Theology and the Church
The One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church: Lutheran Perspectives
Fifth anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, October 2004 © LWF |
This new LWF/DTS study program seeks to interpret, from a Lutheran perspective, the confession of faith in the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church,” as stated in the Nicene Creed.
- How is this vision of the Church relevant for Lutherans today in their different cultural, religious and social contexts?
- What is the Church’s role in salvation?
- What is the significance of the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church” in dialogues between different denominations?
The first conference within the framework of the study program was held in June 2008 at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey. Participants underlined the importance of worship as the core of the Church and stressed the Church’s ongoing missionary task. The international group of theologians urged congregations to profess more often the commonly shared Nicene Creed as a visible and audible sign of communion with Christians from other confessions.
The papers presented at this consultation were published in May 2009 in the LWF Studies series 01/2009, One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Some Lutheran and Ecumenical Perspectives. Contributors include: Eve-Marie Becker (Denmark), Song-Mee Chung (Malaysia), Michel Grandjean (Switzerland), Minna Hietamäki (Finland), Eberhard Jüngel (Germany), Nelson Kilpp (Brazil), Samuel Ngun Ling (Myanmar), Dimitrios Moschos (Greece), Cheryl M. Peterson (USA), Johanna Rahner (Germany), Philipp Stoellger (Germany), and Yonas Yigezu (Ethiopia). [Please click to order, CHF 16, USD 14, Euro 10, plus postage and packing].
Please click here for further information about the June 2008 conference and a list of contributors.
The next meeting of the DTS study program will take a closer look at the four marks of the Church—oneness, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity—and their impact on Lutheran church life in diverse cultural, religious and social contexts.
Past Study Programs
Leadership and Power in the Ministry of the Church
There are many questionable if not controversial ways in which leadership and power are exercised in churches. This often simmers beneath the surface, without being discussed or addressed openly. Read more
The Authority of the Bible in the Life of the Church
The Diaconal Ministry in the Lutheran Churches
"The Diaconal Ministry in the Lutheran Churches" was the focus of an international consultation in October 2005, in São Leopoldo, Brazil. It served as a forum to discuss experiences with diaconal ministry and identify key elements of an understanding of the diaconal ministry of deacons and deaconesses that is solidly grounded in the Bible, in line with the Lutheran Reformation and open to different contexts. Read more
For further information, please contact Rev. Dr Martin Sinaga
