Christian Church(Disciples of Christ)
Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
Contact: news@cm.disciples.org
96b-47
June 18, 1996
BETHANY W. Va. (DNS) -- Representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) prayed together and discussed their understandings of ecumenical councils at a week-long meeting here. The May 17-24 meeting of the International Commission for Dialogue gave Catholic participants an opportunity to experience the Disciples' tradition, according to the Rev. Paul A. Crow, Jr., president of the Council on Christian Unity. The Disciples' ecumenical officer has co-chaired the group since its inception in 1977. The Roman Catholic co-chair is Archbishop Daniel A. Buechlein of Indianapolis. This is the only international, ecumenical dialogue whose co-chairs, or moderators, come from the same city, Crow said. While at Bethany the group visited the Campbell Mansion and learned more about Disciples founder, the Rev. Alexander Campbell. Having this sense of the denomination's history helped Roman Catholics "capture the Disciples' ethos," said Crow. Coinciding with the ecumenical meeting were commencement ceremonies at Bethany College, which Campbell founded and headed as its first president. The college conferred an honorary doctorate of divinity upon retired Archbishop Samuel E. Carter of Kingston, Jamaica, Catholic co-chairperson of the commission from 1983-1995. The theme of the 1996 meeting was "The Authority of the Early Ecumenical Councils." These first-through-fifth century meetings of early Christians helped influence the development of current church doctrines and statements of faith, according to Crow. While the Disciples of Christ are not bound by any official creed, this church is in agreement with historic statements of faith, Crow said. That was a point illustrated in a presentation by the Rev. William Tabbernee, president of Phillips Theological Seminary, Enid, Okla. He and Margaret O'Gara, a professor at St. Michael's College of the University of Toronto, presented papers on their churches' understandings of the ecumenical councils. According to Tabbernee, the Disciples have never been against the content of the historic creeds. What was criticized was their use as a basis for limiting Holy Communion or fellowship with other Christian believers. Though the Disciples, as a movement, weren't present in the early ecumenical councils, their results do articulate our faith, said Crow. "We are not a 19th or 20th century church. We claim continuity with the church of the first five centuries. We have to struggle to claim that continuity and to discover its significance for Disciples." Other Disciples addressing the international dialogue included the Rev. M. Eugene Boring, a professor at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. The talks also included a visit with an ongoing regional dialogue of West Virginia Disciples and Roman Catholics.
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