THE Bishop of Visby, the Rt Revd Erik Eckerdal, brought greetings to the General Synod from the Primate of the Church of Sweden, the Archbishop of Uppsala, the Most Revd Martin Modéus.

Speaking on behalf of all ecumenical representatives to the Synod, he described himself as “eager and curious” to experience how the synodical process worked: “how you listen to the Spirit and together, attentively, as bishops, clergy, and lay together discern the will of the Lord.” That was hard work, he acknowledged, and called for everyone’s attention.

Bishop Visby spoke of the widening and deepening of communion as a result of the Porvoo Common Statement (PCS), signed in 1996, which had made manifest the visible, sacramental communion between the national Churches that were parties to it.

“I think my presence here could be a further reminder that we really have to work this out: to find deeper communion,” he said.

Part of implementing the Common Statement was the need to find a name that “better expresses what we confess about our communion and our unity in Christ. In contrast to most of our ecumenical agreements, bi- or multilateral, the PCS established the visible sacramental unity and communion we are looking for. The 15 Churches, or Provinces, still have to work out how we work it out in a practical way and in a deeper sense.”

The statement was based on a common understanding of faith and sacrament, he concluded, with a deeper understanding of Catholicity and apostolic succession.

“Knowing that in the Church there is a new order where we are meant to be gifts to each other — not different parties, but, rather, helping each other, no matter what our positions are fundamentally — is a gift of the Spirit.”

The Bishop of Pennsylvania in the Episcopal Church in the United States, the Rt Revd Daniel Gutiérrez, was also scheduled to speak, but could not be present. He instead addressed the Synod on Monday afternoon.

He spoke about serving a diocese that had been “broken” when he arrived, but that “we decided together that things had to be different”. The Church, he said, “cannot be a social club based on a religious ideal”, but has to be built on Jesus.

In his diocese, people were now able to work together, he said, and though this didn’t mean that there weren’t theological and personality differences, “we’re taking time, and leaning against the heart of Christ, and through that transcendence see one another as Christ sees each one of us.”