The Church of England and closer union with Methodists
by Ian Paul, Psephizo:
This week, the Church of England’s General Synod will debate something controversial other than sexuality (hurrah!): whether we should take a formal step towards closer union with the Methodist Church by means of mutual recognition of our respective presbyteral (local church leader) ministries. The proposals are set out in the report Ministry and Mission in Covenant from the Faith and Order Commission (FAOC) in the C of E and its counterpart in the Methodist Church—and I confess to being pleasantly surprised by the clarity, coherence and persuasiveness of the case that it sets out, exploring in turn the historical context of the debate, the question of episcopal ministry, the meaning of ministry recognition, and the legislative requirements. For me, the nub of the issue (which has been the focus of much subsequent debate) is expressed in chapter two, in the paragraphs expressing the theological significance of Episcopal ministry. These paragraphs set out a number of important observations about the nature and understanding of episcopal ministry in the Church of England.
The comments firstly recognise the importance of episcopacy in the Church of England, and its nature:
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