ecumenism" "
The Church of England has taken an important step towards reconciliation with the English Methodists. On 13 July, the Anglican General Synod approved, with 356 votes in favour against 32 against, a series of measures to achieve “an organic unity” with the Methodists. These measures provide for the sharing of services and resources at all levels, as also the establishment of a “joint decision-making structure” with a view to “a fully unified ministry”. The English Methodist Church, which now comprises some 320,000 members, had broken off all relations with the Anglican Church at the time of its foundation by secession in the eighteenth century. A first attempt at reconciliation had failed in 1972, due to the strong conservative resistance in the Anglican Church. This resistance has not been entirely overcome; some Anglican exponents in recent days contested the equivalence between Anglican and Methodist episcopates. Some “prudential” reservations were also expressed on the Methodist side, especially about the possibility of women gaining access to the office of bishop.
