Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission meets in Strasbourg

The 2024 plenary meeting of the third phase of the Anglican-Catholic dialogue commission, ARCIC (Anglican‒Roman Catholic International Commission), took place from 11 to 18 May in Strasbourg, France. All members of the commission, together with expert consultors and staff members from the Anglican Communion Office in London and the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome, took part in the meeting.

The Commission continues to work on the second part of its mandate to examine how the Church local, regional and universal discerns right ethical teaching. Drafting work on an Agreed Statement had continued during the period since the Commission’s 2023 plenary. The Commission’s drafting sub-committee presented an almost complete draft during the meeting. It is hoped to complete the drafting in the coming months so that the document can be finalised by the Commission at its 2025 meeting in Melbourne.

The Commission devoted much time to reflecting on what each tradition can learn, from both its own experiences and those of the other tradition, to inform current and future ethical discernment. This reflection was enriched by opportunities for shared reflection on Scripture, and by the practice of ‘Conversation in the Spirit’, which has been a significant dimension of the current synodal process in the Roman Catholic Church.

Over the course of the week, members met with various representatives of the local churches. They joined the Archpriest and canons of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Strasbourg for the Chapter Eucharist on 12 May. Later that day, the Revd Dr Mark Barwick and the Revd John Murray from the Church of England chaplaincy in Strasbourg joined the Commission for lunch and shared about the history and current life of the Anglican community in the city. A day later, the new Catholic Archbishop of Strasbourg, Msgr Pascal Delannoy, also joined the Commission for lunch. On Thursday 16 May, the Commission visited the Lutheran Institute for Ecumenical Research, where the former Director, Revd Prof. Theodor Dieter, spoke about some of the ecumenical dialogues to which the Institute has contributed, most notably, the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification by the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church.

A Communiqué was issued at the conclusion of the plenary.

The last ARCIC meeting was held in Larnaca, Cyprus, from 7-15 May 2023. The Commission will next meet in May 2025, in Melbourne, Australia.