The Fifth Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU V) – a regular gathering between representatives of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC), the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), and the Asia Evangelical Alliance (AEA) – took place in the FABC Documentation Centre in the vicinity of St Louis Hospital, Bangkok, from 1 to 5 December 2010. The last such gathering (AMCU IV) took place in Kuala Lumpur in June 2007, over three years ago.

The theme for this Fifth AMCU was “One in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer” (cf. Acts 2:42).

DAY ONE
As is the custom of the Roman Catholics in ecumenical gatherings, the Catholic faithful would gather for their liturgical celebration (the Mass) outside of such meetings. So the Roman Catholics gathered in the chapel at 6.20 am for the Mass before the official AMCU V meeting began.

Day One of AMCU V began with morning worship and bible study led by the candidates representing the Christian Conference of Asia. Dr Hope Antoine led us in the bible study (reflection of the Word), encouraging us to consider together what brought us closer together and what separated our unity as Christians.

After that, the 30 participants took the next hour and a half to each share their experiences with the ecumenical movement. Their stories were very interesting, given their diverse backgrounds. In these sharings, one thing was rather apparent: we are all products of our environments which have shaped our understanding, beliefs, and even religious behaviour.

After the personal introductions, Dr Hope Antoine provided an orientation to the Asian Movement for Christian Unity, explaining its history, goals, etc. This Movement began with a vision for further consultation and collaboration between the FABC and the CCA in 1993. To a large extent, such a unity has materialised, although from the Catholic perspective one needs to keep in mind that unity is more than mere consultation and collaboration – it has to be a common search for truth, or in this case, the fullness of truth.

Fr William LaRousse then also briefly explained what the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) was, its goal and purpose and function. Dr Hope Antoine did the same on behalf of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). Finally, Dr Richard Howell gave a presentation to introduce the Asia Evangelical Alliance (AEA), the newest component body of the Asian Movement for Christian Unity.

After the afternoon break, a panel of three presenters (each representing one of the three component bodies of the AMCU) presented their thoughts on the topic “One in the Apostles’ Teaching”. The CCA representative spoke of how the teachings of the Apostles from the Acts of the Apostles continued creating excitement among believers today. She noted that these teachings should bring unity rather than division among people, even among peoples of various religions.

The FABC representative explained how the teachings of the Apostles were very fundamental for the communion of the saints. To hold on to apostolic teachings would mean being in communion with the Church by putting Scripture and Tradition together even if this has been a difficult issue in ecumenical discussions. Further to that, he emphasised that the Holy Spirit was the One who brought unity in the Church. He also explained Vatican II’s position that these apostolic teachings of the Church had to find their way into the human dimension on creating more human societies. Also, beyond that, he mentioned that commitment to apostolic teachings should bring about a unity of beliefs (doctrines), not just social unity.

The AEA representative began his presentation on this topic with the doctrine of the revelation: believing in the Triune God who has revealed himself through the infallible Scripture, which is the only source of authority for the evangelicals. He also reiterated the Protestant Reformation tenet that salvation is by faith alone. These, to him, were the apostolic teachings of authentic Christianity. He then briefly expounded various theologies which were commonly considered by the Evangelicals to be apostolic teachings, e.g. eschatology, soteriology, etc.

A participant, after these presentations, asked something to the effect of saying “First of all, isn’t truth culturally conditioned? And secondly, what’s the use of truth if it doesn’t affect people’s lives in anyway?” Among the various responses, I contributed my response by stating that the Catholic perspective holds that whilst truth articulations may be culturally conditioned, there is a level at which truth itself transcends culture and contexts even though our truth articulations are not exhaustive. This was the very reason that dialogue was crucial, because when truth was being interrogated, we would seek to clarify it and articulate it more perfectly.

There seemed to be a concern arising from the discussion that the different components present at the gathering had rather different varied interpretations of ecumenism. For some traditions represented there, ecumenism was a reality already achieved in the Body of Christ. For others, it represented nothing more than a search for unity. It was important in this gathering that we look beyond our diversity and focus on our common witness despite these differences.

At the later part of the day, the participants were divided into groups of five to share with one another their respective experiences and reflections on ecumenical efforts in their countries and ecclesial contexts. The group sharing was rather vibrant and illuminating. The participants, despite coming from different contexts and situations, very clearly showed that there were various responses towards the need for a common search for unity in those places.

With that, the gathering of Day One ended.