HUNDREDS of Catholic and Anglican clergy and parishioners as well as leaders from other Christian Churches gathered in St Stephen’s Cathedral to celebrate the signing of a new Covenant of Understanding between the two Churches.
Speaking after the May 29 event, Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane said “the signing of the covenant will bring our two Communions closer together in the future”.
“We live in a secular culture and the more Christians from different Communions bind together to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ so much the better.”
Archbishop Bathersby, Bishop William Morris of Toowoomba and Anglican Archbishop Phillip Aspinall of Brisbane were joint signatories to the covenant at a combined act of worship.
The Celebration of Common Sesquicentenary and Signing of Anglican-Roman Catholic Covenant was celebrated on the 25th anniversary of Catholic Archbishop Francis Rush and Anglican Archbishop John Grindrod’s signing of a Common Declaration in support of ecumenical co-operation in St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane.
Archbishop Aspinall, in his homily at the May 29 event, said it “is a real joy for me to speak on this historic occasion”.
He thanked Archbishop Bathersby for the invitation to do so, continuing “tonight we celebrate a long, patient and very significant movement of God’s spirit in our two traditions and commit ourselves to move further together”.
The signing of the covenant by Archbishops Bathersby and Aspinall and Bishop Morris was a highlight of the ceremony.
Prior to the signing, Dean of St Stephen’s Fr Ken Howell announced “the Anglican and Catholic dioceses have come together to enter into a covenant relationship that we hope will help to build that unity which Christ desires for all his Church”.
Soon after this, three candles, each within a specially crafted glass cylinder, were lit from the Paschal Candle.
Fr Howell together with Dean of St John’s, Rev Peter Catt, then presented the candles to the archbishops and bishop who took them away as a continuing reminder of their commitment to unity.
Each of the candles is intended to burn permanently within the three cathedrals.
The covenant has been made available along with other documents for study purposes to local Anglican and Catholic parishes, schools and other communities.
It commits to a range of ongoing ecumenical activities.
Among these is “to celebrate an annual Ecumenical Service of Reconciliation … to be held as near as possible to 4 November (Anglican Roman Catholic Reconciliation Day) and to be rotated around the three cathedrals and the Anglican parishes in Toowoomba”.
