December 17, 2004

WINNIPEG, Canada/GENEVA, - Commemorating the fifth year of the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) in Winnipeg, Canada, was an occasion to express the significance of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic agreement for church life.

Participants in a festive Lutheran-Roman Catholic worship on November 14 in Winnipeg voiced their hope that such services could be held more often, and that eventually the two Christian communities would be able to celebrate the Eucharist together.

"The joint declaration has helped reconnect justification with Christian formation and prayer life," said National Bishop Raymond L. Schultz, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). He noted that the JDDJ "has created a more familiar and friendly environment" among Lutherans and Catholics in Canada.

At the ecumenical service under the international theme for the anniversary, "Justified ñ Freed for Life," more than 200 worshippers from churches in Winnipeg and surrounding areas came together to affirm the ecumenical agreement, and to pray for the full healing of divisions within the universal Church of Christ.

Representatives of the LWF and Roman Catholic Church signed the JDDJ on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany, declaring that a consensus has been reached in the Joint Declaration, and the condemnations from the 16th century Reformation to do not apply to the teaching presented in the JDDJ.

An ecumenical choir from various Lutheran congregations and Catholic parishes of the Winnipeg area led congregational singing. The service included an affirmation of baptism, intercessory prayers in English, French, German and Spanish, and excerpts from the JDDJ, which were read antiphonally by Lutherans and Catholics.

The fifth anniversary celebration continued the pattern of strong JDDJ involvement in Winnipeg. A joint Lutheran-Catholic group developed a study resource that was used by churches throughout North America, leading up to the signing in Augsburg. On that occasion, a joint worship celebration was also held in Winnipeg. Close ecumenical relationships in Canada were demonstrated during the LWF Tenth Assembly through the hospitality shown by local Catholic and Anglican churches in hosting the opening and closing eucharistic services and the daily morning worship. The ELCIC hosted the 21-31 July 2003 Assembly under the theme, "For the Healing of the World."

Lutheran World Information
Reported for LWI by Rev. Arthur Leichnitz.