Moravian Church, Southern Province enters full communion with Episcopal Church

Following a two-hour debate, delegates of the Moravian Church, Southern Province voted to bring the Province into a relationship of full communion with the Episcopal Church. The proposal, brought to the floor of the Southern Province’s 2010 Synod held at Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC., was approved by a vote of 121 to 74.

“This is an important action for our churches, both Moravian and Episcopal,” said the Rt. Rev. Dr. Wayne Burkette, Moravian bishop and outgoing Provincial Elders’ Conference president. “Full communion acknowledges our essential unity as disciples of Jesus Christ and enhances our witness to the world.”

“This is truly a blessing,” said Rev. Steven Miller, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee and co-chair of the dialogue that produced the full communion agreement. “The action of the Southern Province in adopting ‘Finding Our Delight In the Lord’ is the culmination of years of work by many faithful servants. We now begin the tasks of living more fully with the unity while the Lord gives us in common mission to the world He loves. May God watch over us as we go forward together.”

A greater unity

The full communion relationship of the Moravian Church, Southern Province and the Episcopal Church brings a greater unity to the Christian church. “We seek this relationship of full communion so that our mission as Christ’s church will be more effectively fulfilled and each of our denominations might be more complete because of the spiritual treasures of the other,” reads 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. “We do this for the sake of the world so that the world may believe.”

Full communion also provides for the sharing of ministry and worship. With this agreement, ordained clergy in each denomination will be able to serve in the other, allowing for the orderly interchange of ordained ministers (subject to the approval of the receiving denomination), joint worship and the celebration of Holy Communion.

On a practical level, the full communion provides opportunities to share resources and mission work. Full communion agreements bring mutual cooperation and laboring together in mission work, church planting, clergy education, disaster relief and other areas of common endeavors. The communion also offers opportunities to enhance the life and ministry of local congregations.

Discussion and Concerns

While the full communion was eventually ratified by Synod, a number of delegates at Synod disagreed that full communion was an appropriate step to take.

Throughout the floor discussion, delegates expressed concern about being perceived to be in full agreement with the practices and doctrine of the Episcopal Church in the United Sates. Opponents to the full communion cited differences in doctrine; theological interpretations; actions and positions on social and biblical issues; the role of bishops in each church; and other areas of disparity between the two denominations.

By approving the full communion, opponents said, the two denominations would appear to be approving of each other’s positions and that we cannot be perceived as supporting things we do not support. Still others shared that a full communion agreement isn’t necessary to work together with brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Church.

Celebrating Differences

In pursuing full communion with another church, both denominations remain faithful to Christ’s will for his church. It is important to remember, however, that “full communion” is not a merger. There will still be differences between the denominations, just as there are differences in individual churches, provinces and dioceses of any denomination. Differences in structure, doctrine, liturgy and positions on social and ethical issues may require each church to speak for itself at times.

This full communion maintains what makes each denomination special or unique to its members; it is about the unity of Christ’s church, not the uniformity of practice. The two will mutually recognize and respect each other as part of the one holy Christian and apostolic church, which affirms its faith through the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. They will also cooperate in common Christian mission through full communion in faith, life, and witness.

In addition, both denominations mutually recognize each other’s practice of the dominical sacraments, thus allowing for joint worship, eucharistic fellowship, and exchangeability of members. They also 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.

Moravians and Episcopalians recognize and value the distinctive gifts present in each historic but separated part of the Body of Christ, thus believing they have contributions which they can make to each other.

The Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of their full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Episcopal Church in the U.S. also has full communion with the ELCA. This is the first time three denominations have come to full communion agreements on their own.

The full communion is the result of many years of work between the two churches. Bishop Graham Rights, the Rev. Dr. Bill McElveen and Don Frey led the full communion dialogue for the Southern Province; talks began in 1994 and the full communion was first proposed in 1999. Since then, ecumenical representatives from both denominations worked to reach the accord. The 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, meeting July 8-17, 2009, adopted Finding Our Delight in the Lord unanimously. The Northern Province elected to affirm the full communion at their Synod in June by a near-unanimous vote.