The Lutheran World Federation

Lutheran-Orthodox

Lutheran - Orthodox

International Level

Lutheran - Orthodox Joint Commission
Oslo, Norway, 2002

High-level visits between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the LWF, and separate deliberations on both sides, began in 1967. The Fourth Pan-Orthodox Conference officially encouraged a global ecumenical dialogue with the LWF as early as 1968. That same year the LWF Executive Committee discussed and approved plans for participation in such a dialogue.

Lutheran - Orthodox Joint Commission
Damascus, Syria 2000

A thorough preparatory process led to decisions by the Orthodox in 1976 and by the Lutherans in 1977 to further develop and implement plans for dialogue by means of separate Orthodox and Lutheran meetings, which took place in 1978, 1979 and 1980. The Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission met for the first time in Espoo, Finland in 1981.

The commission has adopted the following statements:

  • Divine Revelation (3rd Plenary, 24-30 May 1985,Allentown, USA)
    Scripture and Tradition (4rd Plenary, 27 May-4 June 1987,Crete/Chania, Greece)
  • The Canon and the Inspiration of the Holy Scripture (5th Plenary, 1-7 September 1989, Bad Segeberg, Germany)

Authority in and Of the Church:

  • A. The Ecumenical Councils (7th Plenary, 5-10 July 1993, Sandbjerg, Denmark)
  • B. Understanding of Salvation in the Light of the Ecumenical Councils (8th Plenary, 2-7 August 1995,Limassol, Cyprus)
  • C. Salvation: Grace, Justification and Synergy (9th Plenary, 31 July-8 August 1998,Sigtuna, Sweden)

The Mystery of the Church:

  • A. Word and Sacraments (Mysteria) in the Life of the Church (10th Plenary, 3-10 November 2000,Damascus, Syria)
  • B. Mysteria/Sacraments as Means of Salvation (11th Plenary, 3-10 October, 2002, Oslo, Norway)
  • C. Baptism and Chrismation (Confirmation) as Sacraments of Initiation into the Church (12th Plenary, 6-15 October 2004, Duràu, Romania)
  • D. The Holy Eucharist in the Life of the Church (13th Plenary, 2-9 November 2006, Bratislava , Slovak Republic)

Please click here to find these statements. (They have been made available on-line by Rev. Prof. Dr Risto Saarinen, a Lutheran member of the Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission.)

Regional Level

Although international dialogue has a unique status and role within Lutheran-Orthodox relations, various regional Lutheran-Orthodox dialogues have developed significantly more themes. The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), which includes Reformed and United churches in its membership, has been especially active in encouraging regional dialogues with Orthodox churches.

Documents agreed upon and produced by these dialogues since the 1960s and 1970s include the

  • Finnish-Russian Dialogue
  • EKD-Russian Dialogue
  • EKD-Constantinople Dialogue
  • EKD-Romanian Dialogue
  • Federation of Evangelical Churches (BEK) [DDR]-Russian Dialogue
  • BEK (DDR)/EKD-Bulgarian Dialogue
  • American Dialogue

Further information on all these dialogues can be found in Risto Saarinen: Faith and Holiness - Lutheran-Orthodox Dialogue 1959-1994. Göttingen, Germany, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1997.