Rome, Italy, Feb 25, 2017 / 03:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis will tomorrow become the first Roman Pontiff to set foot in an Anglican parish in Rome, marking a symbolic act the church’s pastor said is hugely significant, yet surprisingly normal for two communities that are close to one another.
“Personally, as a parish priest of 17 years in this place, I can’t imagine a more fulfilling moment in my ministry,” Jonathan Boardman, pastor of All Saints Anglican Church in Rome, told CNA.
“It’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened, except it isn’t,” he said, explaining that it’s a very “natural and normal thing” for a group of Christians to welcome the leader of their brethren to their house.
For Pope Francis to become the first Roman Pontiff to step inside an Anglican parish in Rome, then, is “the most exciting thing, and it’s the most normal thing,” he said, saying it’s a gesture “that explains a truth about our Christian living.”
Both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, he said, have to find “the excitement of the Gospel and the fulfillment of it” in everything they do, “from the most rare thing to the most ordinary thing,” such as giving to the poor and offering prayers together.
Pope Francis’ visit coincides with the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Anglican parish community in the heart of the Eternal City, and will consist of a short choral Evensong service, during which the Pope will bless and dedicate an icon of “St. Saviour” commissioned for the occasion.
The symbolic “twinning” of All Saints Anglican Church with the Catholic parish of “Ognissanti” – the only Catholic parish in Rome dedicated to All Saints – will also take place during the liturgy, forming strong ecumenical ties between the two.
Ognissanti is the parish where Bl. Paul VI, on March 7, 1965, celebrated the first Mass in Italian following the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
After the singing of Evensong during his visit to All Saints, Pope Francis is expected to deliver a brief homily before taking questions from the congregation.
Established in 1816, All Saints contains the largest Anglican congregation in Italy, and is headed by Boardman and his assistant chaplain, Dana English. Both pastors will be present to welcome the Pope for his visit Sunday, as well as Robert Innes, the Anglican Bishop in Europe, and his suffragan, David Hamid.
In his comments to CNA, Boardman said that in his opinion, the reason a papal visit to an Anglican parish is possible now rather than in the past is likely due to “the fact that we’ve got Pope Francis.”
Francis “really determinately seeks to exhibit, to show the way in which he’s the Bishop of Rome and how that can be celebrated by other Christians who are present in Rome,” he said, noting that the visit builds on 50 years of dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans.
This positive dialogue the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion have enjoyed shows that Anglicans “are serious in giving honor to the Pope, in recognizing him as the leader of Christendom in some way, although obviously not in the juridical way,” Boardman said, explaining that this point “still keeps us separated.”
But from both the Catholic and Anglican sides, “I think both the Pope’s ability to recognize and accept and celebrate that (dialogue) with us, and our willingness to receive him and celebrate that (dialogue), are the two factors that have led us to where we are today.”
Pointing to Benedict XVI’s establishment of the Anglican Ordinariate in 2009 as a means of helping Anglicans who wish to become Catholic while maintaining certain elements of their liturgy and customs, Boardman called the move “a real generosity and attempt to meet some of the deficiencies, as they were conceived, of what kept us apart.”
While some on the Anglican side initially viewed the act as “hostile and invasive,” the pastor said for him that wasn’t the case, and that in his own personal view, the time has come “to settle down” and appreciate the gesture as “an act of generosity”.
“The degree to which Anglican patrimony truly has been inserted into the Roman Catholic world is something that’s ongoing,” he said, and noted that after the Pope’s visit to his parish this weekend, a Choral Evensong of the Anglican rite will be sung inside St. Peter’s Basilica March 13.
When it comes to progress Catholics and Anglicans have made toward unity, Boardman said he thinks the communities have grown closer, and that in his view “we’re closer to unity than we ever were before simply because time has passed and we’re nearer to God’s gathering us all in.”
“In that sense we’re nearer,” he said, but added that if they want to continue growing closer to one another, it can’t happen without taking on a more prayerful attitude.
There has to be greater openness “to God’s surprising demands on us, and our alignment with his will where all of us, all Christians” make the sacrifices and take the steps needed in order “to truly align ourselves with God’s will.”
Dialogue “has flourished” in the past 100 years, particularly after the Second Vatican Council, he said, acknowledging that unity is closer, but there is still a long way to go.
“We’re only just beginning truly to be real friends and being able to talk about our differences and our problems as friends,” he said, adding that “we’ve got a ways to go to resolve them.”
Some of the biggest hurdles that still need to be overcome exist on both a spiritual and practical level, he said, noting that the first challenge is always “to be faithful to God and to grow in spiritual depth.”
