Two Altars, One Mass

Catholics and Episcopalians worship together in a unique church

The priest at the altar lifts a loaf of pita bread and recites the familiar words of consecration: "Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you... do this in memory of me." Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the sanctuary, a second priest lifts an identical loaf and intones: "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me..."

The overlapping words convey an impression of unity and division. They were spoken last Sunday, during the 74th annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, as they are almost every week, at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Norfolk, Va. It is the only U.S. congregation officially listed as both a Roman Catholic and Episcopal church. Anglicanism kept a Catholic style of worship when it broke with Rome in the 16th century. Now, except for using separate altars at the consecration, parishioners recite the same liturgies, Catholic one week, Episcopal the next. From classes in religious education to church socials, Holy Apostles runs almost all activities together.

Though the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission laid down a doctrinal basis for joint Communion in 1971, the Church of Rome does not permit the practice. While negotiations on such matters proceeded on the world level, the Catholic and Episcopal dioceses covering Norfolk decided to try something specific on their own. Five years ago, a committee began thrashing out the details of how a joint congregation could work. By November 1977, a chapel had been rented and two priests had been recruited: Catholic Raymond A. Barton, now 40, and Episcopalian Donald W. Gross, 44.

To govern Holy Apostles and handle disputes, the planners set up a joint council. Music proved troublesome, so the church alternates Catholic chants and contemporary music with the Episcopal hymnal. Barton and Gross take turns preaching and presiding at services and assist each other during baptisms and confirmations. Holy Apostles has developed into a thriving congregation of 300 members, two-thirds of them Catholic. One reason it has not grown faster is that it expects worshipers to do pastoral work; most are active visiting hospitals and prisons and in other part-time ministries. Says Episcopalian Carolyn Pollie, a mother of four and a founding member: "We don't expect people to go to church; we expect them to be the church."

The goal of the group, says Pollie, is to "heal some of the obvious injury of separation." John McManus, a Catholic newspaper reporter who was once thrown out of school as a boy for beating up Protestants, is now shedding "we-they" attitudes and giving money to Episcopal missionaries. Among the most obvious beneficiaries are people in mixed marriages. Episcopalian Jean Koch used to attend Mass with her Catholic husband and daughter but secretly "felt deprived."

Now the family worships together happily.

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