Bishop Robert speaks of his recent meeting in Washington:

As the world seems to be ever more polarized and divided, so the task of building unity between Christians becomes ever more vital. It was in furtherance of this aim, that the steering committee of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), of which I am the Anglican Co-Chair, met in Washington DC, USA, from 29 September to 2 October 2024. 

The meeting was kindly hosted by (the Catholic) Georgetown University, in association with (the Anglican/Episcopal) Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS). 

During our meeting, we reflected on the origins and ecumenical task of IARCCUM. Since its founding in 2001, IARCCUM has worked through bringing together pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops from different parts of the world. We have held two very successful pilgrimages of bishops, one in 2016 from Canterbury to Rome, and one in 2024 from Rome to Canterbury. We thought about ways to continue to resource these bishop-pairs and to make Catholic – Anglican togetherness an increasing reality on the ground.

Dahlgren Chapel, Georgetown University, where we gathered to worship

Our meeting took place in the context of worship and shared meals. Dr Christopher Wells of the Anglican Communion Office and Fr Martin Browne of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, shared personal testimonies of their experience of ecumenical work and prayer. Archbishop Samuel Peni of Equatoria in the Episcopal Church of South Sudan spoke about the very close relationships between the two churches in his country. He described a country suffering the effects of war, where much of civil society is maintained by the church. 

Public Seminar on the themes addressed by IARCCUM

The meeting included a public seminar in Georgetown, co-sponsored by the university’s Office of the President and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, in association with the Office of the Dean of Virginia Theological Seminary. Our gathering concluded with a dinner hosted by Dr Tom Banchoff, university Vice-President for Global Engagement.

IARCCUM Steering Committee members with some of the faculty and students of VTS

This was a rich and rewarding gathering. It was good to have opportunity to present IARCCUM’s work to academic audiences in Washington DC. I particularly enjoyed our encounter with students from VTS, who probed our work with lively and perceptive questions. How could the unity expressed in high-level gatherings find its way to more local expression? What about countries and contexts where individual communities seem to want to have little to do with the wider church?

Moving two huge institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion in the direction of increased shared mission and greater unity is a grand endeavour. I dare to believe that our gathering made further steps in enabling and enacting this aim.

The Capitol Building, seat of the United States Congress

On the final morning, I had opportunity to take the metro into central Washington to see some of the iconic government buildings. It was a visible reminder that our conference on Christian Unity was taking place in the capital city of the most powerful country in the world. And, of course, a nation that is polarized politically. The Capitol is one of the world’s most potent symbols of democracy, yet we all remember the distressing scenes when this building was attacked in 2021. 

As Christians, we believe that Christ came into the world to reconcile the world to God and that he sends us out as ambassadors of reconciliation. That task is indeed vitally important, both within the church itself and in our world.