Full communion
From Chaldeans Wiki
Full communion is completeness of that relationship between Christian churches which is known as communion.
Churches in full communion share:
- shared Eucharist or intercommunion
- an agreement on essential doctrine and practice
- an interchangeability of members (often only under certain circumstances)
- an interchangeability of ministers
- a structure or agreement which assures future full communion
Absolute uniformity in theological expression and practice is not necessary, provided that agreement on essentials is maintained. Full communion among churches implies that they still maintain independence of church government and identity but also implies that there are means among the related Churches (whether by established doctrinal boundaries or governmental structures) to maintain such the communion. Eastern Orthodoxy maintains full communion largely through the expressed and implied theological boundaries of a received and generally unchanging tradition. The Anglican Communion, whose teachings can be quite flexible over time, has the Lambeth Confereces every ten years to work out common understandings of doctrine and practice among the Churches of the Communion.
Partial communion exists where elements of Christian faith are held in common, but complete unity on essentials is lacking. For example, the Catholic Church sees itself as in partial communion with Protestants, and as in much closer, but still incomplete, communion with the Eastern Orthodox Churches (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 838).[1]
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Instances of Full Communion
These ancient Churches (with the exception of the Anglican Communion) perserve the Early Christian understanding of full Communion as the sharing of the Eucharist among one another, and so do not share communion with those outside of their respective communions. The Anglican Communion, founded during the Protestant Reformation, has practices open communion, a common feature among Protestant churches.
Catholic Churches in Communion with Rome
- The particular Churches that form the Catholic Church, while they are in full communion with Rome and with one another, are more than a communion of churches but are each instances of one Catholic Church. While maintaining independence of internal government, they are juridically bound to one another by Canon Law.
- Each of these churches are understood as instances of the one Catholic Church in their respective traditions. The 28 May 1992 Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of the Church understood as Communion, [2] declares:
"The universal Church cannot be conceived as the sum of the particular Churches, or as a federation of particular Churches. It is not the result of the communion of the Churches, but, in its essential mystery, it is a reality ontologically and temporally prior to every individual particular Church."
- The Catholic Churches in full communion with Rome are the following: the Latin Rite, the Coptic Catholic Church, the Ethiopic Catholic Church, the Maronite Church, the Syrian Catholic Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church, the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church, the Byzantine Church of the Eparchy of Križevci, the Greek Byzantine Catholic Church, the Hungarian Byzantine Catholic Church, the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, the Macedonian Greek Catholic Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic, the Russian Byzantine Catholic Church, the Ruthenian Catholic Church, the Slovak Greek Catholic Church, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Churches of Eastern Orthodoxy
- The Eastern Orthodox Churches are understood individually as particular embodiments of the "one Orthodox Church" which is not a corporate entity in itself but the collection of these autocephalous churches. The communion of the Orthodox Churches is not structural or juridical.
- The sixteen autocephalous Churches of Eastern Orthodoxy are:
- The Oriental Orthodox Churches are fully independent Chuches sharing a common theological heritage (non-Chalcedonian). The communion of the Orthodox Churches is not structural or juridical.
- The Oriental Orthodox Churches are: the Coptic, Armenian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Jacobite, Indian Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches.
Churches of the Anglican Communion
Other instances of Communion among churches
The following groupings of churches have arrangements for:
- mutual recognition of members
- joint celebration of the Lord's Supper/Holy Communion/Eucharist (these churches practice open communion
- mutual recognition of ordained ministers
- mutual recognition of sacraments
- a common commitment to mission.
Agreements of Communion complete
- The Anglican Communion, the Old Catholic Church, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of India, and the Philippine Independent Church.
- The Churches of the Porvoo Communion
- The Episcopal Church in the United States of America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- The Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and each of the following: the Moravian Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ, and
- The Moravian Church and the United Methodist Church.
- The United Methodist Church with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
Agreements of Communion in progress
- The United Methodist Church is currently working toward full communion with both the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
- The Church of England is currently working diligently toward full communion with the Methodist Church of Great Britain.
- Many of the Independent Catholic Churches are working diligently toward full communion with each other and with the Old-Catholic Union of Utrecht.
