Marriage and Ecumenism

By Gerard Stolk en route

(I'm having technical problems occasionally, apologies about the quality of photo, lack of links, etc.)  Here are details of another conference from the April edition of CTE News:

The 13th Annual Nottingham Ecumenical Commission Conference, in conjunction with the Marriage and Family Life Commission, will be on Marriage and Ecumenism: Seeking fidelity in a messy world.

It will be on June 10th – 12th 2011 at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire, led by Karen Kilby, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Nottingham University, and Tom O’Loughlin, Professor of Historical Theology, Nottingham University

The cost is £140 and booking should be made to Monica Purdue 114 Cross Street, Arnold, Nottingham NG5 7BY  0115 993 9235.

Karen Kilby is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham. She has written two books on Karl Rahner, and just completed a critique of Hans Urs von Balthasar. She has also worked on a variety of themes in theology, including the doctrine of the Trinity, the problem of evil and the limits of our knowledge of God. She currently serves as the President of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain. Karen is married and has three children.

Thomas O'Loughlin is Professor of Historical Theology in the University of Nottingham and an expert on the early church. His latest book is on the Didache and sub-titled: “A window on the earliest Christians”. He has taught around the world and has given much thought and energy to finding ways to teach Catholic communities - and those who minister in them - to appreciate the liturgy. He has written a series of five books to provide resources to those who preside, and books for those who read the Scriptures, and other short booklets, with CTS, for those who hear the Scriptures at the Eucharist. He is currently developing new resources, with the University of Nottingham, on YouTube.

Other speakers at the conference will be Melanie and Richard Finch of The Association of Interchurch Families and Fr David Gill who will speak about marriage from an Orthodox perspective.

London Meeting of Inter-Church Families

Image via Wikipedia

I haven't posted about the Association of Inter-Church Families and this article from this month's CTE News is an opportunity to visit their website and review their work.  If you visit their site you will find their Mission:

The Association of Interchurch Families provides:

a support network and information service

• for interchurch families (where the partners belong to different denominations – usually Roman Catholic and another Christian church);
• for partners and parents, growing children and young adults;
• for clergy, ministers, relatives, and all others concerned in the welfare of interchurch families.

a voice in the churches

• by keeping the pastoral needs of interchurch families before church leaders and communities, at local, regional, national and international level;
• by affirming the gifts of interchurch families and their potential as a catalyst for wider church unity;
• by linking with groups of interchurch families in other parts of the world.

All these activities are rooted in prayer and worship.

And this is the article from CTE News:

The London Meeting of the Association of Inter-Church Families heard from Professor Antoine Arjakovsky, Director of the Institute of Ecumenical Studies at the Catholic University of Lviv, Ukraine, (the photo is of the Cathedral in Lviv) and Commissioner Betty Matear, Moderator of the Free Churches and one of the Presidents of AIF.

Professor Arjakovsky is a lay Orthodox and his wife is Catholic so he is himself in an Inter-Church family. He explained the background of his upbringing in France where there was a renewal of Orthodox faith amongst the Russian community and ecumenical links developed such as the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius which brings together the Anglican and Orthodox communions.

He spoke of his personal journey and his ecumenical vision. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church defines itself as being Orthodox, Catholic and Reformed! The Council of Florence in 1539 allowed the One Church to be both Orthodox and Catholic. The Ukrainians also took a lot from the Reformers.

Commissioner Betty Matear, who completes her term as Moderator of the Free Churches in April, is the first Salvationist to hold that post. She spoke of her experience of the Papal Visit to the United Kingdom which she called ‘a faith lift’. She said it was a historical moment and she was glad to be part of it. She said her vision was a Church which sees the world with the eyes of Christ.

Related articles

• Inter-Orthodox consultation begins discussion on the nature of the church (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• The Orthodox Churches in the UK (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)