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Semper Reformanda |
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United churches, the LWF and Warc |
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CommuniquéGeneva, October 14 2001: Representatives of Lutheran, Reformed and united churches combining both traditions came together in Geneva from October 11 to 14 2001, in the first week of the war against Afghanistan. The air raids on that country, already devastated by twenty years of conflict, together with the criminal attacks in the USA which prompted them, brought home to us the importance of our working together, as churches of the Reformation, in witnessing to the gospel and serving a broken world. We met at the invitation of the general secretaries of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Warc). Our group of almost 30 people from many regions of the world included invited representatives of united churches in Germany, the Czech Republic, Madagascar, the Netherlands and Zambia. (See "the experience of united churches" below and appendix 1.) We have shared information, experience and ecumenical passion; clarified misunderstandings; and explored together the significance of united and uniting churches in our two fellowships and how the united churches in Germany might appropriately relate to them. Recent developments at all levels have created a new context for our discussions and have led to a new desire for common witness and practical collaboration. Approximately 50 united or uniting churches cross the boundaries of the existing Christian world communions; of this 50, almost half combine Lutheran and Reformed traditions. Some are members of the LWF or Warc, others are members of both (the Church of Lippe, the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, and the Evangelical Church of the River Plate). At its meeting in Bangalore in 2000, hosted by the Karnataka Central diocese of the Church of South India, itself a united church combining Reformed and other traditions, the Warc executive committee "strongly affirmed" the participation of united and uniting churches in the Alliance. The experience of the united churches represented1. GermanyThese churches combine Lutheran and Reformed traditions. Some belong to the Evangelical Church of the Union, all of them to the Arnoldshain Conference. They go back to a movement to unite the different confessions of the Reformation at the beginning of the 19th century. They have kept a clear constitutional relationship to the historic Lutheran and Reformed confessions, and are keenly interested in how their confession is to be actualized today. Therefore the Theological Declaration of Barmen (1934) plays an important role in their life. Of the 24 regional churches (Landeskirchen) in Germany, 12 are united. Like other united and uniting churches, they participate enthusiastically in the ecumenical movement. At the international level, they have traditionally expressed their ecumenical commitment through the World Council of Churches and the group of united and uniting churches, which meets in consultation from time to time. In recent years, the united churches in Germany have turned their attention to their relationship to the LWF and Warc:
2. The Czech RepublicThe Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren traces its origins to reforming movements in the 14th and 15th centuries and above all to the struggle of Jan Hus (1370-1415). An important development was the creation in 1457 of the Unitas Fratrum (the unity of the brethren). In 1620, the Protestant faith was proscribed throughout the Austro-Hungarian empire. By 1781, when Joseph II issued an edict of toleration, only 100,000 Protestants remained in the Czech lands. They were not allowed to organize themselves in continuity with their indigenous Czech tradition, but were obliged to register as either Lutheran or Reformed. Following the first world war, the state of Czechoslovakia was created and the larger Reformed and the smaller Lutheran church decided to reject their artificial separation and recover their authentic history by uniting as the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren. This church has played a leading role in the discussions on the "first" and "second" Reformations and in developing a wider understanding of what it means to be reformed. 3. MadagascarThe Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar was formed in 1968 during the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Protestant missions: it is a union of three strands (the Church of Christ in Madagascar, which grew out of the work of the London Missionary Society; the Evangelical Church in Madagascar, the result of French missionary efforts; and the Malagasy Friends' Church, created by Quaker mission). In 1980, it founded the National Council of Christian Churches in Madagascar, together with the Lutheran, Anglican and Roman Catholic churches: a particular concern was to unify Christian language and to agree on a common Malagasy version of the name of Jesus Christ: Jesoa Kristy. The church is active in the fields of evangelism, education and development. In 1991, it played an active role in the fall of the second republic and in developing the constitution of the third republic. The small Malagasy Protestant Church (FPMA) in France, which was set up by students in 1959, has dual membership in the LWF and Warc. 4. The NetherlandsIn 1973, the two largest Reformed churches - the Netherlands Reformed Church and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands - held their first joint synod. Later they joined with the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands in a tripartite project of union, Samen op weg (Together on the way). This project heightened the awareness in the churches of their historical and confessional roots; at the same time, it made it clear that confessional loyalty did not require them to remain separate. A union scheme was adopted in 1997, and the three churches are already united administratively. 