Convergence Movement
Encyclopedia
The Convergence Movement refers to a move among evangelical
and charismatic
churches in the United States to blend charismatic worship with liturgies
from the Book of Common Prayer
and other liturgical sources. The Movement was inspired by the spiritual pilgrimages of modern Evangelical writers like Thomas Howard
, Robert E. Webber
, Peter E. Gillquist
and the ancient Christian writers and their communities. These men, along with theologians, scripture scholars, and pastors in a number of traditions, were calling Christians back to their roots in the primitive church.
missionary Peter E. Gillquist (1938-) of Chicago
established a network of house church
es throughout the United States, aiming to restore a primitive form of Christianity, which was called the New Covenant Apostolic Order (NCAO). 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. In 1979, the Evangelical Orthodox Church
(EOC) was organized. The belief of needing Apostolic Succession
led most members of the EOC to join the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
in 1987.
and other widely read evangelical publications. 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 Christians continued to migrate to the historic liturgical denominations.
magazine, one of the most influential magazines of the charismatic movement, published an article by Dr. Richard Lovelace entitled “The Three Streams, One River?” (Sept. 1984). Lovelace approvingly noted the trend of Catholics, evangelicals, and charismatics/Pentecostals moving closer together.
In 1992 A. Randolph Adler and a group of like-minded charismatic church pastors from the western U.S. formed the Charismatic Episcopal Church
. They obtained ordination in apostolic succession
and began worshiping liturgically
using the 1979 Book of Common Prayer
. The Charismatic Episcopal Church grew to become an international body known for its blending of sacramental, charismatic, and evangelical worship traditions.
Other worldwide Convergence Communions include the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches
(CEEC) and the Christian Communion International
(CCI), led by its Primate, Daniel W. Williams. These communions are interrelated and have inter-communion comity agreements. They are Evangelical, Sacramental and Pentecostal in piety and practice and use different authorized liturgies in worship. While women are ordained to both the diaconate and the priesthood, they do not admit women to the episcopate.
The Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) and the Anglican Church in North America (AC-NA) are churches that are connected to various provinces of the Anglican Communion
but are also explicitly committed to Convergence theology. Both of them have women priests but no women bishops.
The Lutheran Catholic Communion (LCC) formed in the year 2008 ordains women up to deaconess, and males only to the offices of priest and bishop.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
and charismatic
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
churches in the United States to blend charismatic worship with liturgies
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
from the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
and other liturgical sources. The Movement was inspired by the spiritual pilgrimages of modern Evangelical writers like Thomas Howard
Thomas Howard (writer and scholar)
Thomas Howard is a highly acclaimed writer and scholar. A convert to Roman Catholicism, he is known for his studies of C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams, as well as for books such as his Christ the Tiger and Evangelical is Not Enough ....
, Robert E. Webber
Robert E. Webber
Robert Eugene Webber was an American theologian known for his work on worship and the early church. He played a key role in the Convergence Movement, a move among evangelical and charismatic churches in the United States to blend charismatic worship with liturgies from the Book of Common Prayer...
, Peter E. Gillquist
Peter E. Gillquist
Peter E. Gillquist is an archpriest in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America and chairman of the archdiocese's department of missions and evangelism. He is chairman of , and is the author of numerous books, including Love Is Now, The Physical Side of Being Spiritual and...
and the ancient Christian writers and their communities. These men, along with theologians, scripture scholars, and pastors in a number of traditions, were calling Christians back to their roots in the primitive church.
