Monday, August 15, 2016

ELCA approves Lutheran-Catholic ecumenical document

​NEW ORLEANS (Aug.10, 2016) – The 2016 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly took several significant steps Wednesday moving forward the mission of this church as a church for the sake of the world.

By a vote of 931 to 9, the assembly overwhelmingly accepted the "Declaration on the Way," a unique ecumenical document that marks a path toward greater unity between Catholics and Lutherans. Following the vote, an emotional assembly stood to applaud the momentous decision.

At the heart of the document are 32 "Statements of Agreement" that state where Lutherans and Catholics do not have church-dividing differences on topics about church, ministry and the Eucharist. More tentatively, the document also explores differences that remain.

Read the rest here.

4 comments:

William Tighe said...


And this action by a body that purports to bless (and accept) same-sex pseudogamy is significant?

Abbot Theodore said...

I am glad that they can be positive about what they have in common. However, it seems almost trivial in the face of the ELCA not only having ordained women as ministers, but having a woman as their Presiding Bishop. That moves them much further away from Rome than any 32 agreements can possibly move them towards it.

Anonymous said...

AND they voted to ordain openly practicing homosexuals, male and female. What hath Rome to do with San Francisco, right?

James said...

Why does it seem like the Catholics talk to the ELCA, and not LCMS who seem more inline with Traditional Christianity, and seem to have Catholicity in mind, regarding worship, and doctrine at least.