CHARIS
and the communities
from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
The service Koinonia
According to its Statutes, CHARIS is “a new single service for all the expressions of the Charismatic Renewal” (art. 2, §1). This means, in particular, that CHARIS serves the communities as the CFCCF was doing previously by encouraging “cooperation between communities born from Catholic Charismatic Renewal, with a view to making the experience of particular communities available for the good of all” (art 3e).
In order to better understand the practical application of this vision, please note the following points:
1- In the International Service of Communion, there is a dedicated commission for the charismatic communities called Koinonia. This commission will be in charge of nurturing the communion between all the charismatic communities registered by CHARIS (see below). In particular, Koinonia will organize international, continental and national events for communities with the aim of building friendship and communion between the different leaders as well as offering them opportunities for ongoing formation. In order to be able to serve according to the statutes, CHARIS proposes a registration for all the communities who wish to participate.
2- There is no membership for communities in CHARIS, but a possibility to be registered.
The CHARIS Statutes promote “the ecumenical dimension of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal” and ask to “foster the commitment to serving the unity of all the Christians” (art. 3f). This is why an Ecumenical Community can be registered by CHARIS as a community and not just a Catholic Fellowship according to the following criteria:
The conditions for registration are for a community:
- to identify themselves as charismatic,
- to live a community life,
- the community proposes a commitment to her members who are sustaining one another,
- to be committed in evangelization,
- The baptism in the Holy Spirit must be a fundamental dimension of the community life.
3- CHARIS commits herself to be in communication with all the registered communities so as to provide them with updated information, offer opportunities for consultation and to provide assistance where requested.
4- CHARIS will offer to all registered communities means to live in communion nurtured by national, continental or international meetings which will be organised by CHARIS in dialogue with the participating communities that are ready to serve.
5- CHARIS encourages all communities to continue taking initiative at the local level to build communion among communities as well as seeking to support and nurture emerging communities with a special care for those in developing nations.
6- CHARIS recognises the autonomy of local communities and their freedom to develop supportive relationships with other communities and networks.
7- CHARIS is also developing a Canonical Commission to help communities which want to write their statutes or to change them.
8- CHARIS will also open a « hotline » for communities. If a community has a special need, the leaders can write to the hotline explaining the problem and CHARIS will provide the best help possible. That will be done with the help of other communities who are registered by CHARIS and have expertise in the area of difficulty. This initiative follows the spirit of the Statutes saying that CHARIS is “making the experience of particular communities available for the good of all” (art. 3e).
For registration, click here, fill out the form and send it to info@charis.international.