Called to Common Mission is an agreement between the
Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church[?] in America (ELCA), establishing full communion between them. Under the agreement, they recognize the validity of each other's
baptisms and
ordinations. The agreement provided that ELCA would accept the historic episcopate, something which became controversial in ELCA. Conservatives within ELCA argued that requiring historic episcopate would contradict the traditional
Lutheran doctrine[?] that the church exists wherever the Word is preached and Sacraments are practiced. In response, the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted a bylaw permitting installations of
bishops[?] to be performed by a pastor with permission of a bishop, in "unusual circumstances". This would appear to contradict the agreement reached with ECUSA, but that may depend on whether the bylaw is used in practice. The Presiding Bishop of ECUSA expressed his disappointment at the Assembly's decision.
See also: