Skip to main content

"Significant Common Ground" Found With Pentecostals (Zenit)

"Significant Common Ground" Found With Pentecostals
6th Round of Conversations Considers Gifts of Holy Spirit

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 17, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican's ecumenism council initiated a sixth phase in conversation with Pentecostal groups, saying a final report should be ready by 2015.

The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity reported on a seven-day round of conversations that concluded Thursday.

The Catholic-Pentecostal teams are considering Charisms in the Church: Their Spiritual Significance, Discernment, and Pastoral Implications.

Dialogue between the Vatican and these Pentecostal groups began in 1972.

The goal is not "structural unity," the Vatican statement clarified, but "to promote mutual respect and understanding in matters of faith and practice."

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Reverend Cecil Robeck, professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, Assemblies of God in Pasadena, California, are co-chairs of the dialogue.

"Our work and conversations this week have led Catholics and Pentecostals to a deeper understanding and appreciation for some common ground we share regarding charisms of the Holy Spirit," Bishop Burbidge said. "As we continue the dialogue in future years, we are renewed in our commitment to discuss respectfully the challenges that face us as we seek and pray for unity as brothers and sisters in Christ."

The topic of this first session was "Charisms in the Church: Our Common Ground." Other topics on the agenda for the sixth phase are: discernment (2012), healing (2013) and prophecy (2014). It is expected that the final report will be ready by 2015.

The Vatican said participants "rejoiced in the significant amount of common ground that was identified despite the differences between the two traditions. Both Catholics and Pentecostals recognize the abundance of gifts given freely by the Holy Spirit, and that the Church has a discerning role to play concerning their exercise."

The group considered topics such as the biblical foundations of charism, the historical and theological overview of the subject, the spontaneity or permanence of gifts, and the roles of clergy and laity.

email this article | print this article | comment this article

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Your Epitaph

Your Epitaph TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman Sunday, July 03 2011 "He will bless those who fear the Lord- small and great alike." Psalm 115:13 What will be written on your epitaph? How do you want people to remember you? What type of legacy will your life leave behind? I interviewed a very successful and powerful man one time for a magazine when this question came up. The man ran an international business that is a household name to all. He was a professed Christian, but he had difficulty answering my question. "I always knew someone would ask that question some day. I am not sure I am any more prepared to answer it now either," was the man's answer. He grappled for a few nice words, but it was clear he had not seriously considered his life much beyond his business success. It is said of George Washington Carver that he got up early in the morning each day to walk alone and pray. He asked God how he was to spend his day and what He wa...
2 comments
Read more

Die or Think

There is a disturbing voice which is reverberating and its echoes are heard across the mountains and valleys. People are running like herds; churched and unchurched are the same in this. The voice that I hear is so familiar to all of us thought it might take various forms. “As a man thinketh, so is he” Wow. What a powerful truth. It will change your world. The power of your thinking, imagination, fantasy can just change you and therefore change your world. That’s nothing new. Isn’t it? What saddens me is the great philosophers of the world have screamed this aloud for several centuries now but I have not seen anyone changing for Great but just turn miserable. I do understand what you are going to say – does not the bible say so. Brilliant so you know the Bible; Am glad that you know the Word of God. Lets look at the verse in detail “.. as a man thinketh, so is he…” Prov. 23: 7 Should we look at only the verse 7 a or should you want to look at 7b as well. The full verse goes like this: ...
2 comments
Read more

Starting Over

Bad time….still you can ‘start over’…This message was a real blessing to me and those of you who are caught up with the recession and the other worries…………   Starting Over The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. - James 1:9 Do you find yourself in humble circumstances? If so, James tells us that we are to take pride in this "high" position. These two things would seem to be an oxymoron. Most of us would not consider humble circumstances a high position. Successful business tells us that being on top means being wealthy, attaining favor and status, or having power to influence. However, Jesus influenced not from power, but from weakness. J.C. Penney is a name synonymous with department store. He first launched his chain of "The Golden Rule" stores in 1907. In 1910 his first wife died. Three years later, he incorporated as the J.C. Penney company. In 1923 his secon...
Post a Comment
Read more