|
Preamble
1.The doctrine of justification was of central
importance for the Lutheran Reformation of the sixteenth century. It was held
to be the "first and chief article"1 and at the same time the
"ruler and judge over all other Christian doctrines."2 The
doctrine of justification was particularly asserted and defended in its
Reformation shape and special valuation over against the Roman Catholic Church
and theology of that time, which in turn asserted and defended a doctrine of justification
of a different character. From the Reformation perspective, justification was
the crux of all the disputes. Doctrinal condemnations were put forward both in
the Lutheran Confessions3 and by the Roman Catholic Church's Council of
Trent. These condemnations are still valid today and thus have a
church-dividing effect.
2.For the Lutheran tradition, the doctrine of
justification has retained its special status. Consequently it has also from
the beginning occupied an important place in the official Lutheran-Roman
Catholic dialogue.
3. Special attention should be drawn to the following
reports: "The Gospel and the Church" (1972)4 and "Church
and Justification" (1994)5 by the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint
Commission, "Justification by Faith" (1983)6 of the
Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue in the USA and "The Condemnations of the
Reformation Era - Do They Still Divide?" (1986)7 by the Ecumenical
Working Group of Protestant and Catholic theologians in Germany. Some of these
dialogue reports have been officially received by the churches. An important
example of such reception is the binding response of the United
Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Germany to the "Condemnations" study, made
in 1994 at the highest possible level of ecclesiastical recognition together
with the other churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany8.
4. In their discussion of the doctrine of
justification, all the dialogue reports as well as the responses show a high
degree of agreement in their approaches and conclusions. The time has therefore
come to take stock and to summarize the results of the dialogues on
justification so that our churches may be informed about the overall results of
this dialogue with the necessary accuracy and brevity, and thereby be enabled
to make binding decisions.
5.The present Joint Declaration has this intention:
namely, to show that on the basis of their dialogue the subscribing Lutheran
churches and the Roman Catholic Church9 are now able to articulate a
common understanding of our justification by God's grace through faith in
Christ. It does not cover all that either church teaches about justification;
it does encompass a consensus on basic truths of the doctrine of justification
and shows that the remaining differences in its explication are no longer the
occasion for doctrinal condemnations.
6.Our Declaration is not a new, independent
presentation alongside the dialogue reports and documents to date, let alone a
replacement of them. Rather, as the appendix of sources shows, it makes
repeated reference to them and their arguments.
7.Like the dialogues themselves, this Joint Declaration
rests on the conviction that in overcoming the earlier controversial questions
and doctrinal condemnations, the churches neither take the condemnations
lightly nor do they disavow their own past. On the contrary, this Declaration
is shaped by the conviction that in their respective histories our churches
have come to new insights. Developments have taken place which not only make
possible, but also require the churches to examine the divisive questions and
condemnations and see them in a new light.
|