Remembering Bishop em. Dr Christian Krause, LWF President 1997-2003. Photo: LWF Archives
Former bishop of Brunswick died on 28 November
(LWI) - Bishop emeritus Dr Christian Krause, who served as President of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) from 1997 to 2003 died on 28 November in Wolfenbüttel, Germany, at the age of 84.
Krause was elected at the Ninth LWF Assembly in Hong Kong, China, and served until the Tenth LWF Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada. He was Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick, Germany, from 1994 to 2002.
LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt said the former LWF President “is remembered with fondness for his passion for the global communion of Lutherans and the vibrant witness of its member churches to the gospel of Christ.” She recalled President Krause’s visits to LWF member churches in different parts of the world, “including the churches of Eastern Europe, which were in the early stages of transition from communist rule. This was important accompaniment for these churches.”
Burghardt recalled that a highlight during Krause’s tenure as president was the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) by the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany. What stands out to this day, she noted, is his emphasis on the JDDJ’s significance for Lutherans and Catholics globally, and at the local level, particularly with regards to its impact for families in countries with both Christian traditions.
“We give thanks for his life and service to global Lutheranism and ecumenism and convey our condolences. As we mourn his loss, we celebrate his legacy,” Burghardt added.
We give thanks for his life and service to global Lutheranism and ecumenism and convey our condolences. As we mourn his loss, we celebrate his legacy
LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt
Christian Krause was born on 6 January 1940, in Dallgow-Döberitz in Brandenburg. He studied theology in Marburg, Heidelberg, and Göttingen (Germany) and Chicago (USA). Krause was ordained as a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover in 1969.
He worked as an assistant in the then LWF Department of Theology in Geneva from 1969 to 1970 and in the Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service head office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 1970 to 1972.
From 1985 to 1994 he served as General Secretary of the German Evangelical Kirchentag (Protestant Church Lay Movement). From 1972 to 1985, he was responsible for international ecumenical affairs, serving as executive secretary (Oberkirchenrat) at the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany and the German National Committee of the LWF in Hanover, Germany.
In 1994, he received an honorary doctorate from the Madras-based Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration, and in 1999 an honorary doctorate by the Comenius-University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. In 2001, he received the Award of the Knight Commander's Cross (Badge and Star) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Bishop em. Dr Christian Krause is survived by his wife Gertrud Krause and four children.
