Bonn Agreement (religion)

Bonn Agreement ( dt Bonn Agreement ) refers to the July 2, 1931 in Bonn established Church Fellowship ( Full Communion ) between the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht and the churches of the Anglican Communion.

History

The German Old Catholic Churches were already ecumenically oriented at the time of their creation, which was expressed by several Union conferences in the 1870s. The Anglican churches expressed at the beginning of the Old Catholic resistance to the dogma of the First Vatican Council their sympathy to those Catholics who did not accept the new dogmas, which in 1878 led to a statement by the Lambeth Conference:

" The fact that in so many churches and Christian communities around the world against the pretensions of the Roman see, and against the new doctrines promulgated under its authority solemn protest is made, obliged us to gratitude to God Almighty. All sympathy owes the Anglican Church to the churches and people protesting against these errors and work under certain special difficulties, difficulties that are prepared for them by the attacks of unbelievers as well as by the pretensions of Rome. "

There were other explanations of how Anglican Old Catholic side that brought the proximity between Anglicans and Old Catholics expressed.

1881 declared the Swiss Old Catholic Bishop Eduard Herzog, that he entered into full communion with the Episcopal Church of America. In a pastoral letter, he stated this:

" The ecclesial communion between us and the Anglo-American Church is justified, objectively after that given by the Acts scale, if it can be said of the two parts: you remain in the teaching of the apostles; they have the same priesthood and celebrate the same eucharistic meal. "

1883 decided to allow for the reception of Communion under both kinds, the Synod of the Old Catholic Church in Germany, Anglicans.

Problems on the way to full communion

The problems experienced by the fact that, although the German Old Catholic Church and the Swiss Old Catholic Church regarded the Anglican apostolic succession line and thus the ordinations in the Anglican churches to be valid, the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, the Anglican orders but not recognized until in June 1925, after examining the theological and ecclesiological aspects, said:

"We believe that the Church of England wanted to keep the episcopal leadership of the old church always, and that the consecration form of Edward VI. is to be regarded as valid. We state without any reservation that the apostolic succession was not interrupted in the Church of England. "

For a full communion between the Old Catholic and Anglican churches, nothing stood in the way, as well as the International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference (IBC ) held at its session in the same year.

Text of the Bonn Agreement

1 Each Communion recognizes the catholicity and independence of the other and maintains its own.

1 Each Communion Recognizes the catholicity and independence of the other and Maintains its own.

2 Each Communion Agrees to admit members of the other Communion to participate participation in the Sacraments.

3 intercommunion not require from either Communion the acceptance of all doctrinal opinion, sacramental devotion or liturgical practice, the other is peculiar, but contains in itself that each believes the other to hold all the essentials of the Christian faith.

3 intercommunion does not require from Either Communion the acceptance of all doctrinal opinion, sacramental devotion or liturgical practice characteristic of the other, but did Implies each Believes the other to hold all the essentials of the Christian faith.

1958 replaced the Lambeth Conference " intercommunion " with "full communion" to clarify that the Bonn Agreement stated the full communion.

Importance of historical context and current issues

Full community initially consisted only between the Church of England and the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches, but was soon afterwards extended to all Anglican churches.

The Bonn Agreement was the first determination of full communion between two independent Catholic communities, without the a has incorporated into the other. Thanks to the full communion between the two church communities with members of their church can participate without crossing the life of the other church and become a member; Clergyman of a church can take in the other offices, if they have been included in the clergy of that church, also this without crossing.

First problems occurred, as the Old Catholic Polish National Catholic Church ( PNCC ) of the American Episcopal Church aufkündigte full communion, as they allowed the ordination of women (1976). 2003 separated the CCNP then due to this issue also from the Utrecht Union.

For dialogue has long been calling on the problem of overlapping jurisdictions, ie the problem is that in the same country, an Old Catholic as well as an Anglican jurisdiction exists, which contradicts the idea of ​​full communion.

When some Anglican churches in the Porvoo Communion in full communion with Lutheran churches with which the Old Catholic Churches are not in communion, went, also came to the issue of participation in episcopal ordinations, where not even attend Anglican / Old Catholic bishops. Therefore, the International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference issued a statement which noted that the participation of Old Catholic bishops in the consecration of Anglican bishops in which they hang together with Lutheran bishops hand, does not mean that the Old Catholic Churches stood with just those Lutheran churches in communion.

The Old Catholic churches are represented due to full communion in the Anglican Consultative Council, while the Anglican Communion representative sends to the meetings of the IBC.

Willibrord Society

The members of Willibrord Society come from the Old Catholic and Anglican churches and aim to deepen the full community.

The first Willibrord Society was founded in England in 1908 and had the objective of fostering closer relations between Anglicans and Old Catholics. St. Willibrord, who came from England, was the missionary of the Frisians and the first bishop of Utrecht, as his successor shall be the Archbishop of Utrecht.

Today there are 10 Willibrord companies in Europe and the USA.