wfn.org | LWI 2008-032 LWF Conference on the Protestant Understanding of Church in an Ecumenical Horizon

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LWF Conference on the Protestant Understanding of Church in an
Ecumenical Horizon
The Confessing Church in the Contemporary World

GENEVA, 13 June 2008 (LWI) – The Protestant understanding of
the church is the central theme of an international conference of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for Theology and
Studies (DTS) taking place at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute
near Geneva, Switzerland. 

Scholars from 11 countries are participating in the 12–16 June
gathering, with the theme "The one holy, catholic and apostolic
Church - reflections on the understanding of the church in an
ecumenical horizon." According to Rev. Dr Hans-Peter Grosshans,
DTS Study Secretary for Theology, the meeting will help make the
Evangelical Lutheran understanding of the church more visible. It
is the "historical obligation of the Evangelical Lutheran church
to make the ecclesiological consequences of Reformed theology
clear to itself and to other churches," he said prior to the
meeting, being organized in collaboration with the University of
Geneva Faculty of Theology.

Grosshans said the conference ushers in a new LWF/DTS study
program, in which the phrase from the Nicene Creed, "We believe
in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church" will be
interpreted from the perspective of the Evangelical Lutheran
church and contemporary Protestant theology and given new life.

The study program's first meeting in Bossey will focus on the
significance of the Nicene phrase in its entirety for today's
Protestant churches. Follow-up meetings to be held in South
America, Asia and Africa, will examine significance of the four
hallmarks of the church—oneness, holiness, catholicity and
apostolicity - for today's Protestant churches. The program will
address questions such as: "What is the importance for Protestant
churches of achieving the 'one, holy, catholic and apostolic
Church?'" And what is meant, from a Protestant point of view,
when referring to the church in terms of oneness, holiness,
catholicity and apostolicity?"

Participants at the Bossey meeting come from Brazil, Denmark,
Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Switzerland, United States of America and Zambia. 

>Different Contexts

While many of them are specialists on questions of ecclesiology,
their experience of the concept of "church" occurs in very
different contexts and extremely diverse religious, political,
legal and economic situations, said Grosshans. "They represent
various theological styles, methods and approaches, and
demonstrate the great diversity of theological thinking within
the Evangelical Lutheran church," he added.

In addition to Lutheran scholars, other confessional traditions
represented at the conference include the Orthodox, Roman
Catholics, Baptists and Reformed. For Grosshans, the Evangelical
Lutheran understanding of the church must not seek to assert
itself in opposition to other Christian confessions, but rather
with them. Emphasis must be placed on ecumenical dialogue and
pursuing contextual attempts to define what church is and make it
a reality.

Since the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification (JDDJ) by representatives of the LWF and the Roman
Catholic Church on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany, "church"
has increasingly been the central theme of ecumenical dialogues,
said Grosshans. The JDDJ reception made it poignantly clear that
the main obstacle to church unity was the divergent conceptions
of the church. The Evangelical Lutheran understanding of the
church has, by and large, defined itself in terms of its
difference with other confessions. Until now, Lutheran churches
and Protestant theology have paid far too little attention to
clarifying the understanding of church on the basis of their own
principles.

He went on to say that the Protestant understanding of church
therefore lacks a clear identity and consequently, an essential
prerequisite toward making progress in ecumenical discussions on
the topic of "church."  Until now Protestant churches have not
been sufficiently successful in making clear how, based on their
understanding of the church, they can bring about the one, holy,
catholic and apostolic Church in accordance with the Gospel and
the implications this has for the life and organization of the
churches. In many ways, Protestant churches have regressed with
regard to Reformation ideals, due to their understanding of their
own ecclesiality.

The rich and diverse experiences in many Lutheran churches all
over the world, which could deepen our interpretation of these
hallmarks of the church, have not been brought to fruition, he
added. (697 words)

>*       *       *

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF
currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the
world, with a total membership of over 68.3 million. The LWF acts
on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such
as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

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