Our Connections

Who we share our faith with

We are fortunate to enjoy rich relationships with a variety of fellow protestant churches in Europe. We are connected to one another through our mutual Christian faith and love of Jesus, while acknowledging that our church doctrines and practices may differ. Above all, we seek to find commonalities in spirit and become closer, bridging the gaps between us before we look for differences.

The Episcopal Church and the Convocation have much to share and learn from our Anglican and ecumenical partners. From them, and from the local members of our own congregations, we discover what it means to be a European raised in a particular country and shaped by a particular language, culture, and denomination. At the same time, we have a special and timely experience to share with other Christians as the European scene changes and an increasingly unified Europe comes into being.

To give and to receive – in a common commitment to a common mission – is what we look forward to on this journey in faith together.

Our Partners in Europe

To give and to receive – in a common commitment to a common mission – is what we look forward to on this journey in faith together.

The Anglican Communion

All Anglican churches trace their origin to the form and expression of the Christian faith that developed in the Church of England and expanded during the Reformation. It is the third largest Christian communion in the world.

Joining, Being, and Believing

The congregations of the Convocation believe in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world.

The Convocation & the Anglican Commuion

The four Anglican Communion jurisdictions in continental Europe are:

In November 2020, these four jurisdictions agreed to a covenant that guides their relationships and collegial ministry. The “Porto Covenant,” named for the city in which the bishops of these jurisdictions first began exploring the possibility of such an agreement, is a work of considerable good will and collaborative effort on the part of all.

The Anglican Center in Rome

The Anglican Centre in Rome is the permanent Anglican Communion presence in Rome. It is a living symbol of our Communion’s commitment to the full visible unity of the Church. The Centre is sometimes described as an Anglican embassy; it serves as the home base for the Archbishop’s of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See. The Centre exercises a ministry of hospitality and prayer, and provides educational opportunities and resources.

For many years, The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe has supported The Anglican Centre in Rome. The Centre is sometimes described as an Anglican embassy in the heart of the Catholic World; it serves as the home base for the Archbishop’s of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See.  

On Interreligious Dialogue

The Episcopal Church teaches us to “affirm the foundational Gospel proclamation that ‘Jesus is Lord’ (I Corinthians12:3), and therefore the Summary of God’s Law: ‘love the Lord your God with all your hearts, with all your souls, and with all your minds, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mark 12:29-31; Book of Common Prayer, Catechism, page 851). For this reason we reach out in love and genuine openness to know and to understand those of other religions.”

Therefore, we commend to all our members of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe to engage in dialogues for building relationships, the sharing of information, religious education, and celebration with people of other religions as part of our life together in Christ.

One resource for thinking about and acting on the need to know our neighbor of another faith is this Episcopal Church statement was adopted by resolution of the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church (Anaheim, California): The Theological Statement on Interreligious Relations

Ecumenical Partners

The Episcopal Church is in full communion with The Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht and with The Church of Sweden. The Episcopal Church is currently exploring a full communion relationship with the Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern – ELKB (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria).

Church of Sweden

Our Full-Communion Relationship with the Church of Sweden, and the signing of the
Memorandum of Understanding (“The Paris Agreement”)
between the two churches, was celebrated at a
festive Eucharist on March 27, 2023 at 11h00 in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Paris

This service was live-streamed and is available for viewing on the Cathedral YouTube channel here. The Archbishop’s sermon is here.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Archbishop of Uppsala Martin Modéus sign a full communion agreement between The Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden during a March 27 service held at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity in Paris, France. They are surrounded by from left, the Rev. Margaret Rose, the Rt. Rev. Pierre W. Whalon, the Rt. Rev. Mark Edington and the Rev. Christopher Meakin. Photo: Jeremy Tackett
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Archbishop of Uppsala Martin Modéus sign a full communion agreement between The Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden during a March 27 service held at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity in Paris, France. They are surrounded by from left, the Rev. Margaret Rose, the Rt. Rev. Pierre W. Whalon, the Rt. Rev. Mark Edington, the Rev. Christopher Meakin, and the Ven. Walter Baer in the background. Photo: Jeremy Tackett

