Enacting our Unity

I am privileged to be the Anglican co-chair of IARCCUM, a sister commission of ARCIC. ARCIC does the hard work of articulating theological agreement. IARCCUM has the positive task of encouraging Anglicans and Roman Catholics to pray, work, learn and go out together in mission on the basis of the many things upon which we can joyfully agree. IARCCUM encourages spiritual ecumenism, the ecumenism of martyrs, the ecumenism of action and mission. It is about acting as if we were one so that we might become one.

During 2025, I was invited to three big occasions in Rome: the funeral of Pope Francis, the inauguration of Pope Leo and the visit of King Charles III to worship with the Pope in the Sistine Chapel.

The third of these events included a memorable symbolic action. King Charles was presented with a throne in St. Paul’s Basilica inscribed with the royal coat of arms and the ecumenical text ut unum sint ‘that they may be one’. We were told that, in Anglo-Saxon times, the maintenance of the Basilica of St. Paul was supported by English monarchs. The bestowal of a throne therefore drew on and revived an ancient bond.

It is said with truth that actions speak louder than words. The visit of King Charles to pray with Pope Leo was reported all around the globe. Their visible togetherness was something everyone could see and understand. And the giving a throne in one of the principal Roman churches speaks volumes about the healing and overcoming of historic divisions.

I know that in some parts of the diocese Roman Catholic clergy who might have had little understanding of Anglicanism have been encouraged to build stronger relationships with us through this high-level encounter. If people see pictures on television of the Pope with King Charles in Rome they are reassured that building relationships with Anglicans is approved at the highest level. Symbolic gestures acted out globally cash out locally.

In a world which is polarised and divided the Church’s mission to make known its unity feels ever more urgent and important. The enacted togetherness between the Pope and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England helps the world see that what unites us is much more than what divides us. It gives all of us hope and helps all of us believe.

+Robert Gibraltar in Europe