounters our crucified and risen Lord.  It is the table of nourishment for our spirits, before which we stand or kneel in awe and wonder.  The covenant partnership to which we aspire recognizes no barrier to full participation by any of our members in the celebration of Holy Communion in any one of our churches.  The verse of a familiar Moravian hymn expresses it clearly and simply: “With one cup and with one bread thus one cov’nant way we tread.”  In such manner we join to bear witness to God’s all-encompassing invitation.  The feast is prepared.  The banquet table is spread.  Let us work together to gather in all who are hungry and thirsty, that all may be satisfied.

To this end we offer a proposal for Covenant Partnership.

A Brief Introduction and Background for This Proposal

      The Moravian-Reformed Dialogue, and its proposal for “covenant partnership” among the Moravian Church,[1] the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ, are products of earlier ecumenical work.[2] In 1998, A Formula of Agreement initiated a full communion relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and three Reformed partners: the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA), the Reformed Church in America (RCA), and the United Church of Christ (UCC). In 1999, the ELCA and the Moravian Church entered an agreement of full communion.

         For almost fifty years, Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC) and its predecessor body, the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) have searched for a meaningful and demonstrable expression of church unity that is “truly catholic, truly reformed and truly evangelical.” The PCUSA, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the UCC have been full participants in this process from the beginning; more recently the Moravian Church-Northern Province has become a full participant. Among the stumbling blocks to progress have been questions and tensions regarding certain reformed and episcopal practices of the ministry of oversight. “Reformed” generally refers to oversight by representative bodies of both clergy and laity. “Episcopal” generally refers to oversight vested in an individual, especially a bishop whose authority derives from participation in the historic succession.[3]

        Recognizing that the Moravian Church practices a ministry of oversight that is at once reformed and episcopal, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2000 invited the Moravian Church to enter into a formal dialogue.  Because of earlier ecumenical commitments made through the Formula of Agreement, the United Church of Christ and the Reformed Church in America were also invited to join; the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was included because of its participation in CUIC and its long-standing ecumenical partnership with the UCC.

      The PCUSA entered the dialogue with several goals: 1) to reach an understanding of the ministry of oversight in each tradition; 2) to explore areas of cooperative work in global, national and local settings; 3) to enable PCUSA and Moravian congregations to gain greater knowledge of one another and of the denominations’ cooperative work; and 4) to seek common agreements that could lead to establishing full communion between the Moravian Church and one or all of the Reformed churches.[4] The dialogue began formally in April 2002 in Winston-Salem, and representatives have met once or twice annually through May 2007, although changes in the Moravian Church occasioned a yearlong hiatus in 2003. Initial meetings focused on introducing and clarifying the several communions’ structures and the ordering of ministry within those structures. The group gave particular attention to identifying the divisive issues within each of the five churches, recognizing that many of these issues were common to all.  Equally important, conversation about the theological principles held in common among all five communions made clear that no doctrinal or ecclesiological barriers stand in the way of closer relationships.

      While the impetus for this dialogue, and the present proposal, was the relationship of “full communion” that both the Moravian Church and three of the four Reformed churches have with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we have chosen to use the language of “covenant partnership” in our recommendation that a new relationship be established.  There are two reasons for this linguistic choice. First, in both the Reformed and the Moravian traditions, we understand ourselves to be called into covenant relationship with the Divine. As a covenant people we are called to seek meaningful relationships with other Christian bodies as a reflection of our covenant with Christ. Covenant partnership indicates a commitment to gather at Table together—for dialogue, fellowship and Eucharist; it also indicates commitment to rise from Table and to engage in mission together.  Second, we believe that the language of “full communion” suggests a relationship accomplished, rather than—as we envision—a relationship emerging and ongoing. “Covenant partnership” points toward a shared journey, one that leads us together to greater faithfulness and witness to the ministry of Jesus Christ. It seeks to name relationships that already exist on many levels, and to open the door for growing relationships in the future.

Toward a Deeper Relationship: Past History and Ecumenical Commitments

        Both the Moravian Church and the four Reformed bodies see no obstacles, present or past, to covenant partnership. Moreover, all five churches have histories of cooperative and ecumenical commitments.  

The Moravian Church     

      The Moravian Church has a long history of ecumenism. In its first decade (1457-67) adherents managed with dissident Catholic priests before they sought an ordained ministry of their own. Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, the chief influence in the renewal of the church in the 1700s, saw the Moravian Church as an ecclesiola in ecclesia, a pietist “yeast” and mission society within larger state churches of Germany and Scandinavia. In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, many Moravian preaching places in America became congregations of other communions. More recently, Moravians have been active in ecumenical groups from local bodies to the World Council of Churches. In 1999 the Moravian Church concluded a full communion agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and it is now involved in dialogue with the Episcopal Church, as well as with the four Reformed partners in this dialogue.

