|
November 16, 2006
Dear colleagues,
The ELCA Church Council met in
Chicago November 10-13, 2006, for its semi-annual meeting. Among its
many items of business the Council took action on two significant
ecumenical matters that are occasions for great joy because they advance
the cause of Christian unity.
The first action was to adopt
a “Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on the
Condemnations of the Anabaptists,” a document which is an appendix to
the report of the Lutheran-Mennonite Liaison Committee and is titled,
“Right Remembering.” The Declaration apologizes for the suffering that
was inflicted on the forebears of the Mennonite Church USA during the
sixteenth century. The Lutheran Confessions, as well as some of the
private writings of Martin Luther and Phillip Melanchthon call upon the
state to persecute Anabaptists for their teaching, particularly their
baptismal theology. So the “Declaration” also asserts that the
condemnations of the sixteenth century no longer apply to present day
Mennonites, even as it calls for further theological conversation
between the two traditions. Such on-going work will be conducted by the
Lutheran World Federation on the global level.
The Council’s second action
was to adopt “A Lutheran-Orthodox Common Statement on Faith in Holy
Trinity,” first released by the Lutheran-Orthodox dialogue teams in
1999. The four-page statement is a brief but comprehensive statement
about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity but its focal point is related to
the long-disputed phrase “and the Son” (filioque) in the third article
of the Creed. The phrase began to be used in some parts of the Western
church as early as the fifth century and was formally adopted by Rome in
the 11th century. But the churches of the East have never recognized
the validity of the phrase and in some places asserted that teaching
that the Spirit proceeds from the Son as well as from the Father was
heresy. The addition of the filioque clause contributed to the formal
break between the Eastern and Western churches in 1054. Two aspects of
the “Common Statement” are significant. The first is that the Orthodox
maintain that it is not heresy to profess the filioque even though it is
inappropriate to do so because the phrase was never adopted by an
ecumenical council. Second, Lutherans are encouraged to confess the
Nicene Creed without the filioque clause, particularly in ecumenical
situations. A careful reading of the Nicene Creed in Evangelical
Lutheran Worship draws attention to this possibility. Thus, the
statement serves as a teaching tool as well as a significant benchmark
long the way in our relationship with the Orthodox churches.
Please make use of these newly
adopted statements whenever you are able. Point out to your Mennonite
and Orthodox colleagues the seriousness with which our church takes our
ecumenical relationships. Perhaps such conversations can set the stage
for avenues of cooperation and prayer in your own congregations and with
your ecumenical colleagues. They are certainly helpful ways to
celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Randall R. Lee
Executive for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
8765 W. Higgins Road
Chicago, IL 60631
1.800.638.3522 extension 2611
randy.lee@elca.org
|
