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Rt Revd Gregory K Cameron Bishop of St Asaph, and His Eminence
Metropolitan Bishoy of Damietta, in the presence of the Rt Revd Dr Geoffrey
Rowell, former Co-Chair of the Commission and co-signatory to the
Statement.
The Commission completed its work on the Procession of the Holy
Spirit, agreeing on the omission of the Filioque clause that had been appended
to the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed in the Latin Western tradition. The
Co-Chairs signed an Agreed Statement on the procession of the Holy Spirit,
which is Part A of our ongoing work on our theological understanding of the
Holy Spirit. A detailed discussion of the action of the Holy Spirit in the
Church followed, including a discussion of the four marks of the Church,
namely: oneness, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity. The Commission has
designated a drafting group which prepared a preliminary draft and will
continue to work on Part B of our theological understanding of the Holy Spirit.
The Commission discussed the present situation of Christians in the
Middle East and heard reports on the difficulties facing Churches, particularly
in Syria and Iraq. There was a consideration of the most practical ways in
which the Anglican Communion in its various countries could respond
effectively to the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe.
Members of the Commission continue to pray for the Middle East, for
the victims of war, for refugees, and for all hostages. We also pray for our fellow
Christians, and especially the two kidnapped Bishops of Aleppo: Metropolitan
Mor Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and
Metropolitan Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, of
whom there is still no word.
The Commission also marked the Centenary of the Armenian
Genocide. The connection between WE Gladstone, former British Prime
Minister, and the Armenians whom he defended during their sufferings in the
1890s was commemorated in St Deiniol’s Church, Hawarden. The Revd Dr
Patrick Thomas gave a presentation on his book, Remembering the Armenian
Genocide 1915, which was appreciated by the Commission.
The fifth meeting of the Commission will take place in Antelias,
Lebanon, from the 24th to 29th October 2016, hosted by His Holiness
Catholicos Aram I.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Commission thanked the Triune
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for the mutual understanding and friendship
that was experienced and shared, and looks forward to continuing its work.

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