Convergence Movement

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Convergence Movement (also known as the Ancient-Future Faith movement)[1] is a Protestant Christian movement that began during the Fourth Great Awakening (1960–1980) in the United States. It is largely a result of the ecumenical movement.[2] The Convergence Movement developed as a syncretic movement among evangelical and charismatic churches in the United States blending charismatic worship with liturgies from the Book of Common Prayer, and other liturgical sources common to Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Roman Catholicism.[3][4][5] Denominational groups forming the Convergence Movement may self-identify as Convergence, Ancient-Future Faith, Ancient Faith, paleo-orthodox, or evangelical Episcopal; Convergence Christian denominations are often identified by the historic sacramental churches (and self-identified Convergence bodies) as some form of broader Anglicanism or Episcopalianism.[6][7][8]

The pioneers of the Convergence Movement were seeking to restore a primitive form of Christianity different from what the Restoration Movement taught.[9] It was inspired by the spiritual pilgrimages of modern Protestant writers like Thomas Howard, Robert E. Webber, Peter E. Gillquist, and ancient Christian writers such as the Church Fathers and their communities. These men, along with theologians, scripture scholars, and pastors in a number of Protestant denominational traditions, were calling Christians back to what they saw as their roots in the early Church prior to the Great Schism and rise of the state church of the Roman Empire.[10][11][12] Since the advent of Convergence Protestantism, numerous denominations and organizations have sought or claimed apostolic succession.

History[]

All Saints Orthodox Church, served by Peter E. Guillquist after joining the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

In 1973 Campus Crusade for Christ missionary Peter E. Gillquist (1938–2012) of Chicago established a network of house churches throughout the United States, aiming to restore a primitive form of Christianity, which was called the New Covenant Apostolic Order. Researching the historical basis of the Christian faith, Gillquist and his colleagues found sources for this restoration in the writings of the early Church Fathers. This led the group to practice a more liturgical form of worship than in their previous evangelical background.[13]

In 1979 the Evangelical Orthodox Church was organized.[14] The belief of needing apostolic succession led most members of Evangelical Orthodoxy to join the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America in 1987.[15][16] Others later joined the Orthodox Church in America or Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Today, the Evangelical Orthodox Church has been categorized as Eastern Protestant.

In 1977 "The Chicago Call" was issued by the National Conference of Evangelicals for Historic Christianity, meeting in Warrenville, Illinois.[17] Led by Robert E. Webber (Assoc. Professor of Theology at Wheaton College), along with Peter Gillquist, Thomas Howard, Richard Holt, Donald Bloesch, Jan Dennis, Lane Dennis, and Victor Oliver, the conference discussed the need for Evangelical Protestants to rediscover and re-attach to the Christian Church's historic roots. The conference issued several documents which together are known as "The Chicago Call". Components of the document include: "A Call to Historic Roots and Continuity; A Call to Biblical Fidelity; A Call to Creedal Identity; A Call to Holistic Salvation; A Call to Sacramental Integrity; A Call to Spirituality; A Call to Church Authority; and A Call to Church Unity".[17]

In 1984 Charisma magazine, one of the most influential magazines of the Charismatic Movement, published an article by Richard Lovelace entitled "The Three Streams, One River?" (Sept 1984).[18] Lovelace approvingly noted the trend of Catholics, Evangelicals, and Charismatic/Pentecostal Christians moving closer together.

Robert Webber's 1985 book Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals are Attracted to the Liturgical Church documents the stories of six Evangelical Protestants who, for various reasons, had converted to the Episcopal Church in the United States. Publication of this book stirred up a great deal of interest in the Evangelical Protestant press, generating numerous reviews in Christianity Today and other widely read evangelical publications.[1] In the following years Webber wrote several additional books that had great influence on evangelical churches seeking to incorporate liturgy and traditional practices into their worship, and numbers of Evangelical Protestants and Charismatics continued to migrate to the historic liturgical denominations.

In 2007 former Archbishop Randolph Sly of the Charismatic Episcopal Church joined the Roman Catholic Church and was ordained into the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.[19][20] From 2008 to 2014, the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches held informal ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church through Bishop Tony Palmer until his death.[21][8][22] In 2020, the Convergence Movement was highlighted by Religion News Service after a trend of young Christians returning to traditional churches such as the ;[23][24] leadership of the Union of Charismatic Orthodox Churches met with Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (Ecumenical Patriarchate) at the end of 2020.[25]

Churches[]

