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Background

Formula of Agreement

(Adopted by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August 1997)

Background
The following narrative provides background information on the thirty-four years of official dialogues and conversations that have now resulted in the proposal for full communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the three Reformed churches.

1. Early Dialogues. Representatives of Reformed and Lutheran churches in the U.S.A. have held official conversations since 1962. The first round (1962-1966) produced Marburg Revisited. The representatives concluded that there are ". . . no insuperable obstacles to pulpit and altar fellowship." They encouraged the churches to look forward to intercommunion and the full recognition of one another's ministries. The second round of dialogues (1972-1974) concluded that declarations of church fellowship should be dealt with on a church-to-church body basis.
   
   The third round (1981-1983) issued joint statements on justification, the Lord's Supper, and ministry in Invitation to Action, which was published in 1984. In 1986, representatives concluded that the Reformed and Lutheran churches should recognize each other as churches in which the Gospel is proclaimed and sacraments administered according to the ordinance of Christ. They recommended mutual recognition of ministries and Eucharist and a detailed process of reception.
   
2. A Divergence of Views Among the Lutheran Churches in 1986. The recommendations contained in Invitation to Action were adopted by the Presbyterian Church USA, the Reformed Church in America, The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and The American Lutheran Church in 1986, and the United Church of Christ in 1989. At the same time, however, the Lutheran Church in America offered a more guarded response, calling for a "new series of Lutheran-Reformed dialogues." The Lutheran Church in America requested further exploration of (1) the relationship between dialogue and the governing and liturgical documents of the churches, and (2) the confessional nature of the Reformed churches.
   
3. Discussions Continue in the Early Years of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Because of the difference between the Lutheran Church in America position and that of The American Lutheran Church and The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches on this issue, the newly created Evangelical Lutheran Church in America decided to engage in further discussions with the Reformed churches rather than to declare itself in full communion with them. ELCA leaders and representatives of the three Reformed churches agreed to address the doctrinal condemnations found in the Formula of Concord (1577) concerning the Lord's Supper, Christology, and predestination.
   

The Lutheran-Reformed Committee for Theological Conversations met from 1988 to 1992. Its mandate was to explore the key doctrinal issues listed above and to determine what steps needed to be taken on the road to full communion. The committee's report, A Common Calling: The Witness of Our Reformation Churches in North America Today, was released in March 1992. In it, the committee reported that, on the basis of their theological discussion, participants found no "church-dividing differences" and made the following unanimous recommendation:

That the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Reformed Church in America (RCA), and the United Church of Christ (UCC) declare that they are in full communion with one another. In the specific terms of full communion as they are developed in our study, this recommendation also requires:

• that they recognize each other as churches in which the Gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered according to the Word of God;
• that they withdraw any historic condemnation by one side or the other as inappropriate for the faith and life of our churches today;
• that they continue to recognize each other's Baptism and authorize and encourage the sharing of the Lord's Supper among their members;
• that they recognize each others' various ministries and make provision for the orderly exchange of ordained ministers of Word and Sacrament;
• that they establish appropriate channels of consultation and decision-making within the existing structures of the churches;
• that they commit themselves to an ongoing process of theological dialogue in order to clarify further the common understanding of the faith and foster its common expression in evangelism, witness, and service;
• that they pledge themselves to living together under the Gospel in such a way that the principle of mutual affirmation and admonition becomes the basis of a trusting relationship in which respect and love for the other will have a chance to grow.
• Churchwide Study of the Proposal for Full Communion. A Lutheran-Reformed Coordinating Committee, whose mandate was to facilitate the reception of A Common Calling, was appointed by the Church Council in 1992. It produced A Formula of Agreement, in which it recommended:

The 1993 Churchwide Assembly voted to affirm that the recommendations for full communion between the ELCA, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ be voted on by the respective church bodies in the same year--not earlier than 1995 and not later than 1997. Because of the need for adequate time for churchwide discussion of this matter, the proposal for full communion with the Reformed churches was finally scheduled for the 1997 Churchwide Assembly, along with the proposal for full communion with The Episcopal Church.

As part of this churchwide discussion, and in coordination with the work of the Lutheran-Reformed Coordinating Committee, the ELCA conducted a churchwide study of the full communion proposal. Completed in February 1996, this study and other discussions held throughout the ELCA identified the following areas of concern: agreement on the Lord's Supper and the "real presence"; faithfulness to Scripture and confessional clarity; problems with exchange of clergy; and the nature of the polity of the United Church of Christ and the degree of binding commitment it allows.

The Lutheran-Reformed Coordinating Committee and the ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations have sought to address the many issues and concerns that have surfaced as the full communion proposals were discussed throughout the five church bodies involved. Consultations on key issues and the publication of new resources were among the ways of responding to the questions that were raised.

Throughout the past biennium, extensive discussions have transpired with key leadership groups within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, including the Conference of Bishops and the ELCA Church Council.

The 1993 Churchwide Assembly actions mandated that action on the proposal for full communion with the Reformed churches would occur no later than the 1997 Churchwide Assembly. In accordance with that action, the Lutheran-Reformed Coordinating Committee developed the following resolution and requested that the identical text be placed before the ELCA's 1997 Churchwide Assembly and the 1997 assemblies or conventions of the Presbyterian Church USA, the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ.

Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson, as the ELCA's chief ecumenical officer, requested that the Church Council act to transmit this joint resolution to the 1997 Churchwide Assembly. This action makes it possible for synods to receive the final wording of the full communion resolutions prior to their 1997 synodical assemblies. Action now also facilitates the work of the coordinating committee and ELCA staff as the committee members name, clarify, and, in some cases, address issues that need attention prior to and after the 1997 decisions are made.

Church Council Action (November 1996):
To receive the request made by the Lutheran-Reformed Coordinating Committee that the following resolution on full communion be considered in this form by the 1997 churchwide assemblies or conventions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ; and

To transmit the following resolution to the 1997 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for action:

Whereas, the prayer of our Lord, the intent of our ecumenical vision, and the opportunities for mission that God is offering to us all demand that we express more fully the visible unity of the Church of Jesus Christ; and

Whereas, the witness of the Reformed and Lutheran Churches in Europe has resulted in over two decades of full communion within the framework of the Leuenberg Agreement; and

Whereas, the four churches represented in the Lutheran-Reformed Committee for Theological Conversations (1988-1992)--the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ--have their historical roots in the Reformation and, in part, have understood themselves in the context of their relationship to one another; and

Whereas, these four churches rejoice in nearly four decades of dialogue during which the doctrines and confessional commitments of the respective churches have been thoroughly discussed in an atmosphere of mutual respect and a growing sense of common mission and understanding; and

Whereas, A Common Calling, the report of the Lutheran-Reformed Committee for Theological Conversations, reaffirmed a consensus reported in previous dialogues that there are no "church-dividing differences" precluding full communion among these four churches; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adopt A Formula of Agreement on the basis of A Common Calling and declare that it is in full communion with the Presbyterian Church USA, the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ; and be it further

RESOLVED, that this full-communion agreement will take effect when all four churches act affirmatively on this resolution in accordance with their respective governing procedures; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America appoint representatives to a Lutheran-Reformed Joint Committee, which will coordinate implementation of full communion in the four churches; and be it further

RESOLVED, that Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson present a progress report on the work of the committee to the next Churchwide Assembly (1999).