wfn.org | Lutherans Celebrate 475th Anniversary of the Augsburg

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

Lutherans Celebrate 475th Anniversary of the Augsburg Confession
LWF General Secretary Noko Urges Facing Up to Ecumenical Challenges 

AUGSBURG, Germany/GENEVA, 30 June 2005 (LWI) - The General Secretary of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, has urged
facing up to the ecumenical challenges consequential to Christians'
shared common faith. "Through faith we are the undisputed recipients of
God's promise to Abraham," he said in his sermon during the celebration
of the 475th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession (Confessio
Augustana), which took place on Sunday June 26 in the Evangelical
Lutheran Holy Cross Church in Augsburg, Germany.

"God's promise to Abraham is the promise to the world," Noko said. "The
nations of the world are the addressees of Divine Love. We stand
justified before God like our parent Abraham, not because we deserve it.
Not because of ethnic ancestry but only on the basis of faith that
trusts in the Triune God," he continued in his interpretation of Romans
4:13-17. Consequently, he stressed, "We are challenged to find ways of
living a shared faith and life in the proclamation of the gospel and
worship life that is expressed in the common celebration of the Lord's
table." 

In 1999, after countless wars, tensions, and 470 years of separation of
the two faiths, Lutherans and Roman Catholics together confessed in the
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) "that God
forgives sin by grace and at the same time frees human beings from sin's
enslaving power and imparts the gift of new life in Christ." This joint
confession can only be best described as a gift from God, Noko stated.
"May the gracious God of Abraham give us courage and faith to be a
Church for others for the healing of the world." 

Noko said it was a "joy and honor" for him to be in the historic city
of Augsburg on the occasion of the anniversary celebration of the
Confessio Augustana, which had been "officially and publicly read before
the dignitaries and leading theological minds of the Church and before
the representatives of the Holy Roman Empire and regional and municipal
authorities in the year 1530." He said that one could sense or imagine
the level of anxiety that must have accompanied the participants. The
Emperor Charles V, wanting to keep the empire united, Noko said, had
taken charge of the deliberations. Theologians on both sides of the
argument had sought to overcome the pending rift within the church. 

The city of Augsburg was remembered not only in connection with that
event, but also for numerous other historic events, Noko said, such as
the peace of Augsburg in 1555 and the ecumenical event of 31 October
1999, when the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church signed the JDDJ. "The
action of confirming the Joint Declaration has put in place an
ecumenical bridge enabling God's people to walk with confidence toward
new ecumenical possibilities," he noted. 

The LWF general secretary stated that the signing of the JDDJ had
confirmed agreement between Lutherans and Roman Catholics with respect
to a central issue, "that Lutheran churches and the Roman Catholic
Church have listened together to the gospel proclaimed in the Holy
Scripture." Listening together had led to a shared understanding of
justification, he said. 

A small church convention to celebrate the 475th anniversary of the
Augsburg Confession took place at the Annahof, in Augsburg, 25-26 June.
Approximately 100 guests from eight central and east European countries
participated in the events. The spiritual highlight was a festive
worship service on Sunday June 26. The modern-day significance of the
Augsburg Confession for Christianity as a whole was discussed at a June
24 symposium. 

The Augsburg Confession, written primarily by Philipp Melanchthon, was
unveiled at the Reichstag in Augsburg on 25 June 1530, and presented to
the Emperor in Latin and German. The Confessio Augustana contains 28
articles and is divided into two parts. The first 21 sections relate to
fundamental issues of faith according to Protestant understanding. The
last seven articles address abuses within the church in need of remedy.
The Reformers originally attempted to use the articles of the Augsburg
Confession to recover commonalties with the Roman Catholic Church. Only
in the last articles did the authors see true differences with respect
to the Roman Catholic Church, and therefore they hoped to find an
understanding. Thereafter, the Augsburg Confession became the central
document for the faith of the churches of the Reformation in the
Lutheran tradition. (743 words)

The complete text of the sermon by LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr
Ishmael Noko is available on the LWF Web site at: 
www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/475_Years_AC_Sermon-Noko.pdf 

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138
member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a total
membership of nearly 66 million. 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
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