The following is not a complete list, but aims to provide a comprehensible overview of the diversity among denominations of Convergence Christianity. Only organizations with Wikipedia articles will be listed.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Yang, Tabby. "Remembering Bob Webber". ChristianityToday.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  2. ^ "The Convergence Movement". Association of Religion Data Archives. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  3. ^ Schmit, Clayton J. (2009). Sent and Gathered: A Worship Manual for the Missional Church. Baker Academic. pp. 58, 59, 79. ISBN 978-0-8010-3165-6.
  4. ^ Agama, Archbishop Doye (2015-10-16). An Apostolic Handbook: Volume I: Guidance on Faith and Order in the Apostolic Pastoral Congress. Fast-Print Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78456-198-7.
  5. ^ "The Convergence Movement". Basileians. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  6. ^ "What is Convergence?". CEEC - International. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  7. ^ "About the ICCEC". ICCEC. 2020-06-09. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  8. ^ a b "Tony Palmer, who captured Pope Francis' bid for Christian unity with a cellphone, dies after motorcycle crash". Religion News Service. 2014-07-22. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  9. ^ Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A. (2016-11-10). Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 629–630. ISBN 978-1-4422-4432-0. The Convergence Movement focused on the blending of different worship traditions into one. For this reason, it had several defining characteristics corresponding with the different worship backgrounds that were being blended together. One characteristic of the movement was the focus given to unity. Rather than being divided by the different denominations, the movement rejoiced in the one body of Christ seen throughout the whole world. The Convergence Movement was also defined by its focus on the early church. It sought to live in accordance with apostolic teaching and trace its authority back to apostolic origins.
  10. ^ J. Gordon Melton Encyclopedia of American religions - 2003 "In the years after World War I, negotiations began to create a broad union that would include the Anglican and ... the "convergence movement," the term referring to the "convergence" of various streams of renewal that shared an understanding of the church as one Body with a variety of diverse but contributing parts. Following the lead of British bishop Lesslie Newbigin, the convergence movement affirmed the threefold essence of the church as Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox/Pentecostal. The church is Catholic as it relates to the emphases of "incarnation and creation," Protestant with an emphasis on "biblical proclamation and conversion, " and Orthodox/Pentecostal in relation to "the mystical and the Holy Spirit."
  11. ^ Vinson Synan The Holiness-Pentecostal tradition: Charismatic movements in the ... - 1997 p294 "By 1990, like minded pastors were banding together in what they called a "convergence movement" designed to bring the three streams together in a new and powerful spiritual configuration. Even more striking were the cases of charismatic ..."
  12. ^ The Encyclopedia of Christian Literature 1 p93 e.d George Thomas Kurian, James D. Smith, III - 2010 "It foreshadows the convergence movement of the late twentieth- and early-twenty-first-century churches that are liturgical/sacramental and evangelical/ reformed."
  13. ^ Hopkins, Joseph (April 21, 1978). "Schism in the Order". Christianity Today. Vol. 22 no. 14. p. 45.
  14. ^ Walker, Gordon (September 1983). "Odyssey to Orthodoxy". Again. Vol. 6 no. 3. p. 10.
  15. ^ "Evangelical Orthodox Join Antiochian Jurisdiction". Theosis. Vol. 9 no. 9. September 1986. p. 8.
  16. ^ "Retrospective on the EOC Reception into the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese". ww1.antiochian.org. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  17. ^ a b "The Chicago Call - Collection 33". www2.wheaton.edu. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  18. ^ Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A. (2016-11-10). Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-4432-0.
  19. ^ "Former Charismatic Episcopal archbishop joins Roman Catholic Church". Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  20. ^ "Local man ordained to Anglican ordinariate- The Arlington Catholic Herald". catholicherald.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  21. ^ "The CEEC Remembers Bishop Tony Palmer, who passed 6 years ago today". CEEC - International. July 20, 2020. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  22. ^ "Pope and Late Evangelical Bishop were Like 'Father and Son'". America Magazine. 2014-07-22. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  23. ^ "Liturgy-hungry young Christians trade altar calls for Communion rails". Religion News Service. 2020-06-18. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  24. ^ Berg, Megan van der (2020-07-12). "The Rise Of 'Charismatic Orthodox' Churches". JOY! News. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  25. ^ "Archbishop of America met the leadership of the Union of Charismatic Orthodox Churches". Orthodox Times. December 11, 2020. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

Further reading[]

  • Gillquist, Rev. Peter E. Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 1989. (ISBN 0-9622713-3-0)
  • "Sound of Rushing Waters", by Daniel W. Williams, ACW Press/DQuest Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-932124-66-7
  • "Forgotten Power", William L. DeArteaga, 2002 Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids Michigan, 49530, ISBN 0-310-24567-2
  • "Evangelical, Sacramental, and Pentecostal: Why the Church Should Be All Three", Gordon T. Smith, 2017 IVP Academic, ISBN 978-0830851607

External links[]

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