Baptisms recognized across denominations
Urging followers to hold fast to the unity of teaching in the reading from 1 Corinthians this Sunday, Saint Paul speaks of the gospel message having been passed . . .
Urging followers to hold fast to the unity of teaching in the reading from 1 Corinthians this Sunday, Saint Paul speaks of the gospel message having been passed from one early believer to another in a great chain of faith. “I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received . . . . Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”
The continuity of teaching about baptism between denominiations was front and center last week when representatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and four Reformed Christian denominations took an important step toward greater unity when they signed an agreement in Austin, Texas affirming that all the churches involved recognize the validity of each other’s baptisms.
The signing took place at the opening of the annual meeting of the ecumenical association Christian Churches Together (CCT), which includes over 40 Christian communions and groups. “There has already been a strong response from CCT members who have said this represents healing,” said Oblate of Saint Francis De Sales Father John Crossin, executive director of USCCB’s Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. “In the past, there has been much confusion, and even pain, over the failure to reach an understanding on this question. Our hope is that this would be a model for similar agreements.”
“We are overjoyed at this historic recognition of one another’s baptism and are committed to move forward in a new round exploring a common vision of the church,” said Bishop Denis Madden, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore and chairman of the USCCB Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. While other Catholic episcopal conferences around the world have similar agreements with Protestant communities, this is the first such agreement into which the USCCB has entered.
The signing, which occurred during a prayer service at St. Mary Cathedral, included the Presbyterian Church-USA, the Christian Reformed Church in North America, the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ. More information on the agreement is available at Common Agreement on the Mutual Recognition of Baptism.
Homily hint: People in the assembly may not be aware of who the Reformed churches participating in this agreement are, so some information on that point might be helpful. The agreement is also a chance to talk about what baptism is and how it can serve as a common ground between denominations.
The continuity of teaching about baptism between denominiations was front and center last week when representatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and four Reformed Christian denominations took an important step toward greater unity when they signed an agreement in Austin, Texas affirming that all the churches involved recognize the validity of each other’s baptisms.
The signing took place at the opening of the annual meeting of the ecumenical association Christian Churches Together (CCT), which includes over 40 Christian communions and groups. “There has already been a strong response from CCT members who have said this represents healing,” said Oblate of Saint Francis De Sales Father John Crossin, executive director of USCCB’s Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. “In the past, there has been much confusion, and even pain, over the failure to reach an understanding on this question. Our hope is that this would be a model for similar agreements.”
“We are overjoyed at this historic recognition of one another’s baptism and are committed to move forward in a new round exploring a common vision of the church,” said Bishop Denis Madden, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore and chairman of the USCCB Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. While other Catholic episcopal conferences around the world have similar agreements with Protestant communities, this is the first such agreement into which the USCCB has entered.
The signing, which occurred during a prayer service at St. Mary Cathedral, included the Presbyterian Church-USA, the Christian Reformed Church in North America, the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ. More information on the agreement is available at Common Agreement on the Mutual Recognition of Baptism.
Homily hint: People in the assembly may not be aware of who the Reformed churches participating in this agreement are, so some information on that point might be helpful. The agreement is also a chance to talk about what baptism is and how it can serve as a common ground between denominations.
Source: A press release from USCCB.org/news