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SINAPPI, ST. PETERSBURG AND SIIKANIEMI The 13th, 14th and 15th theological discussions between the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Russian Orthodox Church Church Council, Helsinki 2013 Documents of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland – 13 SINAPPI, ST. Petersburg AND SIIKANIEMI The 13th, 14th and 15th theological discussions between the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Russian Orthodox Church Church Council, Helsinki 2013 Documents of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland – 13 Editor: Tomi Karttunen Translator: Marlena Whiting Layout: Hanna Sario Pictures on the front cover: St. Alexander Nevsky (Russian icon) and St. Martyr Bishop Henry (Bishop Arseni 2009, photograph Heikki Jääskeläinen) Printed in Unigrafia Publisher: Church Council Department for International Relations, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. ISBN (paperback) 978-951-789-429-6 ISBN (pdf) 978-951-789-430-2 Church Council issue 2011-00454 CONTENTS Foreword.............................................................................................................................................5 SINAPPI 2005 Communiqué ...................................................................................................................................12 Summary ...........................................................................................................................................19 The Fallen Man according to the Bible – Exegetical Perspectives: Professor Antti Laato .........................................................................................................24 Humans in the Bible (an exegetical perspective) Archimandrite Yannuary (Ivliyev) ....................................................................................43 The prospects of the will of sinful men and those made righteous from the perspective of belief in the Holy Triune God and the moral activity of man Professor Hans-Olof Kvist ................................................................................................51 Man – Image of God or Slave to Lust? (A dialogue between Christian and secular psychology) Father Andrei Lorgus .........................................................................................................67 The Foundations and Application of Lutheran Social Ethics Rev. Dr Antti Raunio .........................................................................................................83 Social Ethics in the Context of Theology and Philosophy of Religion Docent, Fr. Vladimir Šmalij .............................................................................................101 Europe’s Values Rev. Dr Kimmo Kääriäinen ............................................................................................116 Europe at a Crossroads: Spiritual and Ethical Perspectives of the Juxtaposition of Christianity and Secularism Hilarion, Bishop of Vienna and Austria ..........................................................................133 ST. PetersbUrg 2008 Communiqué ................................................................................................................................156 Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................162 Freedom as Gift and Responsibility in the Bible Archimandrite Yannuary (Ivliyev) .............................................................................................166 Freedom as Gift and Responsibility in the Bible Prof. Antti Laato ...............................................................................................................180 The Russian Orthodox Church and Human Rights Dean Vsevolod Chaplin ..................................................................................................200 Human Rights in Light of Christianity Professor Jaana Hallamaa ................................................................................................213 Religious Education from a Christian Point of View Father Vladimir Hulap ....................................................................................................236 Religious Education from a Christian Point of View Docent Jyri Komulainen .................................................................................................248 SIIKANIEMI 2011 Communiqué .................................................................................................................................274 Welcoming Address to the 15th Theological Discussion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Russian Orthodox Church Archbishop Kari Mäkinen ................................................................................................282 Addressed to the Participants of the 15th Theological Discussions Between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Hilarion, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk ...........................................................................284 God’s Church as Eschatological Reality in Apostle Paul’s Letters Archimandrite Yannuary (Ivliyev) ...................................................................................287 Christ’s Church: from the shadow of the Jerusalem temple to global church Professor Antti Laato, Åbo Akademi ...............................................................................297 Ecclesiology: the Unfinished Project Professor Vladimir Smalij ................................................................................................327 The Church as a Community. A Systematic Theological Perspective Bishop Matti Repo ...........................................................................................................345 Christian Identity and Church Membership from the Perspective of Practical Theology Archimandrite Kirill (Govorun) .......................................................................................364 The Ideal and the Reality: Commitment to Membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Bishop Seppo Häkkinen ...................................................................................................372 FOREWORD The ecumenical conversations between the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), which were initiated by Archbishop Martti Simojoki and Metropolitan Nikodim, have been ongoing since 1970. The first concrete initiative was made in 1967 by Archbishop Simojoki, who suggested the idea of bilateral theological discussions to Patriarch Alexey. The wider ecumenical background was the discussions taking place between the Russian Orthodox Church and the German Evangelical Church. They had begun already in 1959 in the aftermath of the Second World War - when East-West relations began to become more tense and constructive contacts and reconciliation were especially needed.1 The general ecumenical climate was also influenced in the 1960s by the ecumenical revival brought about by the Second Vatican Council and the numerous bilateral theological dialogues initiated/undertaken by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity in the late sixties. The dialogue between ELCF and ROC has proved to be fruitful in many ways. Its theological nature, underlined already by Archbishop Simojoki, led in the conversations of Kiev 1977 to the development of the paradigmatic idea of “Christ present in faith” (In ipsa fide Christus adest) in ecumenical Luther research on the initiative of Professor Tuomo Mannermaa and his students. The viewpoint convincingly demonstrated the parallels between Luther’s idea of justification as favor and donum and the Orthodox understanding of deification (theosis). It has been a useful tool in the discussions both for dogmatic and social ethical reflections and for the understanding of the Church and Christian life in today’s world. This discovery, which underscores the realistic and communal character of Martin Luther’s thinking as well as the union of faith and love in the believer through Christ’s presence in faith, has facilitated ecumenical convergence and consensus beyond the scope of this dialogue. The best known examples are the influence of this line of Luther interpretation on the Porvoo Common Statement (1992) and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999). Also in the dialogue with the Methodists and Pentecostals the idea of the presence of Christ in the context of pneumatological and Trinitarian thought continues to be useful. Participation in the inner life of the Trinity, which lies at the heart of this interpretation of Luther, and the biblical and early Church roots of his theological 1 For ”The EKD-Russian Dialogue”, see e.g. Saarinen 1997, 84-127. 5 SINAPPI 2005 thoughts, connects the ecumenical interpretation of Luther with many of today’s ecumenical discussions regarding ecclesiology. It can be connected with the concept of “koinonia” as the biblical and theological framework for ecumenical ecclesiology. Ever since the Faith and Order conference in Santiago de Compostela in 1993, participation in the inner life of the Triune God as source of the life of the Church has provided important common ecumenical ground. For instance, in the new Faith and Order convergence text, The Church. Towards a Common Vision (2013), it is stated: “The Church is fundamentally a communion in the Triune God and, at the same time, a communion whose members partake together in the life and mission of God (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4), who, as Trinity,
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