Leader of German Lutheran Church Body Pays Tribute to LWF's Ecumenical Contribution VELKD Presiding Bishop Friedrich Meets LWF General Secretary Noko
GENEVA, 4 July 2006 (LWI) - The Presiding Bishop of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD), Dr Johannes Friedrich, has characterized the dialogue of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) with other churches as its "distinct profile."
Following discussions with the LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko on 30 June, the VELKD bishop stressed that it was indeed "thanks to the LWF that the international ecumenical movement has not come to an impasse."
Friedrich, who is also bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, particularly hailed the plans of the World Methodist Council to confirm the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) on 23 July at the World Methodist Conference in Seoul, South Korea.
At the 31 October 1999 signing of the JDDJ in Augsburg, Germany, representatives of the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church jointly declared that the churches' mutual doctrinal condemnations regarding justification, dating back to the 16th century, do not apply to the teaching presented in the JDDJ.
The discussions between Noko and Friedrich at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva, centered on preparations for the LWF's 11th Assembly in Stuttgart, Germany in 2010, and for the 60th anniversary, which will be celebrated next year in Lund, Sweden. Friedrich is also chairperson of the LWF German National Committee (GNC).
During their meeting, Noko emphasized that being Lutheran means being ecumenical as well. "In order to be ecumenical, we need to strike a balance in our relations with all Christian world communions. The Lutheran tradition is generally understood to be a bridge between the Roman Catholic Church and Protestants. The Assembly in Stuttgart should profile this ecumenical reality without excluding any of our long-standing ecumenical partners," he noted.
The VELKD bishop called for the ecumenical movement to play a strong role in the upcoming LWF Assembly.
Friedrich was accompanied on his visit to the LWF headquarters by the GNC Executive Secretary, Oberkirchenrat Norbert Denecke, and by Kirchenrat Ivo Huber, who is responsible for fundamental theological questions and ecumenical affairs at the Bavarian Lutheran church.
The GNC/LWF represents 13 Lutheran churches: the eight member churches of the VELKD in Bavaria, Brunswick, Hanover, Mecklenburg, North Elbia, Saxony, Schaumburg-Lippe, and Thuringia; as well as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden; Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg; Evangelical Church of Pomerania; Evangelical Church in Wuerttemberg; and Church of Lippe [Lutheran Section]. They have a combined membership of some 12.8 million people. (416 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 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of 66.2 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.)
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