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CONCLUSION
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Our study,
which opens with a careful ecclesial and ecumenical reading
of the Scriptures, in the light of the ancient common traditions,
has illuminated in a new way the place of Mary in the economy
of hope and grace. We together re-affirm the agreements reached
previously by ARCIC, in Authority in the Church II 30:
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that any
interpretation of the role of Mary must not obscure the
unique mediation of Christ;
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that any
consideration of Mary must be linked with the doctrines
of Christ and the Church;
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that we
recognize the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Theotókos,
the mother of God incarnate, and so
observe her festivals and accord her honour among the saints;
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that Mary
was prepared by grace to be the mother of our Redeemer,
by whom she herself was redeemed and received into glory;
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that we
recognize Mary as a model of holiness, faith and obedience
for all Christians; and
that Mary can be seen
as a prophetic figure of the Church.
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We are convinced
that any attempt to come to a reconciled understanding of these
matters must begin by listening to God's word in the Scriptures.
Therefore our common statement commences with a careful exploration
of the rich New Testament witness to Mary, in the light of overall
themes and patterns in the Scriptures as a whole.
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This
study has led us to the conclusion that it is impossible
to be faithful to Scripture without giving due attention
to the person of Mary (paragraphs 6-30).
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In recalling
together the ancient common traditions, we have discerned
afresh the central importance of the Theotókos
in the Christological controversies, and the Fathers'
use of biblical images to interpret and celebrate Mary's
place in the plan of salvation (paragraphs 31-40).
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We have
reviewed the growth of devotion to Mary in the medieval
centuries, and the theological controversies associated
with them. We have seen how some excesses in late medieval
devotion, and reactions against them by the Reformers,
contributed to the breach of communion between us, following
which attitudes toward Mary took divergent paths (paragraphs
41-46).
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We have
also noted evidence of subsequent developments in both
our Communions, which opened the way for a re-reception
of the place of Mary in the faith and life of the Church
(paragraphs 47-51).
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This
growing convergence has also allowed us to approach in
a fresh way the questions about Mary which our two Communions
have set before us. In doing so, we have framed our work
within the pattern of grace and hope which we discover
in Scripture – "predestined … called …
justified … glorified" (Romans 8:30) (paragraphs
52-57).
Advances in Agreement
- As a result of our study, the Commission offers the following
agreements, which we believe significantly advance our consensus
regarding Mary. We affirm together
- the teaching that God has taken the Blessed Virgin Mary
in the fullness of her person into his glory as consonant
with Scripture, and only to be understood in the light
of Scripture (paragraph 58);
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that
in view of her vocation to be the mother of the Holy
One, Christ's redeeming work reached ‘back' in
Mary to the depths of her being and to her earliest
beginnings (paragraph 59);
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that
the teaching about Mary in the two definitions of the
Assumption and the Immaculate Conception, understood
within the biblical pattern of the economy of hope and
grace, can be said to be consonant with the teaching
of the Scriptures and the ancient common traditions
(paragraph 60);
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that
this agreement, when accepted by our two Communions,
would place the questions about authority which arise
from the two definitions of 1854 and 1950 in a new ecumenical
context (paragraphs 61-63);
- that Mary has a continuing ministry which serves the
ministry of Christ, our unique mediator, that Mary and
the saints pray for the whole Church and that the practice
of asking Mary and the saints to pray for us is not communion-dividing
(paragraphs 64-75).
- We agree that doctrines and devotions which are contrary to
Scripture cannot be said to be revealed by God nor to be the
teaching of the Church. We agree that doctrine and devotion
which focuses on Mary, including claims to ‘private revelations',
must be moderated by carefully expressed norms which ensure
the unique and central place of Jesus Christ in the life of
the Church, and that Christ alone, together with the Father
and the Holy Spirit, is to be worshipped in the Church.
- Our statement has sought not to clear away all possible problems,
but to deepen our common understanding to the point where remaining
diversities of devotional practice may be received as the varied
work of the Spirit amongst all the people of God. We believe
that the agreement we have here outlined is itself the product
of a re-reception by Anglicans and Roman Catholics of doctrine
about Mary and that it points to the possibility of further
reconciliation, in which issues concerning doctrine and devotion
to Mary need no longer be seen as communion-dividing, or an
obstacle in a new stage of our growth into visible koinonia.
This agreed statement is now offered to our respective authorities.
It may also in itself prove a valuable study of the teaching
of the Scriptures and the ancient common traditions about the
Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God incarnate. Our hope is
that, as we share in the one Spirit by which Mary was prepared
and sanctified for her unique vocation, we may together participate
with her and all the saints in the unending praise of God.
[Information Service
118 (2005/I)]
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