11
November 2014 A.D. Foley Beach (ACNA) Meets Hilarion
Alfeyev (Russian Orthodox Church)
No author. “Archbishop Beach and Metropolitan
Hilarion Encourage Anglican/Orthodox Ecumenical Dialogue.” Anglican
Church in North America. N.d. http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/908. Accessed 10 Nov 2014.
Archbishop
Beach and Metropolitan Hilarion Encourage Anglican/Orthodox Ecumenical Dialogue
On November
8th, 2014 Archbishop Foley Beach met with Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, Chairman
of the Department of External Relations for the Russian Orthodox Church.
The meeting,
welcomed by Metropolitan Hilarion at St.
Vladimir’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York, was an opportunity to meet
Archbishop Beach, as well as continue the ecumenical dialogue between faithful
Anglicans in North America and the Orthodox Churches.
Bishop Ray
Sutton, Provincial Dean and Dean of Ecumenical Affairs was also present at the
meeting, and was encouraged by the extension of ecumenical continuity,
“Metropolitan Hilarion was with us when we met together for dialogue at
Nashotah House in 2012, at which time he expressed a desire to continue
Anglican/Orthodox dialogue through the Anglican Church in North America, and
this meeting tonight with Archbishop Beach further encourages the strengthening
of ties between the Anglican Church in North America and Orthodox churches in
this part of the world.”
Archbishop Beach
commented on the meeting, “Metropolitan Hilarion has spent no small amount of
time with Anglicans around the world, and over the years he has been a prophetic voice calling
the Anglican Church to remain true to the Christian faith in the face
of an increasing propensity for cultural accommodation. The conversation
tonight was a pleasure, and I look forward to finding the ways in which we
might partner for the cause of the Gospel.”
During the
meeting, Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America warmly
invited Archbishop Beach to the Orthodox All-American Council meeting in
Atlanta, Georgia in July 2015.
Archpriest
Chad Hatfield, Chancellor of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary remarked, “The re-birth
of Anglican/Orthodox relations is now a reality with the official exchanges
between the ACNA and the OCA and clearly now with the Russian Orthodox Church
through the leadership of Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev. The historical
significance of this meeting of Archbishop Beach with His Beatitude Tikhon of
the OCA and Metropolitan Hilarion is truly significant as a sign of this refreshed
dialogue.”
Later in the
evening Archbishop Beach and the Anglican bishops were invited to process in
the ceremonies at which Metropolitan Hilarion received a doctorate in divinity
(honoris causa) from St. Vladimir’s Seminary, and presented a lecture on the
relationship between Primacy and Conciliarity.
As the
various branches of the Orthodox Church prepare for an historic global
gathering in 2016, the lecture highlighted the Russian Orthodox Church’s
understanding of the conciliar nature of church councils.
Bishop Kevin
Allen, head of the Anglican/Orthodox dialogue in North America and the Anglican
Bishop of Cascadia noted the parallels with the GAFCON movement: “The Orthodox
churches have always recognized the importance of conciliar leadership. The
Ecumenical Patriarch is “Primus Inter Pares” (the first among equals),
having a role to play in gathering the Orthodox churches, but the ongoing work
of the Church, centered on the Gospel, is done with collegiality and
consensus. This ancient model is also evident in the structure of the
Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GFCA). As Chairman of the
GFCA, Archbishop Wabukala has been faithful to call the Primates together at
regular intervals, and once called together the Primates Council has worked to
build consensus in a way that models Christian commitment, charity, and unity.”
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