24.10.2000
First Joint Declaration anniversary: LWF general secretary calls for continued ecumenical efforts
GENEVA, 24 October 2000 (LWI) - In a statement issued prior to the first anniversary of the signing and celebration of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JD), the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko has expressed strong hope that the efforts of continued dialogue will contribute toward an increased ecumenical understanding of the church and its ministry."The hope for Eucharistic sharing to become a reality some time in the future must be held high as an outcome of common beliefs and shared participation in God's justifying grace," Dr. Noko said.
When representatives of the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church signed on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany, the Official Common Statement thereby confirming jointly the JD, the historic act not only represented the significant fruition of a 30-year process of bilateral theological dialogue between the two partners, it was also the first time that a declaration had been made officially and jointly by both sides. Further, it was an affirmation that a consensus in basic truths regarding the doctrine of justification had been reached and that the mutual condemnations from the time of the Reformation concerning the doctrine of justification do not apply to the teaching on justification as set forth in the JD.
In the statement dated October 24, Dr. Noko pointed out however, that there are still substantial differences when it comes to the understanding of the church and the ministry in the church. He said some of these differences came to the fore recently when the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the Declaration Dominus Iesus on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church.
Noko noted that Dominus Iesus does not contain any theological innovations but is a stark reminder "of how far we still have to go to reach an 'agreement in basic truths' concerning the church and its ministry, despite our substantial agreement on the understanding of salvation."
It is Dr. Noko's hope that the first anniversary of the signing of the JD will be a time to recall "joyfully" the significant ecumenical fact that in spite of all differences, "we are nevertheless united in the salvation we share as God's supreme gift."
The full text of Dr. Noko's statement follows:
Statement by the General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation
Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko
First Anniversary
of the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
Strongly Calls for Continued Ecumenical Efforts
A year ago, representatives of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Roman Catholic Church, gathered in Augsburg, Germany, and performed what was recognized as one of the most significant ecumenical actions of the twentieth century: The signing and celebration of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JD).
For the first time since the Reformation, Lutheran churches, as represented by the LWF, and the Roman Catholic Church, signed an official doctrinal document together. The area concerned was one of primary importance in the controversies of the sixteenth century, namely, the normative character for the life of the church of the biblical doctrine of God's saving act in Christ. At the time of the Reformation, the disputes regarding this doctrine were interlinked with the controversies over the need for reform in the church. When doctrinal condemnations were stated mutually, justification by God's grace alone was particularly in focus.
After many years of dialogue between Lutherans and Roman Catholics that began in the late 1960s, it became clear that each partner had nevertheless maintained a common understanding of fundamental points of doctrine related to justification - even if differences remained on how its normative role is to be seen. So they agreed that the common understanding ought to be formulated and officially confirmed.
The agreements reached were not considered as results of "negotiations" but as tenets, clarified by dialogue, that were-and are-in keeping with the doctrinal positions on both sides. Careful scholarly work by Lutheran and Roman Catholic theologians undergirded the dialogue process leading to the JD expressing a "consensus in basic truths." The text is substantiated by many references to significant doctrinal documents (referred to as "Sources") of both traditions.
On the basis of this consensus, the mutual condemnations by the two parties from the time of the Reformation are declared to not apply to the teaching on justification of the two sides as laid out in the JD.
When it comes to the understanding of the church and the ministry in the church, however, there are still substantial differences. Some of these differences recently came to the fore after the Declaration Dominus Iesus was issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and through the lively discussion following its publication.
The document does not contain any theological innovations but reminds us, rather starkly, of how far we still have to go to reach an "agreement in basic truths" concerning the church and its ministry, despite our substantial agreement on the understanding of salvation.
One important point of divergence is that, for the Roman Catholic Church, there is a "defectus" in the ministry of the Lutheran churches. This is an assessment that Lutherans, obviously, cannot accept. Regarding salvation or justification, on the other hand, the Roman Catholic Church does not similarly declare a "defectus" present. I appreciate the strong emphasis made recently by representatives of the Vatican that the Declaration Dominus Iesus does not express a "monopoly of salvation" on the part of the Roman Catholic Church.
Therefore, on the first anniversary of the signing of the JD, we should allow ourselves to be joyfully reminded of the significant ecumenical fact that, in spite of all differences, we are nevertheless united in the salvation we share as God's supreme gift. What this fact, stated and confirmed in the JD, could mean in view of achieving increased common understanding of the church and its ministry is definitely one of the most important tasks of our continued dialogue. An explicit study in that area was carried out in the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue leading to the document "Church and Justification" (1995). The Declaration Dominus Iesus is a reminder of the urgency of continued efforts on just that issue in the time ahead.
On the anniversary of the signing of the JD, we should strongly maintain hope that the efforts of our continued dialogue, together with all significant and relevant scholarship carried out in centers of theological learning, will contribute to growing ecumenical agreement on what our salvation, as God's work in Christ and in the Holy Spirit, means for an increased ecumenical understanding of the church and its ministry. In this context, the hope for Eucharistic sharing to become a reality some time in the future must be held high as an outcome of common beliefs and shared participation in God's justifying grace.
Realistic about the magnitude of the remaining ecumenical tasks ahead, but hopeful and trusting in God and his guidance in the Holy Spirit, may we be united in the prayer of the day from the signing ceremony, a year ago, in the Church of St. Anna:
Jesus Christ, you are the sure foundation on which your Church has been built. You alone are the one Lord. Give us an ever-deeper recognition that it is you who has made us members of your Church. We pray to you, O Lord: Bring about the unity of your Church, so that all divisions will be overcome. We praise you, who live and rule forever and ever. Amen.
Geneva, 24 October 2000
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