Prof. Dr Dirk Lange presents news of the two new ecumenical commissions to the LWF Council for approval. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
2025 to see start of second Lutheran-Pentecostal dialogue and Sixth Phase of Joint Commission with Catholics
(LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), together with its ecumenical partners, has established two new commissions and has appointed members to lead the international dialogue with the Pentecostal world and the Joint Commission on Unity with the Roman Catholic Church. The appointments were approved by the new LWF Council during its meeting in Geneva in June.
The second round of dialogue between the LWF and the Pentecostal World Fellowship will kick off next February at the Faculdades EST Lutheran university in São Leopoldo, Brazil, focusing on the theme of worship and Christian formation.
The first round of dialogue with Pentecostals took place between 2016 and 2022, culminating in a report entitled ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’. Those conversations focused on different aspects of Christian identity and ministry, including the importance of proclaiming the gospel in word and deed, attention to the poor and marginalized, as well as the ministries of healing and deliverance.
The beauty and the challenge [is] to be attentive to our different contexts and traditions and, at the same time, to be creative and bold in our theological reflection.
Rev. Dr Johannes Zeiler, co-chair of the second round of Lutheran Pentecostal dialogue
The Lutheran-Pentecostal dialogue is one of the most recent ecumenical relationships. It began in the early 2000s with a series of preparatory meetings organized by the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France. The second round will be co-chaired by Rev. Dr Johannes Zeiler from the Church of Sweden, alongside Swiss ecumenist Jean-Daniel Plüss, chair of the European Pentecostal Charismatic Research Association.
Zeiler, who currently serves as canon chancellor at Linköping Cathedral in southern Sweden, said: “Lutherans and Pentecostals have so much to learn from one another. To participate in a dialogue like this implies a process of joint learning and reflection based on shared experiences from diverse societal and religious contexts across the globe. This is the beauty and the challenge: to be attentive to our different contexts and traditions and, at the same time, to be creative and bold in our theological reflection.”
Looking ahead to Augsburg 2030
The Sixth Phase of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity will start up in the second half of 2025. Its first task is to prepare a joint statement for the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 2030, celebrating this document that was drawn up as an ecumenical proposal seeking to restore religious and political unity.
The commission is also expected to follow up on the work of an International Preparatory Group which held its last meeting in February 2024. Bishop Patricia Lull of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who will co-chair the sixth phase, said: “In a world that seems to be unravelling, it is a great privilege to work quietly and thoughtfully to address matters of misunderstanding that divide, rather than unity us in the Body of Christ. I am hopeful that the next phase of Lutheran-Catholic dialogue will reveal the next faithful step for us to take together.”
Lutheran members of both these new Commissions will represent the different regions of the LWF and will respect quota requirements for lay and ordained, male, female and young theologians. Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations, Prof Dr Dirk Lange said: “The beginning of the second round of dialogue with the Pentecostals and the Sixth Phase of the Joint Commission on Unity with the Roman Catholic Church signal the vibrancy of ecumenical dialogue. This commitment to church unity is particularly significant in 2025, as we look forward to celebrating the 1700th Anniversary of the very First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea.”
