Catholics and Lutherans

• Christian churches have many things in common, but many contradictions.

• Contradictions can lead to ambiguity and confusion.

• In its efforts to bring about unity, Christians recognize the need to do away with contradictions and conflict while maintaining the richness of their diversity.

The Ecumenical Movement

• Ecumenism is the movement toward unity among churches.

• 20^th century: churches of the Protestant Reformation realized that divisions within Christianity were hurting the mission of the church.

• 1910: the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, started the modern ecumenical movement.

• 1948: the World Council of Churches was formed.

• Almost all Christian churches agreed that divisions went against Jesus' desire for unity among his followers.

The Goal of Ecumenism

• At first, the Catholic Church refused to participate in the World Council of Churches (WCC).

• 1965: during the Second Vatican Council, the Church passed a Decree on Ecumenism and committed the Catholic Church to dialogue with other Christians.

• Now, the Catholic Church participates in all the WCC’s commissions, even though it is not a full member of the WCC.

Communion

• Ecumenism’s goal is to unite all Christians through dialogue.

• Two things bind all Christian churches together:

  1. Confession of Jesus Christ

  2. Baptism

• The biggest differences are in how the churches confess Jesus Christ, how they view Eucharist, baptism, and leadership in the Church.