Apart from this, major issues from the Catholic standpoint include the ordination of women and homosexual individuals, whereas for Anglicans, how to accept papal primacy without “changing the nature” of Anglicanism is still a looming concern.
But putting the hurdles aside, Boardman said he hopes the twinning of his parish with the Catholic parish of Ognissanti will help to foster “greater friendship between our two communities.”
The gesture will offer both communities a way to experience the spiritual life of the other while staying “true to our … disciplines” and growing together through various activities, such as service to the poor.
“We’ve already started in sharing some of the feeding programs to the homeless in Rome,” he said, explaining that Ognissanti has already launched various projects, “but now we are participating in them.”
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How ghoulish! Enter the door marked “Superstition”. Is it any wonder some take amusement at the Church of Rome.
Bury the skull, instead exalt Christ!
Brian: First, read some history; secondly, deepen your theological understanding of God, Christ, the Incarnation, the body, etc.
It’s not ghoulish or superstitious. Or amusing. You are speaking like a 21st-century American, not a Christian rooted in Tradition faith, and eschatological hope.
Everything to do with the saints (relics, prayers, devotion, etc) is about Jesus Christ, precisely because the Catholic Faith has a far deeper, more robust, and authentic understanding of the Church, communio, and the material realm than do Protestants, who are so often (as one Protestant author rightly called it years ago) quite gnostic in their understanding of the created world.
Carl with comeuppance for yours truly. One of the reasons to enjoy CWR is to learn. The forum attracts able writers and educated, godly responders. We don’t have to be correct on every point, yet we are enriched as we encounter dialogue from fellow lovers of Christ. CWR is a catalyst for developing faith, eschewing misconceptions and aiding those who do not know Christ.
Perhaps you are correct in your summation, however, I would not be putting the skull of this giant of the faith on my mantlepiece anytime soon (providing some thoughtful soul sent it along)!
Allow me to compliment you and your staff on your God honouring work!
Ever in Christ,
Brian
James 1:9-10 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Romans 10:2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
Brian. God be with you.
Dear Georgina:
God’s richest blessings as you strive to serve Him!
Yours in Christ,
Brian
Dear Carl:
The gnostic perspective and Philip K lee!
A true protestant will reject gnosticism because it is unbiblical. You must review numerous drafts that present irregular and sometimes unorthodox views. Training and good scholarship allows you to separate the wheat form the chaff.
In John’s letters to the church, he uncovers the gnostic perspective. He does not endorse those views as sound theology. While these ideas may help a person to understand Christ’s message and decline conclusions that are contrary to Holy Scripture, should we not study the excellent while rejecting substandard analysis?
In Colossians, 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus and 2nd Peter, again, admonishment is given against the heresy of the gnostics. Perhaps scripture says it best in respect to the follower of gnosticism:
2 Timothy 3:7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Ephesians 4:14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Blessings,
Brian
“A true protestant will reject gnosticism because it is unbiblical.”
And yet, Brian, you apparently accept and promote sola scriptura, which is completely unbiblical. But we’ve covered that ground already…
Dear Carl:
How can the word of God be incomplete? He who has given us everything we need, in some such way, left something out? While I deeply respect your work, it will happen that we disagree from time to time. However, could you point to a specific instance where scripture fails to address a particular need that man has?
Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Ephesians 6:17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Blessings upon blessings,
Brian
Let those who take amusement at the church of Rome enjoy their laugh. They will laugh last as the Church honors the material remains of a saint of profound reason, deeply blessed faith, heavenly inspiration, and unearthly industry, skulls and its contents could greatly benefit. They will also laugh last as Jesus the Christ honors in heaven what the Church honors on Earth, as He holds bound what His Catholic Church holds bound. He is her Head. What body part does Protestantism hold with which to amuse, enjoy and believe itself blessed by that part?
Dear Meiron:
Thank you for responding and offering your perspective. You have said a great deal in a few sentences. Allow me to attempt to reply to you.
We agree on the excellence of Aquinas. We celebrate his faith, words and work. How could we laugh at such a godly legacy? Praise God for such a man.
If we discuss godly matters, our framework should be the guidance of God.
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
You point to: Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
We ask ourselves is there a restraining mechanism that all believers in Christ should adhere to?
Revelation 22:18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
Peter is liberated by the word of God and constrained by eternal precepts ordained by God, as well.
Malachi 1:6 “A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honour? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’
Isaiah 29:13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
Though I stand to be corrected, Catholics and Protestants celebrate the resurrected and holy body, plus spirit of Jesus Christ the righteous.
Blessings,
Brian