The third goal of the Center for Anglican Communion Studies for the next three to five years is a strong commitment to interreligious education and conversation.  The “primary mission” of Virginia Theological Seminary as defined in our Mission Statement is “to form men and women for lay or ordained leadership and service in the ministry of the church.”  In this new, uncharted century, theological education and formation will of necessity include interreligious education and conversation. The Seminary’s curriculum and community will be challenged by a larger conversation of religion and culture.

Our goal of having interreligious leaders and scholars in our midst will transform the teaching and research profile of the Virginia Theological Seminary, the largest of the Episcopal Seminaries.  The Center will strive to raise the interreligious consciousness of the seminary community and challenge the ways we shape leaders for twenty-first century service in church and society. 

The religious and cultural context of the Anglican Communion is characterized by interreligious dynamics.  Part of the reason why the American Episcopal Church has such tense relations with the rest of the Communion is that we do not understand the religious and cultural dynamics in other countries.  Virginia Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Church need to become much more conscious of the religious diversity of the world and the challenges that poses for the development of worldwide Anglicanism.