During its brief history the Ecumenical Catholic Communion has founded congregations, received a number of additional communities into membership, entered into intercommunion agreements with other Catholic communions, and is developing agreements to incorporate other ecclesial bodies. It is likely that our Communion will attract an increasing number of communities and ecclesial bodies in the future. It is time for us to think seriously about how best to experience and express our commitment to both ecumenical outreach and fidelity to Catholic tradition. The purpose of this essay is to invite the clergy and laity of the ECC to enter into prayerful, thoughtful and informed discussion about being the Body of Christ, discerning the unity within the Communion, with others in the Catholic tradition, with all of our sisters and brothers in Christ, and with people of good will in other religious and spiritual traditions. And while discerning that unity we should also celebrate the diversity we encounter within this Communion and those with whom we are engaged in ecumenical dialogue. As we do these things, let us stand fast in our faith tradition while simultaneously moving forward in the world to which we have been called to proclaim the Gospel in both word and deed. Let us never let tradition inhibit innovation as we carry out our mission, and let us never let innovation obscure tradition.

In order to start this discussion I will be presenting a perspective, not the perspective. Indeed, in all that follows it should become clear that if we are to honor our diversity there are Catholic perspectives and not a singular Catholic perspective. That is true whether we are talking about the Church Catholic writ large, the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, or a given congregation. Lest anyone think that the plurality of perspectives indicates that “anything goes,” I hasten to add that if we are to honor our unity we need also keep in mind that although there is no singular Catholic perspective, we do acknowledge that some perspectives are Catholic and others are not. As we go forward in this discussion, we will consider methods of discerning our unity that can also embrace and our diversity. As we consider these in prayerful conversation, it is my hope that we will develop a consciousness that will deepen our individual and collective experiences of the complex integrity of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, and indeed of the Church Catholic. A necessary starting place is to deal with some terminology that has been, is, and will continue to be crucial to any sustained conversation about ecclesiology (our theological reflection on the Church itself).