Thank you for the interesting post. However what is your thought as to why the confessional Lutheran concerning the LCMS and WELS did not sign the JDDJ?
In fact, the President at the time of the LCMS Synod said it was a big step backwards for the Lutherans as so for as the LWF is comprise of the more liberal Lutherans with women ordination etc?
Same with Reformation commemoration. Seems the confessional Lutherans last I read anyways have RSVP’d no.
Well, with due respect for your question, it’s not properly my place, in my position, to critique the decisions of entities which, through their instruments of government and self-determination, arrive at conclusions of which I might wish they had reached a different conclusion. Your question is one to ask them. I know the situation of the bodies in Europe that are very much in accord with the joint commemoration but, frankly, different bodies, notably in the United States, have their own ways of thinking, which call for respect
Note is also made, I hasten to add, that there are bodies for whom this anniversary is more ambiguous. Thus we read in
From Conflict to Communion:
*10. In the last century, Christianity has become increasingly global. There are today Christians of various confessions throughout the whole world; the number of Christians in the South is growing, while the number of Christians in the North is shrinking. The churches of the South are continually assuming a greater importance within worldwide Christianity. These churches do not easily see the confessional conflicts of the sixteenth century as their own conflicts, even if they are connected to the churches of Europe and North America through various Christian world communions and share with them a common doctrinal basis. With regard to the year 2017, it will be very important to take seriously the contributions, questions, and perspectives of these churches.
- For more than a hundred years, Pentecostal and other charismatic movements have become very widespread across the globe. These powerful movements have put forward new emphases that have made many of the old confessional controversies seem obsolete. The Pentecostal movement is present in many other churches in the form of the charismatic movement, creating new commonalities and communities across confessional boundaries. Thus, this movement opens up new ecumenical opportunities while, at the same time, creating additional challenges that will play a significant role in the observance of the Reformation in 2017. *
In establishing where the Church of Rome stands on an issue, that is not only to the benefit of the dialogue partner(s), it for the Catholic Church throughout the world. By these texts and by these commemorations, the Holy See is speaking to every Catholic about where the Church TODAY stands. It is not where we stood 50 years ago…let alone where we stood three or four or five hundred years ago. That will be loudly proclaimed.
Whoever chooses to participate in this joint commemoration is welcomed – as individuals or as part of an ecclesiastical entity. But let us be clear: the Church of Rome is commemorating the anniversary of the Reformation in a historic way and mandating it for those under her governance…there is no opt out. Catholic bishops throughout the world, in their own various dioceses diffused throughout the world, as the Successors of the Apostles, will be commemorating the Reformation.
This is an event of great and historic moment for the Catholic Church…as we consciously choose to tell the story of the past in a different way. That alters forever our own history and our practice, by what we are doing in and through this commemoration that on this global scale. It is also about the healing of memories as we set aside things of the past.
Karlheinz Diez, the auxiliary bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fulda, and Eero Huovinen, the Lutheran bishop emeritus of Helsinki wrote:
*In 2017, Catholic and Lutheran Christians will most fittingly look back on events that occurred 500 years earlier by putting the gospel of Jesus Christ at the center. The gospel should be celebrated and communicated to the people of our time /…/ Herein lies the basis for our joy in our common faith.
To this joy also belongs a discerning, self-critical look at ourselves, not only in our history, but also today. We Christians have certainly not always been faithful to the gospel /…/ Repeatedly, we have stood in the way of the good news of the mercy of God.
Both as individuals and as a community of believers, we all constantly require repentance and reform—encouraged and led by the Holy Spirit. “When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said ‘Repent,’ He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Thus reads the opening statement of Luther’s 95 Theses from 1517, which triggered the Reformation movement.
/…/
The true unity of the church can only exist as unity in the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The fact that the struggle for this truth in the sixteenth century led to the loss of unity in Western Christendom belongs to the dark pages of church history. In 2017, we must confess openly that we have been guilty before Christ of damaging the unity of the church. This commemorative year presents us with two challenges: the purification and healing of memories, and the restoration of Christian unity in accordance with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Eph 4:4–6).
The following text describes a way “from conflict to communion”—a way whose goal we have not yet reached. Nevertheless, the Lutheran–Catholic Commission for Unity has taken seriously the words of Pope John XXIII, “The things that unite us are greater than those that divide us.” /…/ *
) For Episcopalians, I believe it depends on the seminary but it’s generally 3/4 years of post-secondary education. I think Lutherans have something similar (but it varies between LCMS, WELS, and ELCA.)