        Because of their world mission heritage, identification with the global Moravian communion has always been important for American Moravians However, with the end of political colonialism and the independence of former “mission fields,” this is less central than in the past. Also, Moravians are increasingly aware that denominationalism has sometimes distracted them from seeking relationships with other Christians and responding to social issues closer to home.

       There appear to be no discernible barriers to deeper relationships between the Moravians and the communions engaged in this dialogue. The Moravian spirit toward traditional creeds and confessions is expressed in The Ground of the Unity, the official doctrinal statement of the denomination, adopted in 1957 and modified only slightly since then:

The Unitas Fratrum recognizes in the creeds of the Church the thankful acclaim of the Body of Christ. These creeds aid the Church in formulating a Scriptural confession, in marking the boundaries of heresies, and in exhorting believers to an obedient and fearless testimony in every age.  The Unitas Fratrum maintains that all creeds formulated by the Christian Church stand in need of constant testing in the light of the Holy Scriptures.

It acknowledges as such true professions of faith the early Christian witness: “Jesus Christ is Lord!” and also especially the ancient Christian creeds and the fundamental creeds of the Reformation.[5]

        The irenic spirit with which the Moravian Church approaches creeds also inform its approach toward potentially church-dividing issues such as baptism and human sexuality.  Because of the understanding of prevenient grace, the normal practice of the Moravian church is children’s baptism; however, parents have the right to postpone the baptism of their children. There are differing convictions among Moravians regarding sexual orientation, but the Unity Synod (the highest international Moravian body) has stated that the issue of human sexuality “does not rise to the level of the Lordship of Christ,” indicating that believers can in good faith disagree on some questions of sexuality.

            There are, of course, differences of emphasis. Moravians, for example, have put more stress on devotional life and have been less likely than some Reformed bodies to see social and political advocacy as part of the total Christian witness. This is one of the many areas in which we can learn from one another.

The Four Reformed Churches-- Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), United Church of Christ

        Although these four Reformed communions have different origins, structures of governance, and confessional emphases, all share historical commitments to, and participation in, ecumenical activities. Beginning in the mid-1790s, members of the Dutch Reformed Church (now the RCA) partnered with other denominations to send missionaries to the American Indians. In 1801 Presbyterians and Congregationalists[6] adopted a Plan of Agreement, often called the first formal ecumenical agreement in America, which for half a century committed the two bodies to work cooperatively in planting churches on the frontier. Roughly two decades later, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) emerged as a movement committed to ending the unscriptural “party divisions” of both belief and practice that separated denominations.

        All four bodies are presently active in numerous bilateral and conciliar ecumenical relationships. All are members of the National Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches, and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches; individually, each participates in other ecumenical alliances and conversations, including Christian Churches Together and Churches Uniting in Christ.  Three of the four participants (the UCC, PCUSA, and RCA) were signatories to the Formula of Agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) shares with the United Church of Christ an ecumenical partnership that enjoys full reconciliation of ministries.

        None of the Reformed bodies perceives historic or present barriers, either of theology and practice or of governance, to fuller and deeper partnership with the Moravian Church.

Toward A Deeper Relationship: Current Cooperative Work

        Moravians and Reformed bodies already work together in many ways, both formal and informal. All participant communions in this dialogue are members of the National Council of Churches of Christ. The Moravian Church—Northern Province and three Reformed bodies (UCC, CC/DC, and PCUSA) are members of Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC). Reformed bodies have at various times worked with Moravians in Nicaragua and Honduras. Sister bodies in the Caribbean work together at a seminary in Jamaica. Since the fall of the iron curtain, Moravians, Presbyterians and others in Alaska have done church planting among people in nearby Siberia.

            Theological seminaries of all the bodies welcome students from the other groups, and faculties serve across denominational lines as well. (This is a significant change from a not-too-distant past when pastors were educated almost exclusively at denominational seminaries.) Ordained ministers of Word and sacrament serve across denominational lines, both as interim pastors and installed pastors. A closer ecumenical agreement will only facilitate the ongoing exchange and eventual reconciliation of ministries.

        Most of the communions in this dialogue are concentrated in some geographic areas and less represented in others. (For example, there are Moravian congregations in only seventeen states.[7]) This regional distribution has affected where congregations of the dialogue communions have worked together thus far. Nevertheless, there are many local instances of common effort, especially in social service—for example, homeless shelters, Habitat for Humanity projects, CROP Walks, food pantries, and racial justice work.

