The Synod on Synodality at the Anglican Synod

18 February 2025

Europe

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Sr Nathalie Becquart, xmcj, participated last February 12th in a meeting on "Synods and the Synodal Way in the Catholic Church" at Church House, Westminster Abbey, London. The event, hosted by the Council for Christian Unity of the Anglican Church, was organised as a fringe meeting of the General Synod of the Church of England – the national assembly where bishops, clergy, and laity gather to legislate, shape worship, address national and international matters, and oversee the Church's national budget.

The Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of Southwark, Bishop John Wilson, delegate of CBCEW, and Bishop Martin Warner of the Anglican Diocese of Chichester, who attended the Synod on Synodality as a fraternal delegate, shared their transformative experiences of the 2 sessions of the General Assembly of the Synod of bishops in Rome. They described it as a spiritual journey and an encounter with the universal church. They both emphasized how ecumenism, rooted in our shared baptism, calls for furthering our “walk together” and synodal journey. Sr Becquart offered additional insights, highlighting the importance of an ecumenical reception of the Synod's Final Document.

The ensuing discussion was attended by members of the Anglican Synod, the Catholic observer from the Bishops' Conference, an Orthodox bishop, and the general secretary of Churches Together in England organization. Some interesting proposals emerged during the discussions such as the importance of shared prayers and pilgrimages, the need for collaborative approaches to common missionary challenges and some possible common experiences of the synod method of Conversation in the Spirit. The meeting proved to be a constructive and enriching dialogue that reinforced the value of continued ecumenical engagement.

The focus is on dialogue and sharing, not debate or formulating immediate conclusions.

The topic that was discussed in the listening circle during the session was: How is this journeying together happening in your local church (parish/archdiocese)?

After this exercise, Father Botha shared common mistakes that facilitators should avoid. These include:

    • Dominance and bias, by talking too much, driving a hidden agenda, reacting instead of adapting and modelling teaching behaviour instead of learning behaviour, denying members the chance to think freely.
    • Poor management of group dynamics, by allowing dominators to take more than their share of time, ignoring quiet participants and ignoring conflict by allowing discussions to become personal, emotional or confrontational rather than focusing on the theme.
    • Letting sub-groups disrupt by allowing side conversations or cliques to affect the team’s performance, losing focus and not managing time.

The next workshop will be on 18 July, focusing on spirituality, governance and mission, ahead of the closing of the implementation phase of the Synod on Synodality, on 18 and 19 September 2026.

ecumenism | Listening | Synodality