ORIGINAL TEXT

Resolution A056

Title:   Interreligious Relations

Topic:   Ecumenism

Committee:   Ecumenical Relations

House of Initial Action:   Bishops

Proposer:   Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75th General Convention acknowledge our  baptismal identity as essential to who we are as Christians, and that it commits us, among other things, “to serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves” (BCP page 305); and be it further
Resolved, That the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church endorse the following statement as a basis for engaging in interreligious dialogue:
We affirm that the universe is the creation of a single loving God and is ours to care for in accordance with God’s purposes of respecting and honoring all who are created in the image of God (BCP, Catechism, page 846).
We acknowledge that the human family is broken by the power of sin and that Jesus’ Good News was given to the Church so that, with the help of God, we may live in harmony with God, within ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation (BCP, Catechism, page 849).
We affirm the centrality of Jesus’ Summary of God’s Law which calls upon us to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our minds and that this first, great commandment leads to God’s command to love our neighbors as ourselves (BCP, Catechism, page 851).
Therefore we commend to all our members dialogue for building relationships, the sharing of information, religious education, and celebration with people of other religions as part of Christian life with the understanding that:
(1) dialogue begins when people meet each other
(2) dialogue depends upon mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual trust
(3) dialogue makes it possible to share in service to the community
(4) dialogue is a medium of authentic witness by all parties and not an opportunity for proselytizing
We believe that such dialogue may be a contribution toward helping people of different religions grow in mutual understanding and make common cause in peacemaking, social justice, and religious liberty.
We further commend that dioceses, parishes, and other organizations of the Episcopal Church initiate such dialogue in partnership with other Christian Churches and in consultation with other provinces of the Communion, where appropriate in all cases.


EXPLANATION

In 2003 the General Convention of the Episcopal Church officially renamed the Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations the Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations (SCEIR). As part of its work in the 2004-2006 triennium the SCEIR concluded that while the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral served as the theological rationale for engagement in ecumenical dialogue, there was no official corresponding basis for this Church's involvement in interreligious relations. Therefore the preceding statement is meant to provide guidance for the work this church has been doing and to encourage new and continuing forms of dialogue between Episcopalians and persons of other faiths.
The resolution is based upon Resolution 20 of the 1988 Lambeth Conference, which founded the Network for Inter Faith Concerns (NIFCON).