wfn.org | Bratislava university honors LWF president

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

Doctorate is a tribute to the Lutheran communion, Slovak church
Press Release No. 08/99

BRATISLAVA, Slovak Republic, 24 June 1999 (lwi) - The Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) President Bishop Christian Krause has described an
honorary doctorate conferred upon him by the Comenius University in
Bratislava as a special honor to the worldwide Lutheran communion and
the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Slovak
Republic.

In his acceptance speech for the honorary degree   Doctor Honoris Causa
  at the university here on 24 June 1999 Krause, who is also bishop of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick, Germany, pointed out the
similarities between the great Czech theologian and scholar Jan Amos
Comenius (after whom the university is named) and the LWF member church.
Both have clearly expressed the meeting point  between the gospel and
culture. Since questions on culture and religion remain key issues in
the transition into the next millennium, the existing dialogue on
cultures must be followed by a dialogue of religions.

The LWF president said that one of the major challenges facing Europe is
the trend of a decline in religious observance which can result in a
crisis in view of secularization and pluralism. He welcomed the fact
that the Slovak Republic in its new constitution proclaims the
commitment to build the country on the roots of Christian tradition. In
this endeavor, churches can be of great help as a link to the European
culture.

Krause advocated a new "culture of hospitality, remembrance and mercy"
worldwide. This new orientation could be "an answer to the question as
to how Christians can be present in cultures and sub-cultures and work
towards a partnership that seeks a new and just world."

The Christian perspective of peace and reconciliation makes it possible
"to find a home where we are not at home, think about those whom nobody
else thinks about and reach out a hand where there is hatred and
despair, the LWF president remarked. He encouraged Lutherans to go
beyond their own walls "in the belief that the cultural influence of the
gospel is strong enough to create a globalization of solidarity against
the worldwide network of  those who control power."

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/