Evangelicals Look Eastward
In 1973 Campus Crusade for ChristCampus Crusade for Christ
Campus Crusade for Christ is an interdenominational Christian organization that promotes evangelism and discipleship in more than 190 countries...
missionary Peter E. Gillquist (1938-) of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
established a network of house church
House church
House church, or "home church", is used to describe an independent assembly of Christians who gather in a home. Sometimes this occurs because the group is small, and a home is the most appropriate place to gather, as in the beginning phase of the British New Church Movement...
es throughout the United States, aiming to restore a primitive form of Christianity, which was called the New Covenant Apostolic Order (NCAO). 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
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
. This led the group to practice a more liturgical form of worship
Christian worship
In Christianity, worship is adoration and contemplation of God.-Overview:Throughout most of Christianity's history, corporate Christian worship has been primarily liturgical, characterized by prayers and hymns, with texts rooted in, or closely related to, the Scripture, particularly the Psalter;...
than in their previous evangelical background. In 1979, the Evangelical Orthodox Church
Evangelical Orthodox Church
The Evangelical Orthodox Church is an Eastern Orthodox Christian movement with its origins in Evangelical Protestantism, particularly in the Campus Crusade for Christ student missionary organization, that came to embrace an Eastern tradition of Christianity....
(EOC) was organized. The belief of needing Apostolic Succession
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
led most members of the EOC to join the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is the sole jurisdiction of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada with exclusive jurisdiction over the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in those countries, though these faithful were originally cared for by the...
in 1987.
The Chicago Call
In 1977 “The Chicago Call” was issued by the National Conference of Evangelicals for Historic Christianity, meeting in Warrenville, Illinois. Led by Dr. Robert Webber (Assoc. Professor of Theology at Wheaton University), along with Peter Gillquist, Thomas Howard, Richard Holt, Donald Bloesch, Jan Dennis, Lane Dennis, and Victor Oliver, the Conference discussed the need for evangelical Christians to rediscover and re-attach to the Church’s historic roots. The Conference issued several documents which together are known as The Chicago Call. Components of the Call 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.Evangelicals Look to Anglicanism
Robert Webber's 1985 book Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals are Attracted to the Liturgical Church documents the stories of six evangelical Christians who, for various reasons, had converted to the Episcopal Church. Publication of this book stirred up a great deal of interest in the evangelical press, generating numerous reviews in Christianity TodayChristianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
and other widely read evangelical publications. 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 Christians continued to migrate to the historic liturgical denominations.
Convergence Communions
In 1984 CharismaCharisma (magazine)
Charisma is a monthly Christian magazine based in Lake Mary, Florida, aimed at Pentecostals and charismatics...
magazine, one of the most influential magazines of the charismatic movement, published an article by Dr. Richard Lovelace entitled “The Three Streams, One River?” (Sept. 1984). Lovelace approvingly noted the trend of Catholics, evangelicals, and charismatics/Pentecostals moving closer together.
In 1992 A. Randolph Adler and a group of like-minded charismatic church pastors from the western U.S. formed the Charismatic Episcopal Church
Charismatic Episcopal Church
The Charismatic Episcopal Church, more officially known as the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church , is an international Christian denomination established as an autocephalous communion in 1992...
. They obtained ordination in apostolic succession
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
and began worshiping liturgically
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
using the 1979 Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
. The Charismatic Episcopal Church grew to become an international body known for its blending of sacramental, charismatic, and evangelical worship traditions.
Other worldwide Convergence Communions include the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches
Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches
The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches is an Anglican Christian Communion, formed in 1995 largely as a result of the Convergence Movement...
(CEEC) and the Christian Communion International
Christian Communion International
The Christian Communion International is a family of Christian churches and worship communities around the world - formed largely as a result of the Convergence Movement - with church networks in Africa, South America, Asia, North America and Europe. There are approximately 200,000 members. More...
(CCI), led by its Primate, Daniel W. Williams. These communions are interrelated and have inter-communion comity agreements. They are Evangelical, Sacramental and Pentecostal in piety and practice and use different authorized liturgies in worship. While women are ordained to both the diaconate and the priesthood, they do not admit women to the episcopate.
The Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) and the Anglican Church in North America (AC-NA) are churches that are connected to various provinces of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
but are also explicitly committed to Convergence theology. Both of them have women priests but no women bishops.
The Lutheran Catholic Communion (LCC) formed in the year 2008 ordains women up to deaconess, and males only to the offices of priest and bishop.