The Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers is one of the initiatives that have emerged from the Centre for the Study of Law and Religion at Cardiff. Over the last decade they have discussed a series of topics.Footnote ¹ Both these latest collections have been published, in a format reminiscent of this Journal, by the Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff, from where they may be obtained. The papers range from fully worked-up articles that have already been published elsewhere to brief summaries with notes for discussion. They bring together in an accessible form a substantial body of material of both legal and theological value, respectively on ordination and marriage. The very unevenness of the collections suggests the vitality of ongoing discussion between the participants, which offers inspiration for informed and constructive ecumenical dialogue.

The first collection, here, was the fruit of meetings over three years, and the time span indicates both the importance and the difficulty of the subject matter.Footnote ² The preface modestly admits that none of the conclusions are ‘earth-shatteringly new’ (p 4) but the content includes, notably, a well-integrated account of the legal requirements and formalities for valid orders in each communion (Doe and Ombres, pp 5–24), clear explanations of the Roman Catholic reasons for denying the validity of Anglican Orders (McGrath, pp 65–84), an informative account of the development of shared theological education in the Anglican Communion (Doe, pp 91–102), some challenging questions on the need for openness to new forms of ministry (Rees, pp 24–32) and thought-provoking ideas as to whether the validity of orders might be better tested in the context of their furthering unity in the mission of the Church rather than in terms of legal formality (Jeremy, pp 85–89).

The papers from the Ninth Colloquium, on marriage, discuss, first, the differing approaches to rights to marriage in the Anglican and Roman communions respectively (Slack, pp 3–15 and Ombres, pp 17–20), the formalities for solemnising marriage in Anglican canon law (Jeremy, pp 21–28) and the extensive provision for Roman Catholic preparation for marriage (Gavin, pp 29–45). An account of the Anglican approach to remarriage after divorce, from the distinctive experience of the Church of Ireland (Colton, pp 47–63), is followed by two chapters on the Roman Catholic law on nullity, generally under the Latin code but in the context of inter-church marriages (McGrath, pp 65–77) and then specifically in respect of non-consummated marriages ( Hilbert, pp 79–81). The final three papers question how the modern concept of same-sex civil partnerships relates to marriage (Hill, pp 83–93) and then turn to the approaches to mixed marriages of the Latin Catholic Code and in Anglican canon law respectively (Conn, pp 87–93 and 95–115).

The Colloquium is now linked with the International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) as a resource for further ecumenical dialogue and for furthering practical co-operation between the two communions. Both these collections conclude by realistically identifying points of agreement that may be of value for that body to pursue. However, the papers are no less valuable in frankly addressing areas where differences may seem intractable. They also suggest scope for further co-operation, which the final points do not fully identify, and it is instructive, here, to read the two collections together.

Of particular interest is the paper, in the collection on ordination, by James J Conn SJ, on ‘Valid sacraments in Roman Catholic canon law’. Although this does not claim to be ‘comprehensive or definitive’ and emphasises that it lacks ‘the style or methodology of a scientific article’ (p 33, n 1), it illuminates the Roman Catholic understanding of ordination by setting it in the general context of teaching on the sacraments and particularly by comparing ordination with marriage. Conn's paper emphasises that, as well as ordination of women, Roman Catholic recognition of Anglican orders is complicated by ‘the acceptance of lay presidency at the Eucharist and the exchange of ministry and sacraments with churches that have [expressly] not maintained historic apostolic succession’ (p 42). Conn also emphasises the explanation, given by Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia of 17 April 2003, for rigorous Roman Catholic restriction on concelebration of the Eucharist and on distribution of the elements to non-Roman Catholic baptised Christians. This is so as to avoid damaging the unity of the Roman Catholic church by ‘introducing or exacerbating ambiguities with regard to one or another truth of the faith’ (p 47).

Conn shows how Roman Catholic understanding of a valid sacrament depends upon a person with appropriate capacity intending to ‘do what the Church does’ (p 35). To this end, unlike ordination and the celebration of the Eucharist, but like baptism, marriage does not require the act of a person ordained to sacred ministry. This suggests particular scope for co-operation between the communions in the area of marriage. The colloquium on marriage underlines this by the attention it gives to mixed and particularly to inter-church marriage and by recommending in that context further exploration of ‘[t]he juridical dimensions of the theology of marriage and the family as the “domestic church”’ (p 118).

The development of the permanent diaconate in the Roman Catholic Church, including married if not female deacons, is only discussed in passing. It would have been interesting to learn whether the participants considered that this is an area where new models of common ministry might develop. Also of interest is the imperative of tying ordained ministry to geographic location, common to both communions and emphasised in the Roman Catholic concept of incardination. New patterns of ministry are required to meet the challenges of the digital revolution at the same time that changes that are occurring in parts of the Anglican Communion confirm its division from Roman Catholic teaching and are met by continuing principled objection from some of its own members. The concept of a ‘domestic church’, sacramentally uniting members of two communions, suggests to this reviewer possibilities for new patterns of ministry, both within the Anglican Communion and between the communions, that might operate outside the traditional geographical hierarchies, through communities with shared emphases.