Despite both groups believing in the same God, the same Lord, and the same Spirit there has not been any sense of visible unity between the two. I feel this most personally when gathering together with many members of my immediate family who are Roman Catholic (I was raised Catholic but am now Presbyterian). There is an apparent separation between us, and the questions fueling this have only grown as I seek ordination.
This is most keenly felt in celebrating the Lord’s Supper, where the separation between Catholics and non-Catholics is most visibly apparent.
Unfortunately both groups are a long way from reaching unity in sharing at the communion table together; however, a historically important first step has taken place towards this unity. Among all the high profile proposed amendments, the 218th General Assembly passed in a 59-0 vote an ecumenical agreement titled “Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism.” In it, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the RCC mutually recognize the baptisms of one another. Wow! This is a wow moment in bringing the universal Church together. A brief background of how this came about is necessary.
In 1997 delegates from the PC(USA) met with the Pontifical Council in Rome followed by a visit by Monsignor John Redano to Louisville. In response to Pope John Paul II’s invitation in Ut Unum Sint (Latin for “may they be one”), the PC(USA) wrote a response to the idea of the primacy of the Bishop of Peter in a unified church, entitled The Successor to Peter, which they presented to the Pope and to the Pontifical Council in 2001. That same year the 213th General Assembly (GA) authorized a committee to invite the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for a series of studies with the ultimate goal of recognizing each other’s baptisms. At the 215th GA, a seventh round of dialogue was authorized and the result was the statement proposed to the 218th GA.
The agreement contains eight key statements. Statements one through seven all affirm different aspects and meanings of Baptism, concluding with the eighth statement, which encourages churches to accurately record and share their baptismal records. Both sides agree that baptism should be conferred only once, that it should be considered a sacrament of the church, and that it is only valid if the baptismal formula of “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is used.
There are two main features of this document that aid in its acceptance today, and provide a foundation for productive future dialogues working towards unity: the order of agreement on theological doctrine is acceptable to both parties; and the mutual recognition gives voice to the sacramental nature of baptism.
For many groups involved with bilateral dialogues, one of the key theological agreements desired is unity in celebration at the Lord’s Table. However for a dialogue to jump right to this important issue and work out an agreement for the Eucharist celebration would bypass one of the Table’s requirements — that one be a baptized Christian (see W-2.4011 of the Book of Order). Agreement on the Eucharist cannot be the starting point regarding mutual recognition of different church traditions. Pope John Paul II stated this exactly in his 2003 letter entitled, Ecclesia de Eucharistia (“Church of the Eucharist”) saying, “The celebration of the Eucharist, however, cannot be the starting-point for communion; it presupposes that communion already exists, a communion which it seeks to consolidate and bring to perfection.” The first statement in the agreement also gives witness to this belief in saying that, “Baptism … is therefore the sacramental basis for our efforts to move towards visible unity.” Therefore, by starting the mutual recognition with the most central and fundamental of all Christian sacraments, the delegation has prepared itself for a prosperous future (at least, I hope so).
The two groups have a wide disparity as to what constitutes a sacrament. The Presbyterian belief is that a sacrament is only something instituted by Christ himself. The Roman Catholic belief regards sacraments in more of a celebratory embrace of the entire Christian life (baptism, confirmation, marriage, ordination, reconciliation, Eucharist, and last rites). Despite the differing definition of what constitutes an official church sacrament, both agree that baptism is a sacrament. Clearly affirming this basic agreement, five out of the eight statements contain the word sacrament: “sacramental basis,” “sacramental gateway,” “sacrament,” “sacrament of the church,” and “sacrament of Baptism.” By constantly affirming the sacramental importance of the baptismal rite, both groups acknowledge the primacy of baptism while at the same time creating the mutual recognition of a shared belief.
A simple wow can not express the depth of the importance of this agreement. Yes, the two traditions may still have plenty of differences regarding a wide range of topics; but to think and imagine a time when both can share in the celebration and proclamation of the Lord’s Table is not something solely for dreams any longer.
The Committee on Ecumenical Relations, which has overseen these dialogues, has created a document detailing the entire history of the dialogues and about the theology of baptism central to this agreement entitled, These Living Waters, (www.pcusa.org/ecumenicalrelations/resources/these-living-waters.pdf). To read about the current dialogues on the Eucharist as reported by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, visit: (www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2008/08-073.shtml).
Shawn Hyska is a senior M.Div. student at Princeton Theological Seminary and is a candidate for ordination under the care of the Philadelphia Presbytery.
