Commemorating Or Undoing The Reformation?

On Reformation Day, October 31, the Pope will commemorate the Reformation in a common service with Lutherans in Sweden.

Michael Root, in The Christian Century, discusses the event, sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation, and gets into the difficulties it and related events scheduled for the 500th Anniversary of the 95 Theses have been posing for Catholics. Nothing is said about the difficulties they might pose for Lutherans.

But such unionistic services raise the question: Is the intention to celebrate (what Protestants are saying), commemorate (what Catholics are saying) or undo the Reformation (what would seem to be the ecumenical agenda)?

From Michael Root, Remembering the Protestant Reformation—with the Catholic pope | The Christian Century:

On October 31 in Lund, Sweden, Pope Francis will take part in a commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation—a year before the official anniversary in 2017. That a pope would participate in a commemoration of Luther’s posting of his 95 Theses on October 31, 1517—the event usually seen as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation—is a sign of how far ecumenical relations have come. But the path to the commemoration has had its bumps, and the event is significant both for what it is and what it isn’t.

Sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation and the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden, the commemoration will consist of a prayer service in the Lutheran cathedral in Lund and an event at an arena in nearby Malmö. . . .

That the event will take place in Sweden, not Germany, is not a trivial matter. Historically, Sweden is an almost entirely Lutheran country and one without a tradition of sharp confessional conflicts. And holding the commemoration in 2016 distances it from the inevitably celebratory events on October 31, 2017.

What will be said and done during the prayer service and following event in Sweden? Swedish Lutherans have kept much of the Western tradition of liturgy and vestments, and the Lund cathedral has kept its medieval appearance, so both Catholic and Lutheran will find the setting comfortable. One difference will be evident, however; the primate of the Church of Sweden, the archbishop of Uppsala, Antje Jackelén, is a woman.

The service will based on the resource “Common Prayer,” created by the international dialogue group that produced From Conflict to Communion. “Common Prayer” emphasizes “thanksgiving, repentance, and common witness and service.” Just what is being repented of? And even more, for what exactly is each side giving thanks?

“Common Prayer” refers to “our mutual joy for the gifts received and rediscovered in various ways through the renewal and impulses of the Reformation.” The phrase “in various ways” leaves open a wide range of interpretation. Some conservative Catholics have already complained about the very notion of giving thanks for anything related to the Reformation.

While including elements of repentance and thanksgiving, “Common Prayer” puts greater emphasis on common witness. Ecumenical dialogues have brought out how much Lutherans and Catholics share in their understanding of the gospel. One can also expect an emphasis on the role of the church in a conflict-torn world. The event in Malmö might include a focus on the cooperation between the large service and aid organizations of the Vatican and the LWF.

Whatever the details, the sheer fact of a pope participating in a commemoration of the Reformation will be the headline event. It is a sign that even in a period when ecumenical hopes are modest, the fundamental affirmations of ecumenism are still in place.

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For confessional Lutherans, the church is already united, because it consists of everyone with saving faith. Institutional unity, on the other hand, must come from unity of doctrine.