Ecumenical relations staff

The Revd Canon Dr John Gibaut oversees the Anglican Communion’s ecumenical relations and is based at Anglican Communion office in London.

Originally from Toronto, he was ordained in the Anglican Church of Canada. After working as a parish priest and a professor of theology, he became Director of the Commission on Faith and Order at the World Council of Churches in Geneva. He joined the ACO in 2015.

The vision of the Unity, Faith and Order department flows from the aims the ecumenical movement which has its origins in the Edinburgh Missionary Conference in 1910. The Anglican Communion committed itself to this movement towards Christian unity at the Lambeth Conference of 1920. Resolution 9 called for all Christian people to put aside divisions and be inspired by “the vision and hope of a visible unity of the whole Church”.

John co-ordinates dialogue meetings of the various world churches in both an ambassadorial and an advisory capacity. His role includes:

• supporting bilateral dialogues and a theological commission
  
  
• Preparing information and other work to support theologians during the dialogue meetings
  
  
• Completing reports on the meeting outcomes
  
  
• Creating and publishing resources on the results of dialogues to share stories and build bridges

The Revd Neil Vigers helps facilitate global ecumenical dialogues through administration and the creation of published resources to support theologians.

He also supports the work of the Anglican Consultative Council in its role in ecumenical dialogue.