Editing Full communion (section)

==By Christian denomination==

=== Catholic Church<!--[[Communion with Rome]] redirects here--> ===

====Full versus partial communion====

The [[Catholic Church]] makes a distinction between full and partial communion: where full communion exists, there is but the one Church; partial communion, on the other hand, exists where some elements of Christian faith are held in common, but complete unity on essentials is lacking. Accordingly, they see the Church as in partial communion with Protestants and in much closer, but still incomplete, communion with Orthodox Churches. It has expressed this distinction in documents such as ''[[Unitatis redintegratio]]'', the [[Second Vatican Council]]'s decree on [[ecumenism]], which states: "quite large communities came to be separated from full communion with the Catholic Church. [...] Men who believe in Christ and have been truly baptized are in communion with the Catholic Church even though this communion is imperfect".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unitatis redintegratio |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

Nonetheless, the Second Vatican Council used the word "communion" in a sense other than ''communio in sacris'' when speaking of Christians separated from the Catholic Church. The ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'', citing the Second Vatican Council and [[Pope Paul VI]], states:<ref>{{CCC|pp=838}}</ref>

{{Quote|"The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honoured by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter" (''Lumen gentium'' 15). Those "who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church" (''Unitatis redintegratio'' 3). With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist|author=|title=|source=}}

Full communion thus involves completeness of "those bonds of communion &ndash; faith, sacraments and pastoral governance &ndash; that permit the Faithful to receive the life of grace within the Church."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clsa.org/content/files/USCCB_memo_2006_0405.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309122847/http://clsa.org/content/files/USCCB_memo_2006_0405.pdf|archive-date=9 March 2008|title=Notification from Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts on the actus formalis defectionis}}</ref>

====Universal and particular Churches====
{{See also|Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites|Sui juris}}
In Catholicism, the "universal Church" means Catholicism itself, from the Greek adjective καθολικός ([[Catholic (term)|katholikos]]), meaning "universal".<ref>{{OED|Catholic}}</ref> The term [[particular church]] denotes an ecclesiastical community headed by a bishop or equivalent, and this can include both local [[dioceses]] as well as [[Autonomous particular Churches|autonomous (or ''sui juris'')]] particular churches, which include other rites such as the [[Latin Church]] and the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]].<ref name="Paul VI-1964">{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_orientalium-ecclesiarum_en.html |title=Orientalium Ecclesiarum|author=Vatican II|date=21 November 1964 |website=vatican.va|publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000901223734/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_orientalium-ecclesiarum_en.html |archive-date=1 September 2000 |access-date=26 August 2016}}</ref>

A 1992 [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] (CDF) letter to Catholic bishops expressed this idea as: {{" '}}''the universal Church cannot be conceived as the sum of the particular Churches, or as a federation of particular Churches''<nowiki/>'. It is not the result of the communion of the Churches, but, in its essential mystery, it is a reality ''ontologically'' and ''temporally'' prior to every ''individual'' particular Church".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_28051992_communionis-notio_en.html |title=Letter to the bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of the Church understood as communion |author=Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith |publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana |date=28 May 1992 |access-date=8 September 2015 |at=n. 9 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215111210/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_28051992_communionis-notio_en.html |archive-date=15 December 2010 }}</ref>

====List of Catholic churches in full communion====

The autonomous Catholic churches in full communion with the [[Holy See]] are:
*Of [[Alexandrian Rite|Alexandria]]n liturgical tradition:
**[[Coptic Catholic Church]]
**[[Eritrean Catholic Church]]
**[[Ethiopian Catholic Church]]
*Of [[West Syriac Rite|Syro-Antiochian or West Syriac]]  liturgical tradition:
**[[Maronite Church]]
**[[Syriac Catholic Church]]
**[[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]]
*Of [[Armenian Rite|Armenian]] liturgical tradition:
**[[Armenian Catholic Church]]
*Of [[Byzantine Rite|Byzantine]] ([[Constantinople|Constantinopolitan]]) liturgical tradition:
**[[Albanian Greek Catholic Church]]
**[[Belarusian Greek Catholic Church]]
**[[Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church]]
**[[Greek Byzantine Catholic Church]]
**[[Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia]]
**[[Hungarian Greek Catholic Church]]
**[[Italo-Albanian Catholic Church]]
**[[Macedonian Greek Catholic Church]]
**[[Melkite Greek Catholic Church]]
**[[Romanian Greek Catholic Church]]
**[[Russian Greek Catholic Church]]
**[[Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church]]
**[[Slovak Greek Catholic Church]]
**[[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]]
*Of [[East Syriac Rite|Chaldean or East Syriac]] tradition:
**[[Chaldean Catholic Church]]
**[[Syro-Malabar Church]]
*Of Western liturgical tradition:
**[[Latin Church]]{{efn|Of the various [[Latin liturgical rites]] used within the Latin particular Church, even those associated not with a religious order but with a geographical area do not constitute separate particular Churches. Thus there is no ''Ambrosian particular Church'' corresponding to the [[Ambrosian Rite]] in use in Milan and neighbouring areas of Italy and Switzerland, nor is there a ''Mozarabic particular Church'' in those parts of Spain where the [[Mozarabic Rite]] is practiced. In the Latin Church, governance is uniform, even where liturgical rite is not.}}

