ELCA NEWS SERVICE

February 11, 2004

Istanbul Trip Reaffirms Orthodox Commitments, Says ELCA Bishop
04-019-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The presiding bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said a recent trip to Istanbul,
Turkey, to meet with world leaders of the Orthodox Church,
reaffirmed the commitment of the Orthodox to "Christian community
and peace in the world" and their commitment to caring for the
environment.
     The Rev. Mark S. Hanson made the comment in an interview
with the ELCA News Service at the conclusion of a Jan. 25-31
visit to Istanbul.  The visit included meetings with leaders
within the Ecumenical Patriarchate, home of the international
leader of the Orthodox Church, His All Holiness Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew.
     Hanson led a 14-member joint ELCA-Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) delegation to Istanbul, both as ELCA presiding bishop and
as president of the LWF, based in Geneva, Switzerland.
     The Lutheran group was originally scheduled to visit
Orthodox leaders as part of the presiding bishop's March 2003
ecumenical journey, but postponed the Istanbul trip until 2004
because of security concerns related to the start of the U.S.-led
war with Iraq.
     The five-day visit included: an audience with Bartholomew,
at which the Lutherans and Bartholomew exchanged formal
greetings; a meeting with Orthodox ecumenical officials to
discuss Lutheran-Orthodox dialogues, Lutheran Church
relationships in the United States, ELCA full communion
relationships, and the ordination of women and people who are gay
and lesbian in committed relationships; a visit to an Orthodox
seminary on nearby Halki Island, closed 33 years ago by a
government order and which the church is hoping to reopen soon;
and participation in an Orthodox Divine Liturgy at which
Bartholomew presided.
     Scheduling conflicts prevented the Lutherans from meeting
with the Armenian Patriarch, His Beatitude Mesrob II.  Hanson
left him a written message noting that the Rev. Lowell G. Almen,
ELCA secretary, traveled to Armenia last year to participate in
the 1,700th anniversary of the Armenian Church.
     "For your untiring efforts as a servant of Christ, the
people of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America offer
prayers of gratitude," Hanson said in his message.
     The audience with Bartholomew reaffirmed for Hanson the
ecumenical patriarch's stature as a global leader, Hanson said.
     "With great grace he welcomed us, with gratitude he talked
about the deepening friendship, relationship and understanding we
have as Lutherans and Orthodox," he said.
     Now that he has met Bartholomew personally, Hanson said he
hopes to build on that relationship "so together we can become
articulate, global leaders of the Christian community at a very
tumultuous time for the world."
     Hanson said the visit gives the ELCA an opportunity to
"build bridges" with other Christians throughout the world.   Too
often, Christians in North America -- including Lutherans --
become "isolated" from the rest of the world, he said.
     "In a world so divided by hostility, for us to come and
stand in solidarity with this very small band of Christians in a
predominantly Muslim country also is our gift of solidarity to
the Orthodox who maintain this very important global presence.in
this vast country," Hanson said. "We both receive and give by
virtue of our presence."
      Lutherans in North America have been in a formal
theological dialogue with the Orthodox for nearly 30 years. There
has also been an international dialogue in progress for more than
20 years, said the Rev. Randall R. Lee, director, ELCA Department
for Ecumenical Affairs.
     "This relationship is very important because the Orthodox
community is not in dialogue with many others around the world,"
Lee said in an interview. "They are sending us a signal that we
take theology seriously, and therefore they are more than happy
to talk with us about the things that we share in common in
confessing the Christian faith."
     The ELCA is known internationally for its ecumenical work,
and, in particular, its full communion agreements with the
Episcopal Church, Moravian Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),
Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ.  The
Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul is well aware of those
developments, Lