wfn.org | LWI 2009-057 Ten Years of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification

["LWFNews" <LWFNews@lutheranworld.org>]

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Ten Years of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification
Roman Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists to Commemorate the
Event on October 30 and 31 in Augsburg

AUGSBURG, Germany/GENEVA, 15 October 2009 (LWI)  - Several
commemorative events will be held in Augsburg, Germany on 30 and
31 October to celebrate the signing of the Joint Declaration on
the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) between the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) and the Roman Catholic Church ten years ago. 

During a special worship service on Reformation Day in 1999, the
LWF and the Vatican affirmed that mutual condemnations on the
decisive question of justification that had been repeated for
centuries no longer applied to the teaching of the respective
churches. At the 2006 World Methodist Conference in Seoul, South
Korea, the member churches of the World Methodist Council
formally affirmed the JDDJ.

The highlight of the upcoming commemorative celebrations will be
a ceremony on 30 October at 19:30 hrs in the Golden Hall of the
Augsburg "Rathaus." Greetings by the Lord Mayor of Augsburg Dr
Kurt Gribl; by Bishop Dr Johannes Friedrich of Munich, presiding
bishop of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany; and
by Bishop Dr Walter Mixa of the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Augsburg, will be followed by brief introductions to the topic by
the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian
Unity (PCPCU) Walter Cardinal Kasper, and by LWF General
Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko. Prof. em. Eberhard Juengel from
Tuebingen will deliver the keynote address titled "What Does Our
Happiness Have to Do with Our Blessedness?"

On 31 October from 09:00 hrs, presentations related to the JDDJ
will continue in the Golden Hall. Speakers will include the
long-serving bishop of the Evangelical Methodist Church in
Germany Dr Walter Klaiber of Tuebingen, and the former president
of the German Bishops' Conference Karl Cardinal Lehmann of Mainz.
The PCPCU president and the LWF general secretary will give the
closing remarks. The festivities will conclude with an ecumenical
worship service in the Augsburg Cathedral and a reception in the
Michael Sailer Hall.

Kasper, Noko and Klaiber will address a press conference hosted
jointly by the LWF, PCPCU and the Evangelical Methodist Church in
Germany on 30 October at 15:00 hrs at the "Hollbau" Annahof (at
street address 4, 86150) in Augsburg. 

Note: Accredited representatives of the print media, radio and
television are welcome to attend the above-mentioned events. 
Accreditation may be requested at pressestelle@velkd.de. The
regional bishop’s personal assistant Lydie Nicoly may be
contacted for organizational details at tel. +49/821-5970 313,
lydie.nicolymenezes@elkb.de; for content-related issues,
please contact the VELKD press spokesperson Oberkirchenrat Udo
Hahn tel. +49/511-2796 272, mobile: +49/177- 8261 226,
hahn@velkd.de).

Representatives of the print media, radio and television wishing
to attend the ecumenical worship service in the Augsburg
Cathedral are asked to apply for informal accreditation to the
diocesan press office (tel. & fax: +49/821-3166 329,
presse@bistum-augsburg.de) by 27 October at the latest. Passes
may be collected on Friday 30 October from 09:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs
at the Augsburg diocesan press office (Peutingerstrasse 5, 86152
Augsburg) upon presentation of an official press card.

This is a joint press release by the media offices of the
Lutheran World Federation, Evangelical Methodist Church in
Germany, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria and the Diocese
of Augsburg.

>*        *          *

(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.)

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