====Sharing in the Eucharist====
{{canon law}}
{{See also|Communicatio in sacris}}

As a practical matter for most Catholics, full communion means that a member of one Church may partake of the [[Eucharist]] celebrated in another,<ref name="BostonCatholic"/> and for priests, that they are accepted as celebrants of the Eucharist in the other Church.

Restrictions in this matter were already in force in the second century as witnessed to by [[Justin Martyr]] in his ''[[First Apology]]'': "No one is allowed to partake (of the Eucharist) but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined."<ref>{{cite wikisource |editor1-last=Roberts |editor1-first=Alexander |editor2-last=Donaldson |editor2-first=James |editor3-last=Coxe |editor3-first=A. Cleveland |series=The Ante-Nicene Fathers: the writings of the fathers down to A.D. 325 |location=Buffalo |publisher=Christian Literature |edition=American |year=1870 |volume=2 |plaintitle=The writings of Justin Martyr and Athenagoras |author=Justin Martyr |translator=Marcus Dods |chapter=The First Apology of Justin Martyr |wslink=Ante-Nicene Christian Library |at=ch. 66}}</ref>

For acceptance into full communion with the Catholic Church a specific profession of the faith of the Catholic Church is required even of those who have been members of a separate church whose [[sacrament]]s the Catholic Church considers to be valid.<ref name="BostonCatholic">{{cite web |url=http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Offices-And-Services/Office-Detail.aspx?id=12446&pid=464 |title=RCIA and Confirmation Qualifications: On Participants in RCIA and Confirmation |website=bostoncatholic.org |publisher=Archdiocese of Boston |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004233906/http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Offices-And-Services/Office-Detail.aspx?id=12446&pid=464 |archive-date=4 October 2015 |access-date=8 November 2015 }}</ref><ref name=McNam-2007>{{cite web |url=http://www.zenit.org/article-20753?l=english |title=When an Orthodox joins the Catholic Church |last1=McNamara |first1=Edward |location=Rome |website=Zenit.org |publisher= Innovative Media Inc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831204812/http://www.zenit.org/article-20753?l=english |archive-date=31 August 2009 |access-date=8 November 2015 }}</ref> Being "in full communion with the Catholic Church" requires that they "firmly accept" its teaching on faith and morals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_1998_professio-fidei_en.html |title=Doctrinal Commentary on the Concluding Formula of the ''Professio fidei'' |last=Ratzinger |first=Joseph |author-link=Pope Benedict XVI |last2=Bertone |first2=Tarcisio |publisher=Libreria Editrice Vatican |date=29 June 1998 |access-date=26 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202223910/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_1998_professio-fidei_en.html |archive-date=2 December 2013 }}</ref>

Intercommunion usually means an agreement between churches by which all members of each church (clergy with clergy, or laity with laity, respectively) may participate in the other's Eucharistic celebrations or may hold joint celebrations.<ref name="Gribble-2010">{{cite book |last=Gribble |first=Richard |title=The Everything Guide to Catholicism: A complete introduction to the beliefs, traditions, and tenets of the Catholic Church from past to present |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MwGJrUDcPjcC&pg=PA115 |access-date=7 November 2015 |date=18 November 2010 |publisher=Everything Books |location=Avon, Massacnusetts |isbn=978-1-4405-0409-9 |page=115 |chapter=Part IV: Roman Catholic Theology }}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The Catholic Church has entered into no such agreement: it allows no Eucharistic [[concelebration]] by its clergy with clergy of churches not in full communion with it.{{efn|"Catholic priests are forbidden to [[concelebrate]] the Eucharist with priests or ministers of churches or ecclesial communities which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church{{CIC1983|908}}{{sfn|CCEO|1990|loc=c. 702}}}}

The Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism indicates the limited circumstances in which Catholics may receive the Eucharist from clergy of churches not in full communion (never if those churches are judged not to have valid [[apostolic succession]] and thus valid Eucharist), and in which Catholic clergy may administer the sacraments to members of other churches.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/general-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_19930325_directory_en.html |title=Principles And Norms On Ecumenism |publisher=Vatican.va |access-date=8 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816040600/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/general-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_19930325_directory_en.html |archive-date=16 August 2010 }}</ref>{{rp|at=nn. 122–136}}

The norms there indicated for the giving of the Eucharist to other Christians ({{lang|la|[[communicatio in sacris]]}}) are summarized in [[canon 844]] of the [[Latin Church]]'s [[1983 Code of Canon Law|1983 ''Code of Canon Law'']].{{CIC1983|844}} The ''[[Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches]]'' (CCEO) indicates that the norms of the Directory apply also to the clergy and laity of the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]].{{sfn|CCEO|1990|loc=cc. 908, 1440}}

===Eastern Orthodox===
[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] have an understanding of what full communion means that is very similar to that of the Catholic Church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SOME ASPECTS OF THE CHURCH UNDERSTOOD AS COMMUNION |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_28051992_communionis-notio_en.html |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> Though they have no figure corresponding to that of the Roman Catholic Pope, performing a function like that of the Pope's [[Petrine Office]] for the whole of their respective communions, they see each of their [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] churches as embodiments of, respectively, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. They too consider full communion an essential condition for common sharing in the Eucharist.

For the autocephalous churches that form the Eastern Orthodox Church, see [[Eastern Orthodox Church organization]]. Their number is somewhat in dispute.

===Church of the East===
The [[Church of the East]] is currently divided into churches that are not in full communion with one another. The [[Assyrian Church of the East]] and the [[Ancient Church of the East]] divided in the 20th century over the former's limitation of the post of patriarch to members of a single family<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stzaiacathedral.org.au/wp/?page_id=59|title=Our History|website=St Zaia Cathedral|location=Middleton Grange, NSW, AU|access-date=26 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713160822/http://www.stzaiacathedral.org.au/wp/?page_id=59|archive-date=13 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and due to the adoption of the [[New Calendar]] by the former. There is movement towards reunity, but they are not in full communion with one another at present. The Chaldean Catholic Church shares a similar history with both, but is currently in full communion with neither. The Catholic Church, of which the Chaldean Church is part, allows its ministers to give the Eucharist to members of Eastern churches who seek it on their own accord and are properly disposed, and it allows its faithful who cannot approach a Catholic minister to receive the Eucharist, when necessary or spiritually advantageous, from ministers of non-Catholic churches that have a recognised Eucharist.{{sfn|CCEO|1990|loc=c. 671}}{{CIC1983|844}}

The ''Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East'' explicitly apply these rules, which hold also for the Ancient Church of the East and all Eastern Orthodox churches, to the Assyrian Church of the East.<ref name=Guidelines>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20011025_chiesa-caldea-assira_en.html |title=Guidelines for admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East |publisher=Vatican.va |access-date=8 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103164736/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20011025_chiesa-caldea-assira_en.html |archive-date=3 November 2015 }}</ref> "When necessity requires, Assyrian faithful are permitted to participate and to receive Holy Communion in a Chaldean celebration of the Holy Eucharist; in the same way, Chaldean faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister, are permitted to participate and to receive Holy Communion in an Assyrian celebration of the Holy Eucharist".<ref name=Guidelines/>

=== Oriental Orthodox churches ===
{{Oriental Orthodox sidebar}}
The [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]] have a similar understanding of communion as the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and [[Roman Catholic Church]]. There is no leader of all the Oriental Orthodox Churches. All churches within the Oriental Orthodox Churches are [[Autocephaly|autocephalous]] and operate and function on their own. All Oriental Orthodox Churches are in full communion with each other. They can take part in all the [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|7 sacraments]] from each other's churches.

The Oriental Orthodox churches are:

*[[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]]
*[[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch]]
*[[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]]
*[[Armenian Apostolic Church]]
*[[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church]]
*[[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]]<ref name="SCOOCH">{{Cite web|url=http://www.scooch.org/member-churches/the-syriac-indian-church/|title=Member churches – SCOOCH|access-date=2024-03-07|website=scooch.org|publisher=Standing Conference of the Oriental Orthodox Churches|language=en}}</ref>

The [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]] have a relationship with the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]], and is working on a relationship with the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and other Christian Churches.

