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The Church As Koinonia of Salvation: Its Structures and Ministries

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The Church As Koinonia of Salvation: Its Structures and Ministries THE CHURCH AS KOINONIA OF SALVATION: ITS STRUCTURES AND MINISTRIES Common Statement of the Tenth Round of the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue THE CHURCH AS KOINONIA OF SALVATION: ITS STRUCTURES AND MINISTRIES Page ii Preface It is a joy to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), signed by representatives of the Catholic Church and the churches of the Lutheran World Federation in 1999. Pope John Paul II and the leaders of the Lutheran World Federation recognize this agreement as a milestone and model on the road toward visible unity among Christians. It is therefore with great joy that we present to the leadership and members of our churches this text, the tenth produced by our United States dialogue, as a further contribution to this careful and gradual process of reconciliation. We hope that it will serve to enhance our communion and deepen our mutual understanding. Catholics and Lutherans are able to “confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works” (JDDJ §15). We also recognize together that: “Our consensus in basic truths of the doctrine of justification must come to influence the life and teachings of our churches. Here it must prove itself. In this respect, there are still questions of varying importance which need further clarification” (JDDJ §43). In this spirit we offer the following modest clarifications and proposals. We are united as Christians in our common baptism, common affirmation of Scripture and common life in Christ; as Lutherans and Catholics by our common commitment to the goal of full communion, our common affirmation of justification, and our common understanding that more agreement is necessary before full, sacramental communion can be restored. In this text we recognize the importance of our agreement, propose new stages of agreement, and celebrate the gifts we can receive from one another in our practice and understandings of ministries and structures within the Church as community of salvation. This dialogue also recognizes that we are not proposing to settle all of the church-dividing issues before us. We have not attempted to resolve the important ecclesiological issues of the ordination of women or the authority by which such a decision is made, nor the full meaning of apostolic succession in ordained ministry and how we might be reconciled. We have not addressed the level of communion in ministries and structures that would be necessary for even interim Eucharistic communion. We are, however, convinced that the clarifications and research represented by this text make an important contribution in the stages toward reconciling these and other elements along the path toward full communion. The reader will find this text a bit longer than earlier publications of this dialogue. Biblical and historical material that was prepared and presented in supporting essays over the years of this study has been summarized here. Needless to say, not all of the historical, biblical, and theological research on which this text is based is presented here nor is it included in the supporting essays. It will be important for the reader to review some of the earlier research of the U.S. and international dialogues to clarify further the context of these arguments. This agreed text may be published both by itself and in a volume with some supporting essays. In the volume of essays, only a selection of those which contributed to the dialogue is published. Those not summarized in the final document but which further clarify the historical background, are included. Some of the biblical, historical research, and overview of previous dialogues will be published as articles elsewhere. As we build a common understanding of our biblical and historical heritage, this research becomes an increasingly important resource for our teaching and preaching. It adds to the serious theological literature produced in an ecumenical mode. The method used to present our conclusions takes account of the “internally differentiated consensus” method employed by the Joint Declaration. “Lutheran and the Catholic explications of justification are in their difference open to one another and do not destroy the consensus regarding the basic truths” (JDDJ §40). As our dialogues approach the ecclesiological issues noted above, in the context of the Church as community of salvation, we will continue to seek agreement on matters THE CHURCH AS KOINONIA OF SALVATION: ITS STRUCTURES AND MINISTRIES Page iii that have been seen as church dividing. These agreements, of course, will be tested by the faith of our people and the appropriate leadership structures in our churches before they attain the level of reception and authority we now accord the Joint Declaration. It is only by reappropriating our common heritage in Scripture and the shared tradition that we can follow the call of Christ to that common future for which he so earnestly prayed on the night before he was delivered for us. We can only humbly receive that grace of unity by the power of the Holy Spirit, obediently continuing on the pilgrimage to which God has called us. The labors of our biblical and theological scholarship are one element in the mosaic of our common prayer, service and life together, as we step out into that mysterious and arduous path that lies before the Church. Bishop Charles Maahs, Bishop Richard Sklba, cochairs Lutheran Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States, Round X THE CHURCH AS KOINONIA OF SALVATION: ITS STRUCTURES AND MINISTRIES Page iv Common Statement THE CHURCH AS KOINONIA OF SALVATION: ITS STRUCTURES AND MINISTRIES PART ONE: DEEPENING COMMUNION IN STRUCTURES AND MINISTRIES Introduction ................................................................. §1 I. Koinonia Ecclesiology .................................................... §10 A. The Church Shares in Salvation ........................................ §11 B. The Church Shares Salvation........................................... §12 C. The Church is a Community Shaped by Salvation .......................... §13 D. Summary .......................................................... §14 E. Recent Developments in Koinonia Ecclesiology ............................ §15 II. The Local Church within the Koinonia of Salvation ............................. §21 A. The Local Church in Catholic Ecclesiology ............................... §24 B. The Local Church in Lutheran Ecclesiology............................... §26 C. Catholic-Lutheran Similarities on the Local Church......................... §27 III. Realizations of Ecclesial Koinonia .......................................... §32 A. The Congregation or Parish ............................................ §36 1. Lutherans on the Congregation ..................................... §37 2. Catholics on the Parish ........................................... §39 B. The Synod or Diocese ................................................ §41 1. Lutherans on Synodical Realizations ................................ §42 2. Catholics on Diocesan Realizations .................................. §45 C. National Realizations of Koinonia ....................................... §47 1. Lutherans on National Realizations.................................. §48 2. Catholics on National Realizations.................................. §49 D. Worldwide Realization ............................................... §51 1. Lutherans on Worldwide Realization ................................ §52 2. Catholics on Worldwide Realization................................. §53 IV. Ministry in Service of Communion.......................................... §54 A. A History of the Present Differences Between Lutherans and Roman Catholics . §55 B. Ordained Ministry Serving the Congregation or Parish ...................... §60 1. Catholics ...................................................... §61 2. Lutherans...................................................... §62 C. Ordained Ministry Serving Regional Communities ......................... §63 1. Catholics ...................................................... §64 2. Lutherans...................................................... §67 D. Ordained Ministry Serving the Universal Church........................... §70 1. Catholics ...................................................... §71 2. Lutherans...................................................... §73 V. Ministry and the Continuity with the Apostolic Church.......................... §75 A. Succession in Apostolic Mission, Ministry, and Message ..................... §75 B. The Bishop as Sign and Instrument of Apostolic Succession .................. §78 VI. Local and Regional Structures and Ministries of Communion ..................... §82 A. The Relationship between Local and Regional Churches..................... §82 B. The Relation between Priest/Presbyter/Pastor and Bishop .................... §92 THE CHURCH AS KOINONIA OF SALVATION: ITS STRUCTURES AND MINISTRIES Page v VII.Recommendations for an Ecumenical Way Forward............................ §95 A. Toward a Recognition of the Reality and Woundedness of our Ministries and Churches......................................... §95 1. Catholic Discernment ........................................... §106 2. Lutheran Discernment .......................................... §110 3. Common Challenges...........................................
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