wfn.org | Meeting of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity

["Frank Imhoff" <frank_imhoff@elca.org>]

Meeting of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity  Baltimore, USA
Discussion on Apostolicity of the Church, New Testament Foundations

BALTIMORE, United States of America/GENEVA, 30 August 2004 (LWI) * The focal topic of the recent phase of the Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity was the Apostolicity of the Church. This year's meeting, the ninth of the fourth phase of the commission, proceeded with its work on biblical, historical and systematic theological aspects of the theme.

At the July 9 to 17 meeting in Baltimore, United States of America, the commission carried out its work on the basis of revised drafts received from the drafting group, which had met in Erfurt, Germany, in April 2003 and in Rome in March 2004.

Discussions focused on the "Apostolicity of the Church - New Testament Foundations;" the Apostolic Gospel and the Apostolicity of the Church;" "Apostolic Succession and the Ordained Ministry," and "Church Teaching which Remains in the Truth." 

The dialogue is co-sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU). The commission is co-chaired by Bishop Dr Bila Harmati of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary, and Archbishop Alfons Nossol of Opole, from Poland.

 From the beginning, the goal of the Lutheran - Roman Catholic dialogue has been the visible unity of the Church. The first phase of the dialogue (1967-1971) concentrated on the "Gospel and the Church," while the second phase (1973 - 1984) looked at the "Eucharist and the Ministry in the Church." The topic of the third phase (1986-1993) was "Church and Justification." The 1999 signing of Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification was also based on findings in this dialogue.

The commission is expected to conclude its work in 2005, and publish its
report in 2006. 

The next meeting of the Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity will
take place, 22-30 September 2005.

The full statement of the communiqui from the Lutheran - Roman Catholic
Commission on Unity is posted on the LWF Web site under
http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/LWI/EN/1495.EN.html

[The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 136 member
churches in 76 countries representing 62.3 million of the almost 66 million
Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas
of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith 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.]

*    *	   *

LWI online at: http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html 

LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
PO Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: (41.22) 791.63.54
Fax: (41.22) 791.66.30 
Editor's e-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org