Covenant Partnership: A Proposal

        The value of a covenant partnership between the Moravian Church and one or more Reformed bodies is evident. Such partnership reminds us, first of all, that our separate churches have missed many opportunities to share in ministry and mission, although God calls us to work together as one. Equally important, covenant partnership makes intentional witness to the churches’ diversity in unity. Discussions in our five-year-long dialogue have highlighted a number of ways, both in practice and in polity, in which each communion brings unique and valuable gifts to the table. Rather than minimize denominational differences in favor of bland uniformity, a covenant partnership will recognize and celebrate the many different ways in which partners are able to worship the one Triune God and proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the world. Contemporary groups, both civil and religious, too often suggest, “my way is the only way.” Partnership offers the opportunity to speak a prophetic word to those who disparage diversity.

      Finally, covenant partnership will facilitate a process for joint—and thus more effective—mission. Ideally, the various mission boards will come to the point where a covenant partner or partners will automatically be invited to participate in any new mission efforts. (Indeed, if covenant partnership is to become real locally, joint mission is essential. Perhaps, for example, concrete goals—such as local partnerships to build Habitat for Humanity houses—could inaugurate the partnership and make it more meaningful.) 

        What is involved, specifically, in a covenant partnership between the Moravian Church and one or more of the Reformed communions? 

• As Covenant partners The Presbyterian Church USA and the Moravian Church Northern and Southern Provinces recognize each other as churches in which the gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered according to the Word of God in the Scriptures.

• As Covenant partners The Presbyterian Church USA and the Moravian Church Northern and Southern Provinces recognize each other's ordained ministries as valid and will seek to reconcile their ordained ministries. We will develop a process to provide for the orderly exchange and mutual oversight of ordained ministers of Word and Sacrament. When possible, partners will regularly consult regarding the preparation of candidates for ordination, and the processes necessary for preparing them to serve both within their tradition and ecumenically.

• We covenant to work cooperatively—locally, regionally, and nationally—in mission. Such efforts may include sharing models of existing cooperation, as well as creating new opportunities for common witness and mission.

• We covenant to invite mutual participation in governance and other activities. We will invite each other regularly to participate in church-wide assemblies, synods, and councils; and where appropriate, to give advice and counsel regarding the ongoing work and decision-making in the churches. We will also encourage and invite mutual representation in various caucuses, conferences and other gatherings, with particular attention to youth/young adult and racial/ethnic caucuses.

• We covenant to develop joint resources, as appropriate.  Such resources may include but not be limited to Christian education curriculum, mission education resources and liturgical resources that could be used jointly and may facilitate mutual understanding and commitment throughout the wider church.

• We covenant to seek regular opportunity to sit at Table together for conversation, fellowship, and sacramental celebration. In this intimate sharing, partners will deepen their knowledge of one another, their faith in God’s abundant presence, and their commitment to being Christ’s body together in a world that needs both help and hope.

        We find this language, adapted from A Formula of Agreement, to be an appropriate way to conclude:

        In affirming covenant partnership, each participating communion acknowledges that it is undertaking a serious commitment, one that involves actions as well as words. Covenant partnership cannot be achieved without awareness of existing differences and similarities among the partners; it will demand dedication to walking and working together in ways that may, at times, represent a break with the past. Walking together involves not only the likelihood, but also the certainty of mutual challenge and change; because of this commitment, each body will eventually be different in ways that presently cannot be seen. The partner churches commit themselves to this new relationship with seriousness of intent, and full assurance that the One who calls us to greater visible unity is faithful and worthy of trust.

Five communions have participated in the Moravian-Reformed Dialogue:

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a faith community of some 700,000 members across the United States and Canada. From its founding along the western frontier of the United States in the early 19^th century this church began as a movement proclaiming the unity of the church and oneness among all Christians gathered at a common Table of the Lord’s Supper. Initially the vision of unity was based upon the restoration of New Testament practices; today, the denomination’s efforts in seeking unity focus upon covenantal agreements and shared mission.

      The church is structured in three expressions: congregational, regional and general. Each expression has its own particular responsibilities and authority, but always in covenant and ministry with the other expressions to fulfill the whole church’s mission. The congregations are divided into 33 geographic regions that bear responsibility for oversight and nurture. Eleven general ministries and the Office of General Minister and President link the denomination with the wider church, world missions and support services to expand the church’s ministry to fulfill the mission of being “a faithful, growing church, that demonstrates true community, deep Christian spirituality and a passion for justice.”

The Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) is a worldwide body consisting of nearly 800,000 members in 19 provinces. In the United States and Canada, the Northern and Southern Provinces together include, respectively, roughly 25,000 and 18,000 members. Alaska and Labrador are separate provinces. Governance is representative: quadrennial synods plan the work of provinces, while Provincial Elders’ Conferences, with both lay and clergy members, exercise ministries of oversight (including ministerial ordination and discipline) between synods. There are three orders of ministry: Deacon, Presbyter, and Bishop; all three orders may preside over the rites of the church, including baptism and Holy Communion. Bishops, elected for life, exercise no special ministries of administrative oversight; rather, they serve as theological resources, servants at the request of the Provincial Elders’ Conferences, intercessors for the church and “pastor to pastors.”

      The Moravian Church recognizes a variety of historic creeds and confessions; it steadfastly maintains, however, that the Bible contains no single system of doctrine, and it refuses to use any one creed as a litmus test of faith. (Indeed, the best picture of Moravian doctrine may be found in the group’s hymns and liturgies.) Moravians are eager to recognize and partner with all Christians and Christian denominations that recognize the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Two mottos guide members’ life and work: “Our Lamb has conquered; let us follow him”; and “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love.”

The Presbyterian Church (USA) traces its ancestry back to Scotland and England by way of reformers John Calvin and John Knox. In the United States, the Presbyterian Church has split and united several times. The PCUSA, formed in 1983, is the result of reunion between northern and southern branches of the church. With roughly 2.5 million members, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States.

        The Constitution of the PCUSA consists of two volumes, the Book of Confessions,[8] which includes ancient and contemporary creeds and confessions, and the Book of Order, which enumerates governmental, worship, and disciplinary standards. The latter volume

makes clear that the “nature of Presbyterian order is such that it shares power and responsibility. The system of governing bodies,[9] whether they have authority over one or many churches, sustains such mutual relationships within the structures such as to express the unity of the church.” [10]

        The PCUSA understands itself to be only one part of the Body of Christ. It is committed to seeking the full visible unity of the church and is active in conciliar, cooperative, missional and bilateral dialogues and partnerships, including membership in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. The Presbyterian Church (USA) is committed to living its faith both in creedal affirmation and in faithful public witness and social action.

The Reformed Church in America was founded in 1628 as the established church of the Dutch Colony of New Netherland. Strongest in the mid-Atlantic region and the upper Midwest, it consists of roughly 300,000 members. Governance is presbyterian and conciliar. Ordained ministers, elders and deacons meet in deliberative assemblies at four levels: local consistories, classes (analogous to presbyteries, with the power of ordination and discipline), regional synods, and a general synod.

       The denomination’s heritage is Calvinist; today the RCA is theologically conservative but irenic and non-judgmental. Traditionally it has stressed doctrine over lifestyle. Pastors must hold to several historic creeds and Reformed confessions, including the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort. From the 19^th century, foreign missions were ecumenical, and the RCA has historically been a strong participant in ecumenical activities. This commitment is expressed both in a pattern of partnership globally with indigenous bodies, and in conciliar and full communion relationships with other denominations, including the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Church of Christ.

The United Church of Christ was formed in 1957, the union of two previously merged bodies in the United States. The Congregational and the Christian churches (joined in 1931) have their origins in the English reformation and post-Revolutionary America, respectively; the Evangelical Synod and the Reformed Church (joined in 1934) were churches of German heritage with roots in the continental reformation.  Current membership is roughly 1.2 million. UCC polity is both congregational (the rights of local churches are inalienable) and connectional (ministerial standing and discipline are handled regionally, by Associations).  The concept of “covenant”—mutual accountability and respect among individuals in, and settings of, the church—binds together otherwise autonomous Associations, Conferences, and a biennial General Synod.  The latter representative body, which coordinates the work and witness of the denomination, speaks “to, not for” the local churches.

      Theologically, the UCC “looks to the word of God in the Scriptures,” and “claims as its own” historic creeds and confessions, while insisting that Christians in each generation must re-examine and re-interpret these authoritative sources.[11] From its founding in what has been called “an ecumenical crucible,” the UCC has engaged in numerous bi- and multi-lateral conversations and partnerships. Its members are active nationally and globally in direct action for social and economic justice and peace.   

Moravian Reformed Dialogue Participants

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Rev. Darwin Collins

The Reverend Dr. Robert Welsh, staff

Moravian Church

Rev. Dr. Daniel Crews

Rev. Dr. Worth Green

Ms. Marian Shatto

Rev. Dr. Hermann I. Weinlick, staff

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Elder Margaret "Chess" Campbell

Rev. Joseph S. Harvard III

Rev. Alyce Kelly

Rev. Elizabeth Brookens‑Sturman

Rev. Robina M. Winbush, staff

Reformed Church in America

Rev. Dr. Daniel Meeter

Rev. Douglas Fromm, staff

United Church of Christ

Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Nordbeck

Rev. Lydia Veliko. staff