Meetings between ILC and PCPCU continue

by | Sep 13, 2018

GERMANY – On September 17-22, 2018 the Informal Dialogue Group between the International Lutheran Council (ILC) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) will meet again. This time the gathering will take place on the premises of the Lutherische Kirchenmission (Lutheran Church Mission centre) in Bleckmar, Germany. The general topic of this informal dialogue is “The Presence of Divine Salvation in this World,” especially in the Church and its liturgy. This was stated at the beginning of the informal dialogue.

In Bleckmar, the conversations will center on the understanding of the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, the understanding of the presence of Christ’s sacrifice and the sacrifice of the Church, the co-operation between God and man in this regard, the office of the ministry, and the doctrine of justification.

Delegates on the ILC side are Rev. Dr. Albert Colver III (St. Louis, Missouri), Prof. Dr. Werner Klän (Lübeck, Germany), Prof. Dr. Roland Ziegler (Ft. Wayne, Indiana), Prof. Dr. Gerson Linden (São Leopoldo, Brazil), and Prof. Dr. John Stephenson (St. Catharines, Canada); for the topic of “time and simultaneousness”, Mr. Pavel Butakov has been co-opted. On the Roman Catholic side are Prof. Dr. Josef Freitag (Lantershofen, Germany), PD Dr. Burkhard Neumann (Paderborn, Germany), Father Dr. Augustinus Sander (Maria Laach, Germany), and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Thönissen (Paderborn, Germany).

The dialogue group will prepare a final report that is meant to be adopted in the course of next year. Then it will be submitted to the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Koch, and to the Executive Committee of the International Lutheran Council.

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By Mathew Block

Mathew Block is Communications Manager for the International Lutheran Council. He is also editor of The Canadian Lutheran magazine, and formerly served as Communications Manager for Lutheran Church–Canada.

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