Posted on 10/28/2014 7:57:50 PM PDT by hiho hiho
Senior theologians in Anglican Communion and Oriental Orthodox Churches recently made history by signing an agreement on their mutual understanding of Christ's incarnation.
This was not just a minor point of theology, rather it was a subject that divided the Church following the Council of Chalcedon* in 451 AD, leaving the Oriental Orthodox Churches separated from the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Church of Rome.
The work to reconcile these branches of the Christian family on the question of how the two natures, human and divine, were united in one human being: Jesus Christ began in earnest in the 1990s.
By 2002 an Agreed Statement on Christology had been prepared by the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox International Commission (AOOIC) and sent to the participating Churches and an updated statement was recirculated in 2013. By the October meeting in Cairo, AOOIC members were able to finalise the document and Bishop Geoffrey Rowell and His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy of Damietta signed on behalf of their Churches.
This statement, which is a significant step of reconciliation, will now be sent to "the responsible authorities of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Anglican Communion for their consideration and action". Notes
*The Council of Chalcedon was a highly influential church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor), on the Asian side of the Bosporus.
It was probably just as hard to get the Anglicans to agree with one another!
the question of how the two natures, human and divine, were united in one human being: Jesus Christ
The irony of this statement is very great, as one of the key points is (or ought to be, unless the Anglicans have driven the Orthodox over the cliff), is that Jesus Christ is a Divine being (who assumed a human nature), not a human being. One act of being—one being, not two beings. I’m guessing that the reporter doesn’t grasp the theology involved, and may not have bothered to read the stuff.
Document here —
The Anglicans still believe Jesus has a divine nature? Who knew?
OK—the document doesn’t wade into being, but given that the reporter is writing for an Anglican News Service, is it too much to expect him to know the theological basics of the subject at hand?
For this and their Mid East positions, these two communities deserve each other.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.