Ecumenical Principles

That the Church is one is fundamental. Jesus prayed that they may be one (John 17:11). It is right that there is a huge diversity within the Church, but that diveregence must not be allowed to challenge her fundamenal unity. I don't think it is realistic to be part of the church without being part of a church - though others may disagree. However, I am clear on the importance of the ecumenical agenda. We ought not to be doing separately those things that we can do together. As Pope John Paul II said: "Ecumenism "is not some sort of "appendix"" which is added to the Church's traditional activity. Rather, ecumenism is an organic part of her life and work, and consequently must pervade all that she is and does" (Ut Unum Sint, Encyclical Letter on Commitment to Ecumenism, 1995, Section 20). Unity is not about abandoning diversity, but about holding a range of things together. Christopher Ellis comments that: "Ecumenism is not about throwing all our treasures into a melting pot so that we end up with a uniform church." He recognises the importance and richness of diversity, so long as we don't try and work our way round the Gospel's central call to unity. He refuses to accept "invisible unity" as the way to deal with this, pointing out that "the problem with invisible unity is that it cannot be seen" (Christopher Ellis: "Together on the Way", British Council of Churches, 1990, p. 89 and 112.) It is relevant, and supportive of this point, that many of the divides in the contemporary church are within, rather than across, the so-called 'denominations'. That way we can better appreciate their richness, and also forge the critical links across the traditional divisions. The priority of unity should be clear.