11 Dec GS 1986 art 145

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GS 1986 ARTICLE 145

Correspondence with Churches Abroad (General)

Committee 3 presents:

A.    MATERIAL

–   Agenda, VIII, G, 3a Report from the Committee on Correspondence with Churches Abroad.

G, 3b Letter from Committee on Correspondence with Churches Abroad.

B.    OBSERVATIONS –  General

  • 1.    General Synod Cloverdale 1983 gave the committee the following mandate:
    • a.    To continue the Ecclesiastical Fellowship with the Free Reformed Churches of Australia, De Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, and Die Vrije Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika in accordance with the adopted rules.
    • b.     To request the Free Reformed Churches of Australia to make their revised version of the Church Order available to our committee for correspondence for possible comments and/or recommendations.
    • c.     To add to the present rule c of the Rules for Correspondence: “re: proposals for changes in the Three Forms of Unity, the sister churches abroad shall receive ample opportunity (at least three years) to forward their judgment before binding decisions will be made.” Rule c reads then as follows:
      • “To inform each other concerning changes of, or additions to, the Church Order and Liturgical Forms, while corresponding churches pledge to express themselves on the question whether such changes or additions are con­sidered acceptable. Regarding proposals for changes in the Three Forms of Unity, the sister churches abroad shall receive ample opportunity (at least three years) to forward their judgment before binding decision will be made.
    • d.    Again to request the Netherlands sister-churches permission to publish the translation of the Form for Ordination/Installation of Missionaries for use in the Canadian Reformed Churches.
    • e.    To request the churches abroad that in the matter of relationships or con­tacts with third parties “there be consultation and coordination between sister churches.
    • f.     To request the churches abroad that contacts in countries where sister churches are already established be made not independently but in con­ junction with these sister churches.
    • g.    To charge the committee to send an invitation to sister churches abroad at least one year prior lo the date the next general synod is to convene and to have our churches represented by a delegate to general synods of such churches abroad, if invited and when feasible.” (Acts 1983, Art. 99, D, I, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  • 2.    Free Reformed Churches of Australia
    • a.    The committee scrutinized a copy of the new revised Church Order. No basic objections are reported.
    • b.    An invitation to attend the General Synod of Launceston of 1985 was declined for cost reasons.
    • c.     General Synod of Launceston:
      • This Synod adopted most of the Book of Praise for use in the FRCA.
      • ii        The number of FRCA churches in the federation is increased by one, making five in total.
      • iii     Regarding relations with other churches, it was decided that the recogni­tion of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ireland and the Free Church of Scotland were made with “undue haste and without due consideration.” The FRCA deputies were charged to as yet investigate these churches and to submit extensive reports to the next synod.
      • iv     Synod also decided to change the name of the correspondence deputies to “Deputies for Relations with Churches Abroad.”
      • v     Synod furthermore decided that “there should be only one form of per­manent ecclesiastical fellowship between sister churches, any rules for temporary ecclesiastical contact should make clear that the contact has as its aim the establishment of a sister-church relationship.”
      • vi     Synod instructed the Deputies for Relations with Churches Abroad to investigate the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia with a view to Art. 29 of the Belgic Confession and to report to the next synod.
      • vii   Synod decided to investigate whether or not the Reformed Church of Japan and the Presbyterian Church of Uganda could be recognized as true churches with a view to entering possible sister-church relation­ ships. It also urged the Reformed Church of Japan to break its ties with the RES.
      • viii   Regarding the ICRC, synod decided to seek membership. Synod took over all the amendments to the ICRC Constitution as proposed by the Canadian Reformed Churches. General Synod of 1987 will have to make a decision concerning continuing membership in the ICRC.
      • ix     Synod mandated its deputies to explore the possibility of the FRCA becoming formally involved in the maintenance of the Theological Col­lege of Hamilton or Kampen.
    • d.     The committee concludes with the recommendation that the correspondence with the Free Reformed Churches in Australia be continued in accordance with the adopted rules.
  • 3.    De Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland
    • a.     The GKN have been informed about the decision of the General Synod of Cloverdale of 1983 that related to our relationship with them.
    • b.    The request for permission to publish the translation of the Form for the Ordination/Installation of Missionaries is granted by the General Synod of Heemse.
    • c.     The Dutch deputies have kept our committee informed as far as developments with the OPC are concerned. At the present time it is one­ sided; the OPC either does not receive the GKN mail or else it does not respond.
    • d.    Committee-member, Rev. J. Visscher, addressed the General Synod of Heemse as a welcomed guest. He attended discussion of matters relating to the Psalms, relations with Korea, Taiwan, etc. Rev. Visscher explained “several decisions of the General Synod of Cloverdale that had a bearing on our relationship with the Dutch churches.”
    • e.    During the discussion with the representatives of the Free Reformed Church of Ireland it became apparent that the Irish and Scottish churches have some reservations about the rules for correspondence.
