Holding an Orange service at Drumcree church next July would be inconceivable without an agreement about the parade to follow, according to an editorial in the Church of Ireland Gazette.
"The unity of the Church of Ireland would not survive it," it says. "Many people now know that they have been grievously misled and recognise that an honest and open relationship is the only way forward for the Orange Order and for the Church of Ireland."
Drumcree had strained relationships within the church "in a way which few of us can remember. At worst, we have to deal with the fact that many members of the Church of Ireland in the Republic feel that the church and its leadership in Northern Ireland faced a challenge and failed to rise to it.
"At best, we have an opportunity of looking at ourselves . . . in the light of Drumcree and deciding what it means to be the Church of Ireland in the new Ireland which is now emerging."
In the North "an unwritten and unacknowledged agreement between the Church of Ireland and Orangeism has come to an end".
That agreement allowed the church and its clergy "to pursue bridge-building and ecumenical activities provided that they were not too successful and that they treated the Orange Order with respect during July each year".
But the church had changed, "quietly moving from an adversarial approach towards other churches to one of mutual respect and fellowship". The Orange Order had moved "from being primarily a religious organisation to becoming at least partly political. It allowed itself to become the focus of mass opposition to the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement".
The editorial said it was not hard to understand "the feelings of hurt, anger and distress" of members in the Republic. "The Church of Ireland [in the South] has found itself at the centre of the new pluralism of recent years. A church which was very uncertain about its future now has a confidence and optimism inconceivable 20 years ago . . . The linkage of the [church] with the events at Drumcree puts all that at risk."
But Drumcree had also brought "a quiet sense of liberation. A mould has been broken. Many things which could not be talked about are now open for discussion. A new relationship in which the Church of Ireland and the Orange Order treat each other openly and with proper respect is going to have to be forged."
Change was inevitable. In that context the church's sectarianism committee looked "like an exercise in tokenism". It needed to include realistic representation from the Roman Catholic community, while next year's General Synod would expect "searching recommendations" about the future relationship between church and loyal orders.
It was time to talk, parish by parish, "about the nature and character of Orange services and about the flying of flags on church buildings".
