New Archbishop of Canterbury Welcomed With Joy

Lutheran Church Leaders Attend Enthronement

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge has welcomed with joy the enthronement today of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, saying it comes as Anglicans and Lutherans embark on a new phase of cooperation.

“The new Anglican-Lutheran International Coordinating Committee (ALICC) is meeting for the first time later this year, and I am convinced that this is a strong sign of our ongoing commitment for joint witness,” said Junge, who took part in the enthronement ceremonies at Canterbury Cathedral in England.

“There are already several local and regional agreements on unity between the Lutheran and Anglican churches. They are based on careful theological discussions as well as long-time experience on shared life and serving the neighbor together,” Junge added.

In the service attended by government leaders and representatives of Christian traditions and faith groups from around the world, Welby, 57, the former Bishop of Durham, was enthroned as the Primate of All England, and spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The contemporary international bilateral dialogue between Anglicans and Lutherans began in 1972, with joint reports on the different phases. There have been regional dialogues between Anglicans and Lutherans in the United States, Australia, Europe, Canada, Africa and Brazil.

In his first sermon, the archbishop referred to the diaconal work of the church, which includes  offering shelter to the homeless and counsel to the bereaved, as well as internationally running refugee camps.

“Let us provoke each other to heed the call of Christ, to be clear in our declaration of Christ, committed in prayer to Christ, and we will see a world transformed,” the archbishop said.

The Lutherans and Anglicans recently published the outcome of their meetings since 2006 in the report To Love and Serve the Lord, which shows how church ministries are transforming relations between churches in both communions. The report of the previous Anglican Lutheran International Commission (ALIC III) focuses on diakonia in the life of the church.

Recommendations in the report, addressed to Lutheran and Anglican churches at all levels, call the churches’ attention to the diaconal work in which they can join together. The ALIC III report emphasizes that “diakonia is inseparable from discipleship and belongs to the whole people of God.”

ALIC III invites the Anglican Communion and the LWF to encourage their respective churches to pursue common development of a wide range of ministries and the building up of relationships at all levels of ecclesial life and mission. The two Christian World Communions are also asked to challenge their churches to do more together at all levels for disaster relief, in advocating on issues relating to climate change, illegitimate debt, HIV and AIDS and other pressing social concerns.

“Because of these relationships between Lutherans and Anglicans in local communities and at the local level, I find participating in the enthronement of the new Archbishop of Canterbury a particular joy,” Junge concluded.