    • f.     The committee reports that the Acts of the General Synod of Heemse disclose that this synod, among other things, decided:
      • to adopt in a definitive form the revisions of all the creeds, liturgical forms, and prayers. Also adopted were the 150 psalms and the 41 hymns in a new version. A church-book will be published which will also contain the Church Order;
        • ii      to send a letter to the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in the Netherlands as an appeal for unity in the faith;
        • iii     to continue Ecclesiastical Fellowship with the following churches:
          • a.   Canadian Reformed Churches
          • b.   Free Reformed Churches of Australia
          • c.   Vrije Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika
          • d.   Reformed Churches of Indonesia at East-Sumba Savu
          • e.   Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ireland
          • f.    Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin)
        • to continue Ecclesiastical Contact with the following churches:
        • a.   Free Church of Scotland
        • b.   Reformed Presbyterian Church of Taiwan, Second Presbytery
      • to continue the offer of provisional Ecclesiastical Contact with the follow­ing churches:
        • a.   Dutch Reformed Church of Sri Lanka
        • b.   Reformed Church of Japan
        • c.   Die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika (Dopperkerken)
      • to continue with contacts with the following churches:
        • a.   The Orthodox Presbyterian Church – U.S.A.
        • b.   The Presbyterian Church in America
        • c.   Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland
        • d.   Reformed Churches of New Zealand
        • e.   Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
        • f.    Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Suid-Afrika
        • g.   Church of Christ in the Sudan, under the Tiv
        • h.   Iglesia Reformada Presbiteriana in Spain
        • i.    Greek Evangelical Church
      • vii    to charge a committee to study the entire matter of the functioning of the forms of the ecclesiastical relations together with the existing rules, and to allow the committee meanwhile to apply the existing rules for Ecclesiastical Contact in a flexible manner;
      • viii    regarding the ICRC, Synod decided to declare to be in agreement with the Basis, Constitution, and Regulations as formulated by the Constit­uent Assembly.
    • g.     The committee scrutinized the revision of the creeds, liturgical forms and prayers as far as they were published in the acts. They consider the revi­ sion to be in accordance with Holy Scripture and in harmony with reformed church-polity.
    • h.     The committee concludes with the recommendation that the correspondence with the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland be continued in accordance with the adopted rules.
  • 4.     Die Vrije Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika
  • The committee reports:
    • a.     They have informed the DVGKSA about the decisions of the General Synod of Cloverdale of 1983 dealing with Inter-Church relations.
    • b.     The South African deputies state that DVGKSA has been offered a “Frater­nal Relationship” by the Korean churches.
    • They propose to accept this offer “in order to give a name to the fact that we have much in common and that we regularly keep each other informed about our activities and decisions.”
    • c.     The General Synod of Capetown of 1984 decided:
      • The rejection of double correspondence (correspondence with more than one “church denomination” in the same foreign country) must, accord­ing to the General Synod of Capetown of 1984, be understood in the following manner –  “that one should not resign oneself as churches to a ‘double correspondence’ because in our judgment one resigns then to a sinful situation of division.”
      • ii      Agreement is expressed with the decisions of the General Synod of Cloverdale of 1983 regarding ecclesiastical relations (Acts, Cloverdale, Art. 110).
      • iii     Synod expresses its concern to the General Synod of Heemse for the fact that this synod appears to introduce another relationship among churches, called “Ecclesiastical Contact.” In particular they are concerned because the GKN continues conditionally to offer this relation• ship to Die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika (Dopperkerken). This is a church that has no relationship at the present time with this church.
      • iv     The Synod appointed a committee that was charged to study the Westminster Standards to ascertain whether they will form an obstacle to joining the ICRC.
    • d.    The committee concludes with the recommendation that the correspondence with the Die Vrije Gereformeerde kerken in Suid-Afrika be continued in ac­cordance with the adopted rules.

C.    CONSIDERATION

  • 1.    From the correspondence with and the Acts of the Free Reformed Churches of Australia, De Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, and Die Vrije Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika, we may gratefully conclude that these churches are faithful to God’s Word and the Church Order.
  • 2.    The committee has fulfilled their mandate.

D.    RECOMMENDATIONS

Synod decides,

  • 1.    To continue the Ecclesiastical Fellowship with the Free Reformed Churches of Australia, De Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, and Die Vrije Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika in accordance with the adopted rules.
  • 2.    To charge the committee to send an invitation to sister churches abroad at least one year prior to the date the next general synod is to convene and to have our churches represented by a delegate to general synods of such churches abroad if invited and when feasible.
  • The recommendations are ADOPTED.
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