Ecumenical guests at Vespers in the Rome Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls marking the close of Christian Unity week. Photo: A. Giuliani/CatholicPressPhoto
Council of Nicaea anniversary not just about looking back but also about strengthening commitment to unity and witness
(LWI) - “This year’s celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of the first ecumenical Council of Nicaea is an opportunity, not only to look back, but also to strengthen our efforts for reconciliation and joint witness among all the Christian churches,” said Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Prof. Dr Dirk Lange, as he joined Pope Francis and other church leaders for the closing of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Rome.
Lange was among the many ecumenical guests from Orthodox, Anglican and other Protestant churches taking part in a service of Vespers at the Roman Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls on 25 January, the closing day of the annual Week of Prayer. The initiative is marked each year by churches around the world with reflections and worship materials prepared jointly under the auspices of the World Council of Churches and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.
“This January, those shared resources have focused on the need to return to the sources that have shaped our Christian faith,” Lange reflected, “with a call to explore anew this living heritage of the Nicene Creed that can sustain and deepen our ecumenical work.” In his sermon for Vespers, Lange noted, “Pope Francis also stressed that our shared faith is both a precious gift and a challenge. He urged us to celebrate the Nicaean anniversary, not just as a historical remembrance, but also as a commitment to witness together to our growing communion.”
New resource for Lutheran-Orthodox relations
That commitment is evident in several initiatives marking the anniversary, which have resulted from meetings of the International Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Theological Commission. At a gathering in Egypt last May, participants agreed on a return to the original wording of the Nicene Creed, moving towards a resolution of the so-called ‘Filioque’ dispute which has divided Eastern and Western churches for centuries.
In June, the LWF Council welcomed the joint statement on the ‘Filioque’ clause, encouraging local Lutheran congregations around the world “to seek intentional engagement and closer relationships with Orthodox neighbors.” The LWF Communion Office has also produced a resource for congregational use containing background to the dispute, explanation of the new statement and hopes for it to become “another step of our churches on the journey to full, visible unity.”
Reconciliation and unity of the Body of Christ
The International Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Theological Commission also produced a second statement on the Holy Spirit, the Church and the World. Scheduled for publication later this year, the statement offers theological reflections on the role of the Spirit in Creation, in the liturgy and in the work of the churches in contemporary society. “Both of these statements are part of our common effort towards reconciliation and unity of the Body of Christ.” Lange said. “Together, they call for renewed study and engagement by member churches in Trinitarian theology in our liturgy, our singing and our teaching.”
Later this year, the World Council of Churches will be convening the sixth world conference of its Faith and Order commission to celebrate the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and to explore the question ‘Where now for visible unity?’ Lange and LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt will participate in the 24 to 28 October conference at the ancient St Bishoy Monastery at Wadi El Natrun near Alexandria in Egypt.