5. ZambiaThe United Church of Zambia, with a million members, is the largest Protestant church in Zambia. In 1965, less than three months after independence, it brought together into a single union four Reformed and Methodist churches: the Church of Central Africa in Rhodesia (itself a union of the Church of Scotland and the London Missionary Society churches with the Union Church of the Copperbelt), the congregations of the Copperbelt Free Church Council, the Church of Barotseland, and the Methodist Church. The UCZ sees itself as showing that unity in diversity is possible and fulfilling in a small way the prayer of Jesus in John 17. But it also understands itself contextually: it is proud of its contribution in the struggle for independence in southern Africa and in building a peaceful nation out of a diverse tribal society. "We are called to be one Zambia, one church." Evangelization remains the main goal of the church. The LWF and WarcCooperation between the two world communions goes back as far as the 1950s and springs from the recognition that, although they are separate organizations, they have much in common. It has had an erratic history, as we must admit, but in the last decade it has been greatly intensified. The 1989 report of the joint commission of the LWF and Warc, Toward Church Fellowship, concluded that "nothing stands in the way of church fellowship" between churches of the Lutheran and Reformed traditions. It called on member churches of both organizations to establish full pulpit and table fellowship and to grow in unity through new steps in church life and mission together. At the international level, it called on the LWF and Warc to work together wherever possible. From 1993, the LWF and Warc began to collaborate in different programmes. A further impetus came from the 25th anniversary of the Leuenberg agreement and the new Formula of Agreement between one Lutheran and three Reformed churches in the USA. In March 1999, senior staff of the two organizations began to meet at regular six-monthly intervals to deepen their cooperation. A joint working group was appointed by the general secretary of the LWF and the executive committee of the Alliance with a three-year mandate (1999-2001) to review Lutheran-Reformed relations on the regional and international levels. The group has focused on taking forward the positive results of previous dialogues. It sees its task as accompanying and promoting the implementation of their recommendations, furthering and making visible the growing communion among member churches, and calling for specific initiatives of cooperation between the two international bodies. In this consultation, we were pleased to learn of the extent to which the LWF and Warc are already cooperating and of their vision of their life together in the years immediately to come. In addition to the senior staff meetings mentioned above, the general secretaries of the two organizations meet regularly in the Ecumenical Centre. There is reciprocal involvement in work on mission. The two bodies are co-sponsors of the "Prague" dialogue on the "first" and "second" Reformations. Warc will share in discussions, initiated by the LWF and the Vatican, on the follow-up to the joint declaration on the doctrine of justification. The LWF programme on church structures in times of global transformation has become a common project. The Warc process on economic injustice and ecological destruction has attracted regular LWF involvement; inversely, Warc has been involved in the emerging LWF programme in this area. A Warc study on the theological imperatives for human rights has widened to embrace the LWF. The two bodies have worked together on peace and conflict resolution in Africa. The LWF and Warc are founding sponsors of the ecumenical news agency, Ecumenical News International. There are regular joint discussions and coordination in relation to the United Nations and human rights. The two organizations have long worked together in the area of partnership of women and men and are cooperating in developing a gender training manual. The list is growing, and reflects a growing conviction that it is better to do thing together and that, when they are done together, they are done better - a conviction that springs from a shared sense that, despite their obvious differences in history and profile, the LWF and Warc have in common that they are fellowships of churches of the Reformation. The two organizations are coordinating their preparations for the LWF general assembly in 2003 and the Warc general council in 2004, and envisage a joint meeting of the LWF council and the Warc executive committee in 2005 or 2006. Warc already in 1997 envisaged a joint meeting, or parallel meetings, of the two supreme governing bodies; it proved impossible to realize this vision immediately, but proposals on this point will be brought for decision to the two meetings in 2003 and 2004. In all these ways, the commitment of the LWF and Warc to be together and to work together deepens and intensifies. The united churches in Germany have a strong desire to find appropriate ways to share in this common life and work. Both fellowships understand and welcome this desire. Both communions make provision for membership by united churches and many united churches have been welcomed into membership of one or other or both. For both fellowships, the presence in these churches is a living reminder of what they already know: that their relationship to the