New Publication on the Biblical Foundations of the Doctrine of Justification

The Biblical Foundations of the Doctrine of Justification – a publication documenting ecumenical partners’ follow up on the historic agreement by Lutherans and Roman Catholics on the doctrine of justification – is now available in English and German languages.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) in October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany. This action ended centuries’ old disagreement and conflict over the crucial subject of justification, the original point of dispute between Catholic and Lutheran traditions.

Compiled by an ecumenical task force, the LWF – PCPCU publication highlights the commitment of the JDDJ signatories to continuous dialogue, and to widening the circle of conversations to include insights from Methodist and Reformed scholars. “A book full of promise” is how the expanded circle of four partners describes The Biblical Foundations of the Doctrine of Justification – An Ecumenical Follow-Up to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in its preface.

Representatives of the four partners, including LWF General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge, underline that the book was not written only for biblical scholars or theologians. They invite readers to explore “a text which is accessible to many attentive readers who care about Christian confession of God’s grace and about the unity of the Church.”

At a 1-2 September meeting of former students of Pope Benedict XVI at the Castel Gandolfo residence near Rome, Prof. Theodor Dieter, director of the LWF Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France, presented the pope with a copy of the German edition, Biblische Grundlagen der Rechtfertigungslehre – Eine ökumenische Studie zur Gemeinsamen Erklärung zur Rechtfertigungslehre.

Discussions at the meeting moderated by the pope focused on Catholic-Lutheran and Anglican-Catholic dialogues. Dieter analyzed the method of differentiated consensus developed in the JDDJ as the model for any fruitful ecumenical dialogue. Other participants included emeritus Lutheran Bishop Ulrich Wilckens (Holstein-Lübeck, Germany).

To order:

The Biblical Foundations of the Doctrine of Justification | USD 21.95 | Paulist Press (New Jersey, USA)

Biblische Grundlagen der Rechtfertigungslehre | EUR 19.95 | Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig

For more information, please contact:

Gérald Arci, Administrative Assistant, LWF Department for Theology and Public Witness