On Monday, March 27, 2023, Episcopal Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael Curry and the Primate of the Church of Sweden, The Most Rev. Martin Modéus, Archbishop of Uppsala, signed the a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a full-communion relationship between the Church of Sweden and the Episcopal Church, known as the “Paris Agreement.”  The Memorandum of Understanding was ratified by both the General Convention of the Episcopal Church and the General Synod of the Church of Sweden in 2022.

The Full Communion Celebration included many ecumenical guests.

Background

Discussions between the Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden have continued for over a century, beginning with the 1908 Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops resolution commending fuller cooperation between our churches. This work continued in the 1920s with Bishops in Charge of the Convocation, the Rt Rev Gershom Mott Williams and Rt Rev Charles Henry Brent.

The current discussions began in Paris with a meetings initiated by former Bishop in Charge, the Rt Rev Pierre Whalon in 2010, with a meeting between the ecumenical officers and other representatives of both churches. A study document regarding the history of our historic relationship was commissioned. This was in response to a resolution of the 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, directing the Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations to approach the Church of Sweden about formalizing our long-standing close relationship.

In 2015, both churches churches received the Report on the Grounds for Future Relations between the Church of Sweden and the Episcopal Church prepared by the ecumenical offices of both churches with the assistance of church historians.The Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden then acknowledged a formal relationship on two occasions in 2015: at the 78th General Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, on June 28; and on November 18 in Uppsala at the General Synod of the Church of Sweden.

This long-existing relationship was then affirmed and established canonically with the passage of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Churches, which was enacted by the 80th General Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, in July 2022. The General Synod of the Church of Sweden accepted and affirmed the same MOU in November 2022. The MOU was signed by Episcopal Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael Curry, and by the Church of Sweden’s Archbishop of Uppsala, The Most Rev. Martin Modéus, at a liturgy on March 27, 2023, in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Paris.

The 2015 report acknowledged a long history of shared church work and life between Swedish Lutherans and Episcopalians, beginning in the colonial period and extending to the present. It also identified the following areas of common mission going forward:

1. In practical work in parishes of The Episcopal Church’s Convocation of Europe and the Church of Sweden Abroad in Europe, where they may share similar challenges as expatriate congregations. In this context there may also be occasions when one church’s members can find a spiritual home in the other, if there is no parish of their own church in the vicinity.

2. In tripartite areas of interest as and when they arise in relation to common partners:

3. In issues of common concern in the strategy and programmatic work of the World Council of Churches.

4. In specific questions which the two churches prioritize, i.e. climate change, peace, gender justice, etc.

The 2015 report noted:

The proposal is not that a new ecumenical agreement on communion between these two churches be written, such as has been the case between a number of Lutheran and Anglican churches. Both the present churches are party to such agreements. Rather this document intends to show that there are historical and contemporary reasons for claiming that the two churches have in practice lived in fellowship with each other at various times, and therefore can be understood to do so today. This is a fact that we wish to acknowledge and celebrate, as the basis for closer cooperation where suitable in the future.

Katharine Jefferts Schori, twenty-sixth Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, encouraged the process leading to the report and its reception, noting that “This is a living partnership which will undoubtedly grow far deeper in coming years, particularly in this season in ministry with migrants, where we meet Jesus in the other.”

At the 2023 signing ceremony, Ärkebiskop Martin Modéus noted in his sermon, “This is church history. And what is more important: it is spiritual history. And what is even more important: it is spiritual future.”  See the Archbishop’s sermon here.

Anglicans and Lutherans also enjoy warm relations internationally through the Porvoo Communion of Europe-based churches. (The Episcopal Church is not a part of the Porvoo Communion.)

