THE QUICK RUNDOWN:
ARE WE IN FULL COMMUNION: No.
ARE WE IN A EUCHARISTIC SHARING AGREEMENT: No.
CAN ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CLERGY SERVE IN AN EPISCOPAL CHURCH: No.
CAN ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CLERGY BECOME EPISCOPAL CLERGY WITHOUT RE-ORDINATION: Yes. A judgement by the Presiding Bishop is required to proceed under Canon III.10.3 to receive Oriental Orthodox Clergy
CAN EPISCOPAL CLERGY SERVE IN AN ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCH: No.
CAN ORIENTAL ORTHODOX LAITY BE MEMBERS OF AN EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Yes.
ARE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX LAITY CONFIRMED OR RECEIVED: Oriental Orthodox Laity who have been baptized and chrisimated may be received into the Episcopal Church. (See Confirmation/Reception Guidelines.)
ARE WE IN A EUCHARISTIC SHARING AGREEMENT: No.
CAN ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CLERGY SERVE IN AN EPISCOPAL CHURCH: No.
CAN ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CLERGY BECOME EPISCOPAL CLERGY WITHOUT RE-ORDINATION: Yes. A judgement by the Presiding Bishop is required to proceed under Canon III.10.3 to receive Oriental Orthodox Clergy
CAN EPISCOPAL CLERGY SERVE IN AN ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCH: No.
CAN ORIENTAL ORTHODOX LAITY BE MEMBERS OF AN EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Yes.
ARE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX LAITY CONFIRMED OR RECEIVED: Oriental Orthodox Laity who have been baptized and chrisimated may be received into the Episcopal Church. (See Confirmation/Reception Guidelines.)
ALL THE THINGS:
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are the five churches descended from those which did not receive the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.): the Armenian Apostolic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church (Egypt), Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Syrian Orthodox Church, and Syrian Orthodox Catholicate of the East (India). These five churches share most of their ecclesiastical heritage with the Orthodox Church, but at the same time have their distinct identities not only on ethnic, national, cultural, and liturgical grounds, but also on a Christological position that is expressed in their common rejection of Chalcedon. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are members of the World Council of Churches and are in communion with each other. A series of major theological conversations have occurred between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and those churches in communion with the Patriarch of Constantinople, seeking to resolve differences in Christology. There have likewise been important dialogues between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church.
The Oriental Orthodox Churches have jurisdictions in North America which belong to a Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches in America (see Episcopal Church Annual, and the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations website).
The ancient Assyrian Church of the East has not been in communion with any other church since the Council of Ephesus (431 AD). Its Catholicos Patriarch resides in Chicago (see Episcopal Church Annual).
The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion have long enjoyed warm relations with the Oriental Orthodox. Nevertheless, it was not until 1983, on the occasion of an Assembly of the World Council of Churches, that the Archbishop of Canterbury called an informal meeting of Anglican and all Oriental Orthodox Church representatives. The meeting recommended that a "Forum" meet to explore ways to promote deeper relationships and mutual understanding. The Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Forum met in 1985 in England, with a representative of the Assyrian Church participating as an observer. It recommended pastoral cooperation in different regions such as North America, theological scholarships, and theological conversations in a "Memorandum and Recommendations of the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Churches Forum”. Subsequent forums met in Egypt in 1990 and in England in 1993. Light from the East: A Symposium on the Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Churches, Henry Hill, Editor (Anglican Books Centre, Toronto) is an important resource for those seeking to understand Anglicanism’s relationship with these churches.
In 1987 the Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Shenouda of the Coptic Orthodox Church signed an agreement testifying to their “essential common faith in Christ.” Similar common declarations have been signed by Pope John Paul II with leaders of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Even more significant is the work of theologians from the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church at four conferences beginning in 1964 which has led to recognition that the schism originated in cultural, terminological, and political differences rather than real differences in faith. These events mark the beginning of a healing of a division from the fifth century.
The 1991 General Convention called for an Anglican - Oriental Orthodox Consultation in the USA, which met in 1991 and again in 1993.
The Anglican-Oriental International Commission met in the summer of 2001. At this meeting the Commission set an agenda to draft a common statement on Christology. In the United States, there continue to be cordial relationships between the Episcopal Church and the Armenian Orthodox Church. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold visited Armenia twice during his primacy and was warmly received each time[M1] .
[M1]Additional history since 2001?
The Oriental Orthodox Churches have jurisdictions in North America which belong to a Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches in America (see Episcopal Church Annual, and the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations website).
The ancient Assyrian Church of the East has not been in communion with any other church since the Council of Ephesus (431 AD). Its Catholicos Patriarch resides in Chicago (see Episcopal Church Annual).
The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion have long enjoyed warm relations with the Oriental Orthodox. Nevertheless, it was not until 1983, on the occasion of an Assembly of the World Council of Churches, that the Archbishop of Canterbury called an informal meeting of Anglican and all Oriental Orthodox Church representatives. The meeting recommended that a "Forum" meet to explore ways to promote deeper relationships and mutual understanding. The Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Forum met in 1985 in England, with a representative of the Assyrian Church participating as an observer. It recommended pastoral cooperation in different regions such as North America, theological scholarships, and theological conversations in a "Memorandum and Recommendations of the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Churches Forum”. Subsequent forums met in Egypt in 1990 and in England in 1993. Light from the East: A Symposium on the Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Churches, Henry Hill, Editor (Anglican Books Centre, Toronto) is an important resource for those seeking to understand Anglicanism’s relationship with these churches.
In 1987 the Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Shenouda of the Coptic Orthodox Church signed an agreement testifying to their “essential common faith in Christ.” Similar common declarations have been signed by Pope John Paul II with leaders of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Even more significant is the work of theologians from the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church at four conferences beginning in 1964 which has led to recognition that the schism originated in cultural, terminological, and political differences rather than real differences in faith. These events mark the beginning of a healing of a division from the fifth century.
The 1991 General Convention called for an Anglican - Oriental Orthodox Consultation in the USA, which met in 1991 and again in 1993.
The Anglican-Oriental International Commission met in the summer of 2001. At this meeting the Commission set an agenda to draft a common statement on Christology. In the United States, there continue to be cordial relationships between the Episcopal Church and the Armenian Orthodox Church. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold visited Armenia twice during his primacy and was warmly received each time[M1] .
[M1]Additional history since 2001?