[ENI] An international Anglican commission considered a number of ongoing and proposed ecumenical dialogues at its meeting in Dublin from Sept. 12-19, according to a news release from the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS).

The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) “reflected on the Christian calling to work for the visible unity of God’s Church as ambassadors for Christ in the ministry of reconciliation,” according to ACNS.

The commission received updates from ecumenical dialogues with Lutherans, Methodists, the Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholics. Regarding Anglican-related work, the group discussed the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant, the Anglican “instruments of communion,” theological anthropology and reception.

The commission also met with Archbishop Michael Jackson of Dublin who is also chair of the Management Group of the Anglican Communion’s Network for Inter Faith Concerns.

The commission commended for study the work of the Anglican-Old Catholic International Co-ordinating Council (AOCICC): “Belonging Together in Europe: a joint statement on ecclesiology and mission.”

The commission said that it hopes the next meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council, called ACC-15 and scheduled to take place in Auckland, New Zealand from Oct. 26-Nov. 8, will support renewal of the Anglican-Old Catholic council’s mandate, ACNS reports.

In its communique, the commission said it commended the Jerusalem Report of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission, “To Love and Serve the Lord: Diakonia in the Life of the Church,” and supports proposals for developing that work.

Noting that there were exploratory talks in 2011 between the Anglican Communion and the World Communion of Reformed Churches ― which includes the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ― the commission said it hopes that the Consultative Council will support the re-establishment of a formal dialogue with the Reformed Churches.

The commission also commended the text of the WCC Faith and Order Commission, “The Church: Towards a Common Vision,” to ACC-15 for referral to the churches of the Anglican Communion, and said it intends to undertake further study of this text.

Transitivity (the question of the relationship of different ecumenical agreements to one another) is the subject of a further report by the commission to ACC-15.

The commission was chaired by Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi, primate of the Anglican Church of Burundi, and met for daily prayer, Bible study of 2 Corinthians and celebration of the Eucharist, and to prepare its report for ACC-15. The World Council of Churches was represented by the Rev. John Gibaut.

It was the commission’s fourth meeting and was held at Dublin’s Emmaus Centre. Members also joined in the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist at Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin, attended evensong at St Patrick’s Cathedral and were hosted at a dinner at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute by the Church of Ireland’s Commission for Christian Unity and Dialogue.