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Covenant of Intercommunion
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In the year of our Lord 2006, the Celtic Episcopal Church and the Christian Church Synod of St. Timothy hereby formally establish between themselves a covenant of intercommunion, through which both parties agree to work together in unity, harmony, and peace for the cause of our Lord Christ Jesus and for the advancement of God's kingdom in our world.
Our bond of intercommunion includes the following specific provisions:
(1) Based on the articles of Resolution 11 of the 1888 Lambeth Conference, we agree (a) that the Sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments comprise the foundational standard of Christian faith containing all that is necessary for the sake of our salvation; (b) that the Apostles' Creed constitutes our common baptismal symbol and that the Nicene Creed constitutes the sufficient statement of the Christian faith; (c) that the sacraments of baptism and the holy eucharist, ordained by Christ himself, hold a certain preeminence in the life of the Church; (d) that the historic episcopate constitutes valid succession to the ministry of the Apostles of our Lord Christ Jesus.
(2) With each church retaining her autocephalous character, and while recognizing and affirming one another's apostolic succession and articles of faith and sacramental order, we further agree... (a) to share with each other liturgical, formational-educational-atechetical, and other resources for the sake of mutual edification. (b) to welcome each other's clergy at concelebrations of the divine liturgy and to share the services of clergy as needed. (c) to continue the apostolic practice of ordaining men to the presbyterate and episcopate. (d) to uphold marriage according to the biblical understanding that marriage is a heterosexual relationship, that is, one that uniquely exists as a life-long commitment between one man and one woman, which further means that we will neither recognize nor solemnize/bless same-sex unions. (e) likewise, to adhere to the belief that a homosexual lifestyle is not compatible with service in the ordained ministry, which further means that we will not ordain those who practice a homosexual lifestyle.
May the Lord preserve us in unity, harmony, and peace, and may our shared labors contribute to the advancement of God's kingdom in our time and in our respective corners of the world.
Signed,
The Most Rev John W. Rinkle OCMA
The Celtic Episcopal Church
Metropolitan
The Most Rev Craig Davis SST
Christian Church Synod of St. Timothy
Presiding Bishop