Joint Orthodox-Lutheran commemoration of Reformation announced [CC]

[Catholic_Press]

At a recent meeting in Greece, the official ecumenical dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Eastern Orthodox churches announced that a joint commemoration of the …

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[Peter_J]

Granted I’m neither Orthodox nor Lutheran, but this is nice to see. There never seem to be enough ecumenical activities (and some of the one that exist aren’t so good ).

 

[Peter_J]

P.S. I hate to go negative so early in the thread, but as a Catholic I cannot help but wonder how the SSPX (or the monks of Mount Athos or any other anti-ecumenism group) is going to spin this.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Granted I’m neither Orthodox nor Lutheran, but this is nice to see. There never seem to be enough ecumenical activities (and some of the one that exist aren’t so good ).

Why is it nice to see the Eastern Orthodox and the Lutherans commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation? That means they are celebrating their split from Rome? Why is that good?

 

[KjetilK]

Why is it nice to see the Eastern Orthodox and the Lutherans commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation? That means they are celebrating their split from Rome? Why is that good?

Where does it say that they are to celebrate?

 

[Sy_Noe]

Why is it nice to see the Eastern Orthodox and the Lutherans commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation? That means they are celebrating their split from Rome? Why is that good?

Could this be why?

I read this in one of my local Roman Catholic church’s bulletins from last Sunday:

“Let us celebrate the unity we have with other Christians and work together to heed the Lord’s great commission to bring the Good News to our weary world.”

 

[Cavaradossi]

This goes to show how vapid the entire ecumenism movement is. Celebrate this and that with the Pope one month, celebrate another thing with the Lutherans next month, and then celebrate something else next month with the Jews. Honestly, who cares when it all rings so hollow?

 

[Peter_J]

Where does it say that they are to celebrate?

Nowhere, oddly enough. Or maybe it isn’t even that odd, considering that Orthodox aren’t Protestants – actually I have a bad feeling that some Catholic “traditionalists” will use this as a handle to claim that Orthodox are Protestants.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Nowhere, oddly enough. Or maybe it isn’t even that odd, considering that Orthodox aren’t Protestants – actually I have a bad feeling that some Catholic “traditionalists” will use this as a handle to claim that Orthodox are Protestants.

I have never viewed the Orthodox as Protestants!
It was the first Schism.

 

[Peter_J]

I have never viewed the Orthodox as Protestants!

Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m as shocked as you that anyone thinks that … but there are some who think that. (Sorry I don’t have a link or a quote at the moment.)

 

[prodromos]

From what I can see from following the links, it appears this decision was made by the Lutheran participants, without (name removed by moderator)ut from Orthodox participants

 

[benjohnson]

The LWF would have ecumenical relations with a sack of potatoes just as long as it got to monologue about “social-justice” issues.

(Of course, my opinion.)

I’d advice our Orthodox friends to either run away, or at least attend any meeting with cotton stuffed in their ears.

 

[Peter_J]

The LWF would have ecumenical relations with a sack of potatoes just as long as it got to monologue about “social-justice” issues.

(Of course, my opinion.)

I’d advice our Orthodox friends to either run away, or at least attend any meeting with cotton stuffed in their ears.

What, doesn’t the Catholic-LWF dialogue give them a complete and unquestionable stamp of approval?

 

[Peter_J]

Hi again.

Without seeking to push our Orthodox brethren aside, I think it would be quite fitting to quote a few paragraphs of From Conflict to Communion: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017

The character of previous commemorations

1. Relatively early, 31 October 1517 became a symbol of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. Still today, many Lutheran churches remember each year on 31 October the event known as “the Reformation.” The centennial celebrations of the Reformation have been lavish and festive. The opposing viewpoints of the different confessional groups have been especially visible at these events. For Lutherans, these commemorative days and centennials were occasions for telling once again the story of the beginning of the characteristic— “evangelical”—form of their church in order to justify their distinctive existence. This was naturally tied to a critique of the Roman Catholic Church. On the other side, Catholics took such commemorative events as opportunities to accuse Lutherans of an unjustifiable division from the true church and a rejection of the gospel of Christ.

…

**The first ecumenical commemoration
**
7. The year 2017 will see the first centennial commemoration of the Reformation to take place during the ecumenical age. It will also mark fifty years of Lutheran–Roman Catholic dialogue. As part of the ecumenical movement, praying together, worshipping together, and serving their communities together have enriched Catholics and Lutherans. They also face political, social, and economic challenges together. The spirituality evident in interconfessional marriages has brought forth new insights and questions. Lutherans and Catholics have been able to reinterpret their theological traditions and practices, recognizing the influences they have had on each other. Therefore, they long to commemorate 2017 together.

1. These changes demand a new approach. It is no longer adequate simply to repeat earlier accounts of the Reformation period, which presented Lutheran and Catholic perspectives separately and often in opposition to one another. Historical remembrance always selects from among a great abundance of historical moments and assimilates the selected elements into a meaningful whole. Because these accounts of the past were mostly oppositional, they not infrequently intensified the conflict between the confessions and sometimes led to open hostility.

1. The historical remembrance has had material consequences for the relationship of the confessions to each other. For this reason, a common ecumenical remembrance of the Lutheran Reformation is both so important and at the same time so difficult. Even today, many Catholics associate the word “Reformation” first of all with the division of the church, while many Lutheran Christians associate the word “Reformation” chiefly with the rediscovery of the gospel, certainty of faith and freedom. It will be necessary to take both points of departure seriously in order to relate the two perspectives to each other and bring them into dialogue.

 

[KjetilK]

Nowhere, oddly enough. Or maybe it isn’t even that odd, considering that Orthodox aren’t Protestants – actually I have a bad feeling that some Catholic “traditionalists” will use this as a handle to claim that Orthodox are Protestants.

That must mean that Roman Catholics are Protestants too.

Or, we could of course just say that it is perfectly possible to commemorate something without celebrating it.

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

Why should we celebrate the reformation? I believe the reformation, despite whatever good it might have done, ultimately served its purpose as a tool to move further from the apostolic tradition of the church Orthodox.

Any commemoration must remark on the failed results of the reformation, the largest of which being a total destruction in the idea of what church is.

 

[Vanez]

Oh, man…

 

[KjetilK]

Why should we celebrate the reformation?

Again, who is calling this a ‘celebration’?

 

[7_Sorrows]

Why should we celebrate the reformation? I believe the reformation, despite whatever good it might have done, ultimately served its purpose as a tool to move further from the apostolic tradition of the church Orthodox.

Any commemoration must remark on the failed results of the reformation, the largest of which being a total destruction in the idea of what church is.

I agree. Why does it even have to be commemorated?

 

[KjetilK]

I agree. Why does it even have to be commemorated?

I don’t know. Ask the Vatican.