The Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission releases an updated synthesis of the fruits of 60 years of theological dialogue, affirming that the two Churches converge much more than they diverge.
By Devin Watkins
“We Believe in One God: Sixty years of Methodists and Catholics walking together.”
That’s the title of a new book released on Friday, December 12, produced by the Joint International Commission for Dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church (MERCIC).
Printed by the Vatican Publishing House (LEV), the document examines the theological progress made over the past six decades between the Catholic and Methodist Churches.
MERCIC enjoys the support of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and the book comes on the same year as Christians celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
Presented as “both a record of hope and a call to deeper communion,” the volume serves as “a gift to all the Churches, as they affirm their faith in the Triune God and reflect on the next stages of the quest for Christian unity.”
In a press release, MERCIC recalls that there is no history of formal separation between the Catholic and Methodist Churches, since Methodism finds its origins as a revival movement within the Church of England in the mid-18th century.
Division is real, however, it notes, and the book shows the need for a “healing of memories, acknowledgment of past wrongs, and the retelling of histories to honour victims and foster mutual respect and trust.”
The book’s preface was written by Revd. Prof. Edgardo Colón-Emeric, Dean of Duke Divinity School, USA, Methodist Co-Chairman, and Archbishop Shane Mackinlay of Brisbane, Catholic Co-Chairman.
The two MERCIC Chairmen said the Commission has examined all elements of the Nicene Creed over the past 60 years, revealing a “clear convergence in understanding the faith we profess together in the Nicene Creed.”
“Our Commission has confirmed that the consensus between Methodists and Catholics about the foundation of faith and the source of our salvation far outweighs our remaining differences on matters relating to the means of saving grace in the life and practice of our respective communions—although here, too, we have made great advances toward mutual understanding and agreement,” they write.
The book discusses difficult questions about doctrine, the sacraments, and the structures of authority and decision making.
It also examines the central question of the Eucharist, noting that both Churches are growing in mutual understanding.
Methodists, notes the book, increasingly recognize “that the Lord’s Table belongs to the fulness of Christian worship, while Catholics are appreciating the fundamental importance of preaching the Word.”
As the two Churches continue to journey toward full Christian unity, “We Believe in One God” hopes to help Catholics and Methodists recognize in their various professions “the one Christian faith that was proclaimed by the Council of Nicaea.”
