As part of the Anglican Church, St Thomas Becket is a member of the Porvoo Communion, a communion of churches, mostly in Northern Europe, that have signed an agreement to “share a common life in mission and service”. The following draws on material on the website of the Porvoo Communion where more information can be found.
The big national churches in Northern Europe, which participated in the first steps towards the Porvoo Communion, have a great deal in common: their history, liturgy, identity and their understanding of the Church’s mission today bear great resemblances and they are all episcopal churches, that is churches where the office of oversight, the episcope, has been constant from the time of reformation.
The churches acknowledge:
– that in all our churches the Word of God is authentically preached, and the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist are duly administered;
and commit themselves:
– to welcome one another’s members to receive sacramental and other pastoral ministrations;
– to regard baptized members of all our churches as members of our own.
The name Porvoo comes from Porvoo Cathedral in Finland where the Eucharist was celebrated on the final Sunday of the conversations leading to the Common Statement and thus finally to the Porvoo Communion.