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria

This is a resource page for background documents related to the dialogue between the Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern – ELKB (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria) and The Episcopal Church (TEC). The 81st General Convention of TEC passed resolution 2024-A037 establishing Full Communion between the two churches. The ELKB already passed a similar resolution at its Landessynode in 2022. 

Background

The discussions between the Evangelische-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern (ELKB) and The Episcopal Church (TEC) began as the result of a meeting in June 2013 between Landesbischof Dr. Bedford-Strohm and Presiding Bishop the Most Rev. Dr. Jefferts-Schori. In their meeting, the two Presiding Bishops expressed the wish and challenge for the two churches to explore the possibility of closer communion, including, if possible, full communion with interchange of ministers and sharing of the sacraments.

A close relationship has existed for over 50 years between Episcopal Church and the ELKB in Munich, especially between the Church of the Ascension in Munich, a parish of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, and the Emmauskirche, a parish of the ELKB. Ascension has shared space in the Emmauskirche since 1970. Elsewhere in Bavaria, a similar close TEC-ELKB relationship exists with the Episcopal missions in Nuremberg and Augsburg, who also share space with ELKB parishes.

Conversations between representatives of the ELKB and TEC began in 2013 shortly after the encounter between Presiding Bishops Jefferts-Schori and Bedford-Strohm, and soon took on the characteristics of a dialogue. Meetings in subsequent years took place in New York, Tutzing, Paris, and Augsburg. Numerous smaller meetings took place between in-person meetings.

The conversation/dialogue committee included representatives from TEC, the ELKB, and:
• The Director for Unity, Faith and Order of the Anglican Communion Office,
• The Director of the Council for Christian Unity of the Church of England,
• A representative of Inter-Anglican Standing Commission for Unity, Faith and Order
• A representative of the German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation,
• The Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD) co-secretary of the Meissen Commission, and
• The Director for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

TEC General Convention Resolution 2018-C059 approved and commended the process of exploring deeper relations and the dialogue toward full communion between TEC and the ELKB.

Resolution 2018-C059 Commend Dialogue with the Evangelical Church in Bavaria
Resolved, That the 79th General Convention approve and commend the existing relationship between the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe (Convocation) and the Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern (ELKB) (Evangelical Church in Bavaria); and be it further
Resolved, That the 79th General Convention approve and commend the process of exploring deeper relations and the dialogue toward full communion between The Episcopal Church and the ELKB.

Link to the the 2024 General Convention resolution can be found here

The Augsburg agreement and papers in the Dialogue
  • TEC-ELKB Sharing the Gift of Communion (Augsburg Agreement) – As proposed 22.02.2022 – English and Deutsch
  • Commentary on “Sharing the Gifts of Communion” (the “Augsburg Agreement”) – English
  • Revised Resolution submitted by Bishops Edington, Franklin, and Jefferts-Schori for entering into Full Communion – here
  • ELKB Full Communion Packet as presented to Episcopal Church ecumenical leaders in April 2022 – here

Background Papers

  • History of the dialogue  – English and Deutsch
  • ELKB History, Church Government and Ecumenical Relations – English and Deutsch
  • TEC History, Church Government and Ecumenical – English and Deutsch
  • Episcopal Views of Episkopé,  a background paper on the development of episkopé in TEC by the Rt. Rev. Mark D.W. Edington – here
  • Anglican structures and ecumenical relations: ecclesiological factors in the TEC ELKB dialogue by the Rev. Prof. Dr. Charlotte Methuen – here

More information on Lutheran and Protestant Churches in Germany:

  • Understanding Lutherans. A Pocket Guide to Lutheranism in Germany (PDF) – here
  • Lutheran – Reformed – United. A Pocket Guide to the Denominational Landscape in Germany (PDF) – here
  • German Lutheran Ordination Rites – Deutsch and English – here

The Episcopal Church

Learn more about The Episcopal Church