Towards a (Differentiated) Consensus on Church Order: Anglicans, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox in Bilateral and Multilateral dialogue

This project seeks to explore what features of a common theology of ministry exist in the agreed statements of the international Anglican-Orthodox theological dialogue, the international CatholicOrthodox theological dialogue, and the convergence documents of the F&O Commission, BEM, and TCTCV. In order to elucidate the research question, I will examine five areas: the relationship and distinction between ordained and lay ministries, ministry as a gift to the community, the relationship between episcopacy and other ordained and lay ministries, the meaning of apostolic succession, and the meaning of ordination. My research will analyse the areas of agreement and remaining disagreement among the three traditions under consideration. It is my assumption that remaining ecclesiological differences could be resolved by a theology of ministry rooted in the broader biblical context of diakonia and challenged by contemporary mission theologies.