wfn.org | Lutheran-Orthodox statement adopted

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

   on "Salvation: Grace, Justification and Synergy"
Formulating together basic elements of the Christian faith

GENEVA, 20 August 1998 (lwi) - The Ninth Meeting of the
Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission finished with positive results,
according to Sven Oppegaard, assisting general secretary for
Ecumenical Affairs of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The
meeting, which took place from July 31 to August 8 in Sigtuna,
Sweden, was "an important step forward" in the Lutheran-Orthodox
efforts to jointly explore and formulate basic elements of the
Christian faith, Oppegaard told the Lutheran World Information (LWI).

Among other things, the participants of Sigtuna adopted a statement
on "Salvation: Grace, Justification and Synergy". The Joint
Commission, chaired by Lutheran American Bishop (em.) William
Lazareth and Orthodox Archbishop Spyridon of the United States,
Ecumenical Patriarchate, also heard and discussed papers such as
"Salvation as Justification and Deification" by the Lutheran
professor Bruce Marshall, with a commentary by Professor Alexy Osipov
of the Moscow Patriarchate, and "Synergy and Salvation" by Professor
Vlassios Pheidas, Ecumenical Patriarchate, with a commentary by the
German professor of theology Karl Christian Felmy.

In the future, the Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission will explore
more deeply the topic, "The Mystery of the Church" with, as a primary
subtheme, "Word and Sacraments (Mysteria) in the Life of the Church".

Contacts between Orthodox and Lutherans go back to the 16th century. The
current official Lutheran-Orthodox discussions began in 1981 in Espoo,
Finland, at a gathering preceded by three years of preparatory meetings.
Since Espoo, the aim of the dialogue between Orthodox and Lutherans has
been the establishment of "full communion as full mutual recognition".

This plenary session of the Joint Commission represents an important step
forward in the Lutheran-Orthodox effort of exploring and formulating a
common understanding of basic elements of the Christian faith. "In spite of
differences regarding theological terminology and emphases," Oppegaard
concluded, "the two traditions have been able to jointly express
substantial aspects of God's grace and salvation in Christ, drawing
primarily on an understanding of relevant biblical material."

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Lutheran World Information
Editorial Assistant: Janet Bond-Nash
E-mail: jbn@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/