By the Rev. Vivian Ruth Sawyer

It would be hard to overstate the symbolic importance of this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Rome in January. First, it coincided with a Jubilee Year, traditionally proclaimed by the universal church every 25 years. This year, as many as 35 million Christians are expected to make a pilgrimage to Rome to mark the Jubilee.

Second, the Roman Catholic Church and all others who recognize its importance are celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE., out of which the Nicene Creed was produced, confessing the faith common to all Christians.

Third, with Pope Francis’ health appearing fragile, an undercurrent of concerned affection seemed palpable for visitors.

The pope has christened this Jubilee Year devoted to the hope of the Gospel. Indeed, his Bull of Indiction opening the Jubilee Year was entitled “Hope does not disappoint,” after Romans 5:5. (Those interested can read the papal bull in its entirety here.) His closing sermon for the week focused on the question, “Do you believe this?” asked of Martha by Jesus before he resurrected Lazarus. It’s a good question for each of us as followers of Christ.

One group of pilgrims had a rare opportunity to reflect on this question as we visited Rome and studied the history of ecumenism between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church. For the third time since 2019, Nashotah House Theological Seminary and The Living Church Foundation (this year in partnership with the Anglican Communion Office in London) offered a graduate-level course on Christian unity, subtitled Anglican Ecclesiology and Ecumenism. The class took place in Rome during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and included an audience with Pope Francis and meetings with Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, and Fr. Martin Browe of the Vatican Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity. Browe has been working closely with  Christopher Wells, director of unity, faith, and order in the Anglican Communion Office in London in writing and editing documents for possible presentation by the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission and the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission.

With Rome as the backdrop, the largely (but not entirely) American group of pilgrims discussed the history and development of Anglican ecclesiology as an ecumenical enterprise, including its scriptural foundations, the Augustinian roots of the Church of England, the emergence of the Anglican Communion, the Second Vatican Council and “Communion Ecclesiology,” the Arc of Anglican-Roman Catholic Encounter, and the vision being cast for the future of ecumenism between our churches. Reflecting on the history and evolution of ecumenism, it becomes increasingly evident that the Holy Spirit is leading the way as our churches grow toward each other in Christ.

Also leading the course were the Rev. Matthew S. C. Olver, executive director and publisher of The Living Church Foundation and affiliate faculty member, Nashotah House Theological Seminary; and Joseph Mangina, professor of systematic theology at Wycliffe College, Toronto.

The Rev. Vivian Ruth Sawyer is a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida and the co-founder of the Consortium for Christian Unity