The Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) is an organization created in 1969 which seeks to make ecumenical progress between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. The sponsors are the Anglican Consultative Council and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (formerly the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity).
ARCIC seeks to identify common ground between the two communions. Ecumenical relations have become strained, owing to the ordination of women within the Anglican Communion and, in more recent years, the Anglican communion has internally become increasingly more divided over issues concerning homosexuality.
Three meetings were conducted by the Anglican–Roman Catholic Joint Preparatory Commission (ARCJPC) from 1967 to 1968. The first preparatory meeting was held in Italy, a meeting on the place of scripture in England and culminating in a meeting in Malta culminating in the Malta Report.
The first phase was conducted by the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) from 1970 to 1982.
The first phase of ARCIC was held under the aegis of Henry McAdoo (Anglican Archbishop of Dublin) and Alan Clark (Roman Catholic Bishop of East Anglia). The co-secretaries were Anglicans Colin Davey and Christopher Hill and the Roman Catholic William A. Purdy.
In 1970 and 1971 there were a number of meetings on eucharistic doctrine, producing an agreed statement. An elucidation was issued in 1979.
In 1972 there was a meeting on the subject of ordination. It paved the way for an agreed statement from Canterbury. An elucidation was issued in 1979.
In the mid-1970s a number of meetings were held on the issue of authority culminating in a statement made at Venice. Further discussions on the subject of authority were held in 1977, 1979, and 1980; with elucidations and a further statement issued in 1981 with the final statement.