European Provisional Consultation

Previous meetings of the Lambeth Conference have considered the ecclesial anomaly of overlapping episcopal jurisdictions in Continental Europe. The 1998 Conference passed the following resolution (V:6):

This conference noting with appreciation the progress made so far by the parallel Anglican jurisdictions in Continental Europe working both with each other and with Churches in communion in the area, resolves to encourage:

(a) continued exploration towards appropriate provincial structures in partnership with the other Churches in service of the common mission of the Church; and
(b) the Church of England and the Episcopal Church of the United States of America to consider the provision of appropriate funding for such a province.

In addition to the bishops of each of the Anglican jurisdictions, each delegation includes a member of each of the clergy and the laity. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the ECUSA’s Presiding Bishop, and the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion all have named delegates involved in the discussions.

Following a meeting of the full Consultation in Frankfurt in June 2000, a Partners in Mission process was set in place to address certain questions that lie in the way of progress in resolving the anomalies. A meeting of the Consultation in February 2004 considered the PiM conclusions and agreed “that the conditions for forming new and appropriate provincial structures are not yet ripe, but rather that the way forward lies first in deepening and developing our relationships and partnerships at local, regional and continental levels [and recommended] that this Consultation continue to meet regularly at the bishops’ invitation in order to stimulate and foster these local and regional partnerships and programmes, to monitor progress made, and to encourage further growth and development.”

Other families of Churches have an interest in this Anglican process, notably the Nordic-Baltic Porvoo Churches and the Old Catholic Churches. Accordingly they have observer status at the Provincial Consultation, through whom their current contributions on issues involved are fed into the Anglican process.

There is a website for the European Consultation at http://europeconsultation.anglican.org

Some further material con be found at: http://arc.episcopalchurch.org/europe/coacce

The Convocation of American Churches in Europe:

The Right Reverend Pierre Whalon Bishop-in-Charge
The Reverend Tom Pellaton Rector, Munich, The Ascension
The Reverend John Beach Geneva

The Diocese in Europe:

The Right Reverend Geoffrey Rowell Bishop
clergy member vacancy
Mrs Diana Webster

The Lusitanian Church:

The Right Reverend Fernando Soares Bishop
The Reverend Dr José Jorge de Pina Cabral Archdeacon of Northern Portugal
Dr Manuel Guedes-Vieira

The Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church:

The Right Reverend Carlos López-Lozano Bishop
The Reverend Susan Woodcock Sabadell, Christ Church
Mr Miguel Sánchez

Observers:

For the International Bishops' Conference of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht:
The Right Reverend Dr Jan-Lambert Wirix-Speetjens Bishop of Haarlem

For the Nordic-Baltic Churches of the Porvoo Agreement:
The Right Reverend Dr Ragnar Persenius Bishop of Uppsala

Secretary:

The Revd Jonathan Goodall
The Archbishop of Canterbury's Chaplain and Ecumenical Officer