ELCA NEWS SERVICE
November 2, 2006
ELCA Presiding Bishop, LWF President Preaches in Historic 'Black Church'
06-165-JB
BRASOV, Transylvania (ELCA) -- Preaching in a historic
Lutheran church here on Reformation Day, Oct. 31, was a "great
privilege" and "very moving" experience, said the Rev. Mark S.
Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF), as he concluded an eight-day visit to Hungary and Romania.
Hanson preached his Reformation Day sermon at the historic
"Black Church," so named because a fire in the city about 300
years ago left the exterior stone structure darkened. The church
building, one of the largest in Europe, took about 100 years to
build and was completed in the13th century -- predating the 16th
century Reformation. It is still in use today, as are many
church buildings in Transylvania that have existed for hundreds
of years.
The congregation of the Black Church is affiliated with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession, which
serves about 15,000 German-speaking Lutherans in Romania. The
church is headquartered in Sibiu/Hermannstadt and is headed by
the Rev. D. Cristoph Klein, who serves as bishop.
Many of the worshipers were members of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Romania, a 35,000-member church that serves
Hungarian-speaking Romanians. The Rev. Dezsoe Zoltan Adorjani is
bishop.
More than 600 people attended the Reformation Day service.
Klein and Adorjani participated in the service.
Hanson preached a sermon similar to one he delivered Oct. 29
at a Lutheran church in Pilis, Hungary. In both sermons, he said
that, in Jesus Christ, Christians are free but are not to do as
they wish.
"We are free to serve our neighbor. We are free to be
involved in civil society. We are free to live our faith in our
daily lives in our homes, in our workplaces, in our friendships,
in our struggles for justice and peace. The freedom we have in
Christ is for the sake of the other person, not for our own
sake," Hanson said, adding that freedom is God's gift to the
world given through Jesus Christ.
Hanson meets with local pastors
Before the Reformation Day service, Hanson met with some 40
pastors of the two Romanian churches, sharing his views about the
Lutheran church, the LWF and the ELCA.
Hanson told the pastors there are four characteristics that
make Lutherans unique:
+ Evangelical: Lutherans believe that through the gospel the Holy
Spirit brings people to faith and sends them into the world to
proclaim the gospel. The Lutheran churches in the world that are
growing are churches in which members are evangelists, Hanson
said.
+ Confessional: The Augsburg Confession provides the foundation
for Lutherans' identity.
+ Ecumenical: Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon, church
reformers whose writings formed the basis for Lutheranism, both
wanted to preserve the unity of the Western church. Diversity
makes Lutheranism richer and stronger, Hanson said.
+ Missional: The church does not exist to protect itself from the
world. "It exists to be God's instrument in the world," he said.
Hanson told the pastors that a key commitment of the LWF is
to "stand together with the poor and work for justice."
"Luther said God does not need our good works, but our
neighbors do," he said.
The pastors asked Hanson about relationships with Lutherans
who are not in the LWF, issues related to human sexuality, and
how other Christians and politicians view the LWF.
The largest Lutheran body that is not a member of the LWF is
the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), St. Louis, Mo. While
leaders of the ELCA, an LWF member, meet regularly with LCMS
leadership, there remain significant differences between the two
on the status of ecumenical agreements, ordination of women and
interpretation of Scripture, Hanson said.
The LWF has a task force on marriage, family and human
sexuality, and it is studying how various member churches are
addressing these issues, he said.
On the LWF and how it is perceived, Hanson noted that the
LWF is respected by leaders of the Vatican and the Orthodox
Church, with whom there are continuing LWF dialogues. As for
political leaders, Hanson noted that he often meets with top
government officials in the countries he visits as LWF president.
But in his own country, Hanson said, U.S. President George W.
Bush won't meet with him because he has criticized Bush,
particularly on the war in Iraq. Hanson said he has supported
Bush on other issues, such as Millennium Development Goals, and
has met with Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State, and when
she was Bush's National Security Advisor.
"To be religious leaders in a free society we must work with
political leaders for the common good, but we must challenge
leaders when we believe they are in error," he said.
German-speaking Lutherans in Romania face challenges
On the last day of his visit to Hungary and Romania, Hanson
visited Sibiu/Hermannstadt, where many public buildings are
undergoing renovation and restoration as the city prepares to
assume the title of "European Cultural Capital" in 2007. The
title is awarded to different cities throughout Europe to
encourage cultural development and tourism.
Klein told Hanson that the small church he leads is
struggling with its survival. Germans have a long history in
Transylvania stretching back several centuries. But many left
Transylvania immediately after the fall of the Communist regime
in 1989, Klein said.
No one saw the political changes coming until right before
the Communist government fell, he said, adding that the church
needed "strong faith" to sustain it through a difficult time.
---
Information about the Lutheran World Federation is at
http://www.lutheranworld.org on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
