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Appendix II Manifesto of Church Unity

July 1997

WHEREAS, C hurch unity is the m ost vital task o f the H ong K ong churches today and there
is need to strengthen the spirit o f unity and to concentrate on developing consensus and
building up the church,

WHEREAS, C hrist is the head o f the church and all C hristians are part o f H is body,
com plem enting one another,

WHEREAS, C hristians are called to have one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism , one
G od and F ather o f all hum ankind, w ho is Lord o f all, w orks through all, and is in all,

WHEREAS, before Jesus ascended into heaven, H e asked G od to give H is disciples the
gift o f unity so that they m ay be one, ju st as G od and C hrist are one, that all the believers m ay
truly be one,

WHEREAS, the ecum enical m ovem ent is not only aim ed at the unity o f the local church
but is also universal and global, extending to the prom otion o f unity for the w hole w orld, and
the H ong K ong C hristian C ouncil w orks closely w ith the W orld C ouncil o f C hurches and the
C hristian C onference o f A sia to prom ote church unity in all our efforts,

WHEREAS, the ecum enical m ovem ent not only em phasizes unity am ong the P rotestant
com m unities, but also em phasizes ecum enical relationships am ong the R om an C atholic and
the O rthodox com m unities,

WHEREAS, the ecum enical m ovem ent is also seeking unity o f all G o d ’s creation,

WHEREAS, the ecum enical m ovem ent not only seeks the “Invisible U nity” in spirit but
also includes “V isible U n ity ” as w ell,

WHEREAS, in the past, m em bers o f the H ong K ong C hristian C ouncil have been w orking
together to prom ote the w ork o f church unity, recognizing that w hat w e have done is the
concrete w itness o f the unity o f the church in H ong K ong,

THEREFORE, the H ong K ong C hristian C ouncil agrees to express our view o f church
unity in this M anifesto and to carry out and prom ote the follow ing concrete agenda for the
unity o f the church. T his is our w itness that the resurrected C hrist is, as in the past, present
and future, alw ays the head o f the church as w e build together the body o f C hrist in unity:

1. MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

C hurches o f different denom inations should recognize and accept that baptism not only
has its intrinsic theological m eaning, but also acts as an external sym bol o f m em bership
in the holy church. T herefore, re-baptism should not be required in the transfer o f
church m em bership.

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