The [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]] believe in apostolic succession, the concept that Jesus Christ gave spiritual authority to the 12 Apostles and 72 Disciples, and that authority has been passed on till this day.

For example, the [[Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East|Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch]] is considered the successor of [[St. Peter]], the [[List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria]] is considered the successor of [[St. Mark]], the [[Catholicos of All Armenians|Armenian Apostolic Catholicos of Armenia]] is considered the successor of [[St. Bartholomew]] and [[St. Thaddeus]], the [[Catholicos of the East (Indian Orthodox Church)|Catholicos of the East of India]] is considered the successor of [[Thomas the Apostle|St. Thomas]].

Likewise, the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]] acknowledges the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople]] as the successor of [[St. Andrew]] and the [[Roman Catholic Pope]] as the successor of St. Peter and [[St. Paul]]. Due to the schisms at the [[Council of Chalcedon]], the tensions between the churches have been high, but in recent years the leaders of all churches have acknowledged each other, and are working on a relationship with each other.

=== Anglican Communion ===

The [[Anglican Communion]] distinguishes between full communion and intercommunion. It applies the first term to situations "where between two Churches, not of the same denominational or confessional family, there is unrestricted ''communio in sacris'' including mutual recognition and acceptance of ministries", and the second term to situations "where varying degrees of relation other than full communion are established by agreement between two such Churches".<ref>{{cite web|title=1958 Lambeth Conference, Resolution 14|website=Anglican Communion |url=https://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/127740/1958.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622193005/http://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/127740/1958.pdf |archive-date=2018-06-22 |url-status=live}}</ref> This distinction differs from the distinction that the [[Catholic Church]] makes between full and partial communion in that the Anglican concept of intercommunion implies a formal agreement entered into by the churches concerned. As with other Protestant traditions, the Anglican understanding of full communion differs from that of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy, which consider that full communion between churches involves them becoming a single church, as in the case of the [[particular church]]es "in which and formed out of which the one and unique Catholic Church exists".<ref>{{cite book|author=Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican|date=21 November 1964|title=Lumen gentium|via=vatican.va|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|at=n. 23}}</ref>

All the churches of the Anglican Communion are in full communion with the [[Mar Thoma Syrian Church]], which is an [[Eastern Protestant Christianity|Oriental Protestant]] denomination based in [[India]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Diocese of North America and Europe |url=https://www.marthomanae.org/template.php?mainmenu=Mar%20Thoma%20Church&submenu=Ecumenical%20Relations&subsubmenu=&subsubsubmenu=#Contant |website=www.marthomanae.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Churches in Communion |url=https://www.anglicancommunion.org/ecumenism/churches-in-communion.aspx |website=Anglican Communion}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Heritage – Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church |url=https://marthoma.in/the-church/heritage/}}</ref> In addition the Anglican Communion recognizes the possibility of full communion between some of its member provinces or churches and other churches, without having the entire Anglican Communion share that relationship.<ref name="anglican-fc-2017">{{cite web |title=In Full Communion |url=http://anglicansonline.org/communion/infull.html |website=Anglicans Online |access-date=4 April 2017}}</ref> An example is the [[Porvoo Communion]], which is largely composed of [[Lutheranism|Evangelical Lutheran Churches]].

The Anglican Communion established full communion with the [[Old Catholic Church]]es on the basis of the 1931 [[Bonn Agreement (religion)|Bonn Agreement]], which established three principles:
# Each communion recognizes the catholicity and independence of the other and maintains its own.
# Each communion agrees to admit members of the other communion to participate in the [[sacrament]]s.
# Full communion does not require from either communion the acceptance of all [[doctrinal]] opinion, sacramental [[Anglican devotions|devotion]] or [[liturgical]] practice characteristic of the other, but implies that each believes the other to hold all the essentials of the Christian faith.<ref name="episc-fc-2017">{{cite web |title=Meaning of Full Communion |url=http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/meaning-full-communion |website=Episcopal Church |access-date=4 April 2017}}</ref><ref name=CinC>{{cite web|title=Churches in communion|website=anglicancommunion.org|location=London|publisher=Anglican Communion Office|url=http://www.anglicancommunion.org/relationships/churches-in-communion.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313103259/http://www.anglicancommunion.org/relationships/churches-in-communion.aspx|archive-date=13 March 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [http://anglicansonline.org/communion/infull.html Anglicans Online] website provides a list of non-Anglican churches "in full communion with the [[See of Canterbury]]" and also indicates some important ecumenical agreements of local character (i.e., not involving the whole of the Anglican Communion) with other non-Anglican churches.<ref name="anglican-fc-2017"/> It also lists churches that, in spite of bearing names (such as "Anglican" or "Episcopal") that might suggest a relationship with the Anglican Communion, are not in communion with it.<ref name="anglican-notfc-2017">{{cite web |title=Not in the Communion |url=http://anglicansonline.org/communion/nic.html |website=Anglicans Online |access-date=4 April 2017}}</ref>

