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Signing of The Porvoo Declaration
Signing of The Porvoo Declaration
The signing of The Porvoo Declaration by the chairperson of the Danish Inter
Religious Council and the bishop of Copenhagen took place in Copenhagen Cathedral
on Sunday October 3rd 2010 following a celebration of Holy Communion. The
signing was witnessed by the bishop of Iceland and the bishop of Newcastle,
co-chairpersons of the Porvoo Contact Group. It set in train the next phase
of the Porvoo Agreement and of the common life of Lutherans and Anglicans
in Scandinavia, the Baltic States and the British Isles. Those attending
were lay, clerical and episcopal members of the Churches of Estonia, Lithuania,
Sweden, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland and,
of course, Denmark. Representatives of St Alban’s Church, Copenhagen,
were also present as was Bishop David Hamid, assistant bishop in Europe.
On the evening of October 2nd evensong was sung in St Alban’s Church.
Members of the Danish Church had been participating Observers in Porvoo
from the beginning. The outstanding theological difficulties which had impeded
the Danish signing were addressed and the resolution of such outstanding
matters was greatly facilitated by the patient work of the Very Reverend
John Arnold, formerly dean of Durham and the Right Reverend Kenneth Stevenson,
formerly bishop of Portsmouth.
The Danish signing of Porvoo comes out of one of the longest continuous
set of theological conversations, beginning in 1909. The Anglo-Nordic-Baltic
Theological Conference, now under the chairmanship of the bishop of Clogher,
began as a house-party convened by Bishop Stevenson’s grandfather,
then bishop of Aarhus. The bishop of Copenhagen spoke of the conscientious
attempt of the Danish Lutherans to be good pastors in a modern age. He also
spoke of the desire of the Danish Church to be full participants in Porvoo.
The chairperson of the Danish Religious Council in turn spoke of the thirst
for dialogue and the willingness to dare which the Danes bring to the Porvoo
family. The Primus of Scotland, speaking on behalf of the Anglicans present,
referred to his admiration for the way in which Porvoo churches minister
in societies both ancient and modern and for the ways in which Scandinavian
communities have consistently addressed the gap between rich and poor which
many other European countries have simply watched as it widened.
Participating in the Danish signing of Porvoo gave a sense of the importance
of allowing churches and the institutions and people who are their building-blocks
to decide in their own good time, after reflection and the formulating of
questions which need to be answered. The Porvoo Communion has emphasized
apostolicity in the ecclesiological understanding of succession and has therefore
given important clues for the future in holding together as dynamic concepts
mission and ministry. Both confidence in one’s own tradition and versatility
in grasping the tradition of another emerge as theological virtues in a living
participation in the life and the future of Porvoo. Sharing in the rich tapestry
of lived experience across Europe by Anglicans and Lutherans adds strength
and depth to one’s own witness in faith to God in one’s own place.