confessional heritage is complex and that confessional loyalty is not to be confused with confessionalism. We are all heirs of the ReformationOur self-understandings as Lutheran, united or Reformed make us ecumenical and exclude all sectarianism. We find our identity in the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed by the universal church. Within this one worldwide church, we recognize the Lutheran, Reformed and united churches combining both traditions as a natural grouping, with a common heritage in the Reformation of the 16th century. Because of that heritage, this group of churches is often referred to as churches of the Reformation (Reformatorische Kirchen): the term is not exclusive, since there are other churches that also claim a link to the Reformation. We do not privilege this grouping over others: in the ecumenical house, there are many mansions, and all of us are bound in wider sets of ecumenical relationships. But as churches of the Reformation we affirm that we can and should face the future together. Around this table, in all our difference and distinctiveness, we recognize ourselves in one other. We belong together. We echo the words of Toward Church Fellowship (par.78): "We believe that unity, diversity and harmony are all God's gifts to the church. Therefore diversity must not obscure unity, nor concern for unity deny diversity. Together we serve one Lord, through whom alone we have access by the one Spirit to the Father." Actualizing our confessionWe value our confessional heritages, but we are not imprisoned by them. Our confessional traditions are precious resources as we study the Scriptures and strive to interpret the will of God for our times. To us, as in every Christian generation, Jesus of Nazareth poses the question, "Who do you say that I am?". As we seek to answer responsibly, we actualize our confession. In recent times, we have seen examples of this actualizing in the Theological Declaration of Barmen; the debates over weapons of mass destruction; the struggle against apartheid reflected in the status confessionis declarations of the two communions and in the Confession of Belhar; the question of the church and the Jewish people; the conciliar process on justice, peace and the integrity of creation; the campaigns for the cancellation of international debt; and the current programmes on economic justice and ecological destruction. These efforts, in which we have all shared, mark our common desire to witness to a timeless saviour: a Christ who speaks to the world yesterday, today and tomorrow. The way forwardWhat can be done to deepen understanding between churches of the Reformation, to dispel old prejudices, and to respond together in concrete witness and action to the challenges of God's world? Specifically, what steps can be taken at the international level and how can the united churches in Germany be involved? We discussed this question in three aspects: 1. Engagement of the German united churchesWe can envisage many ways in which the German united churches could share in the work of the LWF and Warc, for example:
The LWF and Warc are open to such possibilities. They would warmly welcome, for example, involvement by the united churches in ongoing work on economic globalization. 2. Structures of cooperationThe current Lutheran-Reformed joint working group has a time-limited mandate, but a joint commission to further cooperation and deepen relationships between the two world bodies may well be needed for the longer term. This commission, supported by the necessary staff, should also further relations with the united churches. During our brainstorming, some participants raised the question of whether a common desk would be helpful towards these goals. 3. Membership in the world bodiesIt would be possible for some or all of the German united churches to enter into membership of one or both Christian world communions. It was suggested that such membership, especially if it were dual membership, would help in shaping from within the future of the two bodies. It was also suggested that the question may be premature: the German united churches are currently engaged in a fundamental restructuring of their own relationships, in which it is likely that the Arnoldshain Conference and the Evangelical Church of the Union will be replaced by a single but open structure. It may be that the question of membership in the two Christian world communions would be best raised in the course of that restructuring or when it is complete. Our conversations here in Geneva will be taken up, on the side of the two world bodies, by the Lutheran-Reformed joint working group, which will report to the Warc executive committee and through the general secretary of the LWF to its council; and on the side of the German united churches, within the Arnoldshain Conference and the Evangelical Church of the Union. The reorganization of the united churches in Germany and the meetings of the LWF general assembly in 2003 and the Warc general council in 2004 provide a larger timeframe for our discussions. None of us came to this consultation with a blueprint for our future life together. We go away knowing that we have not yet arrived at complete clarity on the way forward; but we are clear that this way must be a common way. We shall stay together. We walk by faith, and we find our way in small and fumbling steps; but we put our trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit. We commend these reflections to the Lutheran-Reformed joint working group and the governing bodies of the two Christian world communions, and to the leading bodies of the Arnoldshain Conference and the Evangelical Church of the Union and their member churches.
Appendix 1:
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