wfn.org | LWI 2009-047 Lutherans' Reconciliation with Mennonites Would Be an Occasion for Healing

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Lutherans' Reconciliation with Mennonites Would Be an Occasion for  Healing Mennonite World Body Hears Study Commission Results and Proposed Lutheran  Action

ASUNCION, Paraguay/GENEVA, 14 August 2009 (LWI) - Despite the painful  history of Lutheran condemnations of Anabaptists, collaboration with  Mennonites around the world has helped move Lutherans to seek reconciliatio n with them, said Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, general secretary of the Lutheran  World Federation (LWF).

"We have come to desire this new level of reconciliation as we have come  to know you better," Noko told over 5,000 delegates attending the  Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly on 15 July in Asuncion,  Paraguay. "In many places around the world, we are already living out the  unity which has been given to us 'in Christ'."

The LWF general secretary's presence at the MWC assembly was prompted by  recommendations from the Lutheran-Mennonite International Study Commission,  whose research was completed this year. Building on the work of earlier  dialogues in France, Germany and the United States, the Commission  examined the historical impact of 16th century Lutheran anathemas, which  contributed to the justification of violent persecution against Anabaptists , including death.

"This legacy is on our side alone: you did not retaliate with condemnations  or executions," Noko emphasized.

"The pain of our separations is borne not only by us but also by the whole  Body of Christ. So it will be healing also for the whole Church if our two  bodies make a path together toward reconciliation," he noted.

Noko's address prompted a welcoming response: "We are witnessing walls  coming down," said Rev. Danisa Ndlovu, incoming MWC president, who pledged  "we will walk with you" as Lutherans address the troubled history.

The LWF general secretary linked Lutheran desire to address this painful  past to the upcoming anniversary, "Luther 2017: 500 Years of Reformation."  While celebrating the fresh insights into the gospel which had come from  the 16th century renewal of the Church, Lutherans also want "a spirit of  honesty and repentance, a commitment to the continuing reformation of our  tradition and of the whole Church," he said.

The upcoming Council meeting in October will propose a statement that  will, on behalf of the LWF, ask for forgiveness for Lutheran persecutions  of Anabaptists. The LWF Eleventh Assembly in July 2010 will be asked to  take appropriate action on this statement. "We hope [this] will put us in  a new relation to the anathemas in our confessional writings and will  express our deep regret and repentance for the use of these writings in  justification of violence that cannot be justified," Noko told the MWC  assembly. His remarks received a sustained standing ovation.

Noko and Prof. Kathryn Johnson, LWF assistant general secretary for  ecumenical affairs, also joined Mennonite members of the Study Commission,  to address an earlier session of the MWC Council. While noting that some  of the condemnations addressed positions that were not representative of  Anabaptist tradition or of teaching today, the Commission identified areas  of continuing difference between the two Christian families, notably on  issues of baptism and church-state relations.

Noko noted the challenge that reconciliation with Mennonites still holds  for the Lutheran family, explaining that the Augsburg Confession, which  condemns Anabaptists, remains an authoritative document for Lutherans  around the world. He said it was essential that new generations of  Anabaptists and Lutherans should not continue to inherit the painfully  divisive history.

Johnson stressed reconciliation as distinctive in this relationship as the  Anabaptists did not reciprocate these anathemas and persecutions. The  legacy of this one-sided use of violence is a burden which it was now time  for Lutherans to lay down, she noted.

At the conclusion of these remarks, the MWC Council officers surrounded  Noko and Johnson, laid hands on them and offered prayers of thanksgiving.  Said Dr Nancy Heisey, outgoing MWC president, "We realize that you must  find the language you will use in the resolution of your Assembly. But  today we have heard the language of your hearts." (651 words)

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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran  tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140  member churches in 79 countries all over the world, with a total membership  of 68.5 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas  of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology,  humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various  aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in  Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless  specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or  opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an  article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced  with acknowledgment.]

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