Lutheran-Catholic Agreement Focus of Ecumenists

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The North American Academy of Ecumenists (NAAE) will explore possible implications an international Lutheran-Catholic agreement on a key Christian doctrine may have on relations between all Christian denominations. "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification: Ecumenical Implications" will be the NAAE 2000 Annual Conference theme Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at the Holiday Inn Westport, St. Louis.
"This conference promises to be unique, as it will bring scholars from Christian traditions not usually paired together in bilateral dialogues to discuss how an agreement reached by Lutherans and Roman Catholics in 1999 may bring greater unity among all Christians," said the Rev. Darlis J. Swan, associate director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Department for Ecumenical Affairs.
Swan is president of the NAAE. "By making the Joint Declaration the centerpiece of the conference, we hope to stimulate discussion not only on the agreement itself but also on the role of justification -- offering a variety of Christian perspectives," she said.
The "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" said certain 16th century condemnations between Catholics and followers of the German reformer Martin Luther no longer apply. Representatives of the Lutheran World Federation and the Vatican signed the declaration Oct. 31, 1999, in Augsburg, Germany.
The NAAE was founded in 1957 "to inform, relate and encourage men and women whose profession or ministry in the church involves them in ecumenical activities and studies." Its annual conferences are scholarly in content and informal in structure to explore "issues too important to be left exclusively to official ecumenical agencies and projects."
Swan said this year's conference has two purposes -- "to explore the implications of the Joint Declaration beyond the boundaries of Lutheran and Roman Catholic traditions, and to assist in the reception process of the agreement by providing a venue for reflection on how the Joint Declaration may be used as a pastoral and educational tool in ecumenical settings."
Dr. Michael J. Root, professor of systematic theology, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, will provide the opening presentation on doctrinal and practical implications of the agreement. Root was a research professor at the LWF's Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France, when Lutheran churches around the world and the Vatican were testing their consensus on the Joint Declaration. Dr. Frank D. Macchia, president, Society for Pentecostal Studies, Costa Mesa, Calif., will respond.
The Rev. Michael Kinnamon, Eden Theological Seminary, Webster Groves, Mo., will look at the Joint Declaration from the perspective of the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) -- an ecumenical discourse involving nine church bodies which will become Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC) in 2002. The Rev. Eileen Lindner, National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., New York, and the Rev. William H. Petersen, Bexley Hall, Rochester, N.Y., will respond.
The Rev. Samuel H. Nafzger, Commission on Theology and Church Relations, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, St. Louis, will consider if the Joint Declaration is a new opportunity for ecumenical reception. The Missouri Synod's 1998 convention expressed its "deep regret and profound disagreement" with the ELCA's approval of the Joint Declaration. Dr. George Vandevelde, Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto, and the Rev. Peggy Way, Eden Theological Seminary, will respond.
The LWF, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is a global communion of 131 member churches in 72 countries representing 59.5 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans. The ELCA is a member of LWF, the Missouri Synod is not.
The Rev. Ernest Falardeau, S.S.S, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M., and the Rev. Betty Gamble, United Methodist Church, New York, will present catechetical and pastoral implications of the Joint Declaration.
The Most Rev. Edward K. Braxton, auxiliary bishop, Archdiocese of St. Louis, is the invited banquet speaker. Dr. Valerie Karras, St. Louis University, St. Louis, will provide "An Orthodox Perspective" on the Lutheran-Catholic declaration.
"I am pleased that so many outstanding ecumenical scholars have agreed to serve on the program, sharing their research as well as their experience," said Swan. "Their expertise as well as that of those who participate will certainly contribute to the continuing task of making the Joint Declaration a reality for the wider ecumenical movement," she said.
The conference will conclude with worship at St. Monica's Roman Catholic Church, Creve Coeur, Mo.

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