===Lutheran Churches===
{{Main|Altar and pulpit fellowship}}

===Methodist Churches===
The [[United Methodist Church]] is in full communion with the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]]; the [[Moravian Church in North America]] (Northern and Southern Provinces); 
Pan-Methodist Churches which include The [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]],	The	[[African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church]], The [[African Union Methodist Protestant Church]], The [[Christian Methodist Episcopal Church]], The [[Union American Methodist Episcopal Church]]; and the [[Uniting Church in Sweden]].<ref name="UMC_Full_Communion">{{cite web |title=Full Communion Relationships |url=https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/full-communion-relationships |website=Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church |access-date=7 March 2025}}</ref> The United Methodist Church also has a large number of churches in partnerships in "formal, ecumenical relationships approved by the General Conference"<ref name="UMC_Partnerships_Introduction">{{cite web |title=List of UMC partnerships |url=https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/ecumenicaldetail/list-of-umc-partnerships-12822590 |website=Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church |access-date=7 March 2025}}</ref> which are categorized as Concordat Churches, Affiliated Autonomous Churches, Affiliated United Churches, and Known Ecumenical Partner Churches Specific to European Central Conferences.<ref name="UMC_Partnerships">{{cite web |title=Ecumenical Partnerships and Organizations |url=https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/ecumenical-partnerships-and-organizations |website=Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church |access-date=7 March 2025}}</ref> While not using the exact wording, these relationships are closely akin to full communion, and include the [[Methodist Church of Great Britain]] and the [[United Church of Canada]].
 
The [[United Methodist Church]] approved full communion with the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] at their Annual Conference on April 30, 2024. The agreement is awaiting approval by the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]], which is not expected until 2027.<ref name="UMC_Episcopal_Church">{{cite web |title=Full communion between Methodists, Episcopalians gets closer |url=https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2024/05/01/full-communion-between-methodists-episcopalians-gets-closer/ |website=Episcopal News Service |access-date=7 March 2025}}</ref> Both churches are already in full communion with the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] and the [[Moravian Church in North America]] (Northern and Southern Provinces).<ref name="Methodist_Approve_Full_Communion">{{cite web |title=Methodists Approve Full Communion |url=https://livingchurch.org/news/news-episcopal-church/methodists-approve-full-communion-with-episcopal-church/ |website=The Living Church |access-date=7 March 2025}}</ref>

===Reformed Churches===

The [[United Church of Christ]] (UCC) defines full communion as meaning that "divided churches recognize each others' sacraments and provide for the orderly transfer of ministers from one denomination to another." Some of these go back to the 17th century [[Pilgrims]] in Holland; other relationships are recent. The UCC is in full communion alliance with the members of the [[World Communion of Reformed Churches]], the [[Union of Evangelical Churches]] in Germany, the Presbyterian Church in the US, and several others in North America and elsewhere.<ref name="ucc-fc-2017">{{cite web|title=Ecumenical partnerships and relationships of full communion |url=http://www.ucc.org/ecumenical_ecumenical-partnerships-and |website=ucc.org |access-date=4 April 2017}}</ref>

===Other churches===

Churches or denominations holding to [[open communion]] allow all persons who consider themselves "Christian believers" to participate, even without any arrangement of full communion with the other church or denomination involved, and still less requiring an arrangement involving interchangeability of ordained ministers.

It is in the stronger sense of becoming a single church that in 2007 the [[Traditional Anglican Communion]] sought "full communion" with the [[Roman Catholic Church]] as a ''[[sui iuris]]'' (particular Church) jurisdiction, but in 2012 declined the possibility offered by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] to join a [[personal ordinariate]] for former Anglicans in full communion with the see of Rome.<ref>{{cite press release|date=1 March 2012|title=2012 meeting of Traditional Anglican Communion College of Bishops|website=traditionalanglicancommunion.org|publisher=Traditional Anglican Communion|url=http://traditionalanglicancommunion.org/CollegeofBishops0301212.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412122622/http://traditionalanglicancommunion.org/CollegeofBishops0301212.pdf|archive-date=12 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>