Washington

Three estranged American churches - the Reformed Episcopal Church, the Anglican Province of America and the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA) - met in mid-January in response to the 1998 Lambeth Conference's call for dialogue among separated Anglican churches. The Reformed Episcopal Church was formed in 1873 due to liturgical and ecumenical disputes with ECUSA and the Anglican Province of America is the successor to the American Episcopal Church, which broke away from ECUSA in 1968 over theological issues. The meeting took important first steps to dispel years of ignorance and suspicion, according to Episcopal News Service. The meeting was held at St. Paul's College in Washington, D.C., Jan. 15-16.