Protestant Christian Reformation Reaches 500-Year Milestone

The Vatican and the World Federation of Lutherans issued a joint statement on Tuesday marking the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, apologizing for acts of violence and committing to continue efforts to resolve their differences.

The statement reads: “We apologize for our failures and for the things we have done that have grieved the heart of our Lord, as well as for the accusations we have leveled against one another over these 500 years.”

The statement further adds: “At the same time, we commit ourselves to continue seeking, with the help of one another […] serious consensus to overcome fundamental differences.”

Relations between Catholics and Lutherans, who are a branch of Protestants, have indeed been marked by violence over the past several centuries. Martin Luther, a clergyman and theologian, published his famous “95 Theses” on October 31, 1517, which became the foundational text of the Protestant Reformation, and separated himself from the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis, leader of Catholics worldwide, joined hands with Protestant Christians last year at a ceremony marking the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation held in the city of Lund, Sweden—something that would have been unthinkable for centuries.

This is the first time that Lutheran Christians and Catholics have viewed the Protestant Reformation from a global perspective.

In the joint statement of the two major Christian denominations, it also states: “We acknowledge that the past cannot be changed, but the effect of the past on our present can be changed. It seems that the things that bind us together are far greater than the things that separate us.”

The aforementioned statement also notes, with reference to cases of married couples from two separate Christian denominations, each of whom wish to perform religious acts in their own church, that these two denominations are willing to continue interaction with one another.

Source: Euronews