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[This article appeared in Ecumenical Trends, vol 32, no 1, January 2003. Reprinted by permission]

The 18th Plenary of the Consultation on Church Union was convened in January 1999 to inaugurate a new relationship among nine churches. Together, the churches were to affirm "visible marks of Churches Uniting in Christ," including the reconciliation of ministries. The Plenary came close to failing, in part because the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) could not resolve their differing convictions regarding ordered ministry. The Episcopal Church's commitment to the historic episcopate and the Presbyterian Church's understanding of corporate episcopé, together with the Presbyterian Church's commitment to the ordained elder and the Episcopal Church's understanding of the "three-fold ministry," made it clear that reconciliation of ministries was impossible. Even mutual recognition of ministries seemed problematic. Yet the Plenary found a way forward.

The desire to achieve a fuller measure of visible unity resulted in the inauguration of "Churches Uniting in Christ" that included a provision for ongoing theological dialogue to provide a foundation for mutual reconciliation of ministries, with the goal of accomplishing full reconciliation of ministries by 2007. The Presbyterian Church and the Episcopal Church also entered into a bilateral dialogue focusing on the issue of ordered ministries-episcopé and episcopate, elders and the three-fold ministry. At the same time, the Presbyterian Church joined with other Reformed churches in a dialogue with the Moravian Church, focusing on ministries of oversight. It is in this context that I wish to explore the Reformed-Presbyterian understanding of ordered ministry and episcopé, elders and bishops.

The Reformed tradition's understanding of ordered ministry and episcopé is complex, embracing a long history of theological and ecclesiastical discussion and disagreement. Reformed churches throughout the world embody presbyterial, congregational, and mixed polities, as well as differing patterns of ordered ministry. (The diversity of Reformed church life as well as its congruity is symbolized by the formation in 1970 of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches by the union of the World Presbyterian Alliance and the International Congregational Council.) Nevertheless, while consistency among Reformed churches is elusive, several typical features of historic Reformed ecclesiology endure in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). [Full Text]