For the first time since the Reformation, the Evangelical Church in Germany, which represents the vast majority of Protestants in that country, has invited Pope Francis to visit Germany to commemorate of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United Protestant regional churches and denominations in Germany, with some 24 million members. The federation’s Bishop Bedford-Strohm, in greeting Pope Francis said, “Our churches feel a special responsibility to develop ecumenism further, since the divisions started with us in Germany.”
The federation’s Bishop Bedford-Strohm, in greeting Pope Francis said, “Our churches feel a special responsibility to develop ecumenism further, since the divisions started with us in Germany.”
Notice that the Lutherans and other Protestants accept responsibility for the division in the church that the Reformation exposed. The truth is the division started with the unbiblical teachings and practices of Rome. The true followers of Christ do not cause division in the church. But they expose sin and false doctrine, which exposes the division that already exists. Neither the Lutherans nor the Catholics blame the Catholic Church for its unbiblical use of indulgences, which actually, in effect, promotes sin and divides the church between those that follow Christ and those that do not. In effect, it was the Catholic Church that persecuted the churches of Jesus that did not follow Rome’s teachings and caused the great split that eventually resulted in the Reformation. This has all been blamed on the Protestants.
“Pope Francis, you have struck a new chord of goodness and mercy for all people” and “as sisters and brothers in Christ we are grateful for the clear orientation you give,” said Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, the chairperson of the Council of the Evangelical Church (EKD).
Notice that the Bishop treats the pope as a higher authority, and places him where Jesus Christ should be, the true source of goodness and mercy.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference, accompanied the delegation. He underlined the historical significance of this invitation and expressed the fervent hope that the pope could respond to it. Pope Francis has already participated in a joint Catholic-Lutheran commemoration of the Reformation in Lund, Sweden, in October last year, but this invitation is even more significant.
Though he gave no clear answer during the audience, it is possible that Pope Francis will accept. He knows Germany, speaks German and is aware of the importance of the invitation. Greeting the German delegation in his private library, Francis sought to give new impetus to the effort toward Christian unity. “We have the same baptism: We must walk together, without growing tired,” he told the delegation. There is no going back on the road to unity he assured the delegation; Catholics and evangelicals must “continue to witness together to the Gospel and to continue on the road to full unity.”
“No going back” should be frightful, not reassuring. After all, Rome still teaches the doctrine of indulgences, penance, and other unbiblical teachings. For Lutherans and other Evangelicals to return to Rome is a forfeiture of what once was their present truth given to them by God.
The pope urged that the Evangelical churches and the Catholic Church should intensify the “theological dialogue and reinforcing collaboration between us.”
Bedford-Strohm recognized that progress has been made “in the spirit of reconciliation,” adding that the churches are working together “to seek the way forward to an even greater Eucharist fellowship.”
Annette Kurschus of the evangelical leadership highlighted the importance of “reconciled diversity” and emphasized that the ecumenical visit to Rome—“the global city of Catholicism”—on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation also has “significance” for the Protestant world on the journey to unity.
Bishop Bedford-Strohm took aim at certain political matters in the U.S. by adding that “some now aspire to wall in our humanity. A new populism in different countries glorifies its supporters’ own nation and excludes large groups of people.” He also said “in 2017 the Christian churches should raise their voices together worldwide in order to encourage our countries to show solidarity with refugees from terror and war and to distribute the burdens as broadly as possible.”
It is the unity between the churches on points of doctrine that they hold in common that leads to the establishment of Sunday laws and the persecution of those that do not accept or participate in them. See The Great Controversy, Page 445.
“And all the world wondered…” Revelation 13:3