NOTTINGHAM STATEMENT

In April 1977 the Nottingham Congress for Evangelical Anglicans published

the Nottingham Statement as a faithful expression of the mind of

evangelical Anglicans. Chairman of the NEAC Executive Committee, John

Stott.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

M1: The present condition.

(a) We recognize and welcome the changing situation and the movement for

renewal in the Roman Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council and

we want to respond to it.

(b) Seeing ourselves and Roman Catholics as fellow Christians, we repent

of atttitudes that have seemed to deny it.

(c) We welcome the growing emphasis upon the Bible as normative for

Christian faith and conduct.

(d) We wish to be better informed concerning the Roman Church today and

will support and encourage opportunities for dialogue between us at all

levels.

(e) We believe that agreement on fundamental doctrine must precede any

formal act of union.

(f) While still regarding the major issues of the Reformation as

crucial, we welcome the progress made towards the doctrinal agreement such

as is evidenced in the ARCIC (Anglican Roman Catholic International

Commission) statements.

M2: Where clarification is needed

With the diversity of statements emanating from Roman Catholic circles,

we find it perplexing to know their present doctrinal position. We feel the

need for some official denials of past claims along with official

statements of current agreement. At the samne time, we should welcome an

indication from Roman Catholics of clarifications they desire from us. For

our part, we need further elucidation in the following areas:

(a) Does the Roman Catholic Church place itself under the Old and New

Testaments as the final authority under Christ?

(b) What is the relationship of tradition and the teaching authority of

the church to Holy Scripture?

(c) What authority today have the statements of such Councils as those

of Trent and Vatican I?

(d) Are men justified through faith, with their good works a fruit of

justification and not a source of merit|?

(e) How is the Eucharist related to Christ's sacrifice on the Cross?

(f) What standing have the Marian dogma of the Immaculate Conception and

the Bodily Assumption?

(g) What authority would be vested in any contemporary universal

primacy?

M3: Action to be taken

In restating our attitude to the Roman Catholic church, we want

simultaneously to affirm our close doctrinal and spiritual ties with non-

Anglican evangelicals, which we are most anxious not to jeopardise. To this

end, we need to clarify the Anglican stand on comprehensiveness.

(a) We shall all work towards full communion between our churches. We

believe that the visible unity of all professing Christians should be our

goal.

(b) We ask Roman Catholics to try to understand our difficulties as we

seek to understand theirs.

(c) We wish ARCIC to amplify their doctrinal statements in those areas

where we have asked for further clarification.

(d) We shall encourage every kind of co-operation that may bring this

goal of full communion nearer; some would welcome intercommunion as a step

in this direction.

(e) Realizing the urgency of the situation, we shall make time to get to

know and learn from one another, especially by prayer and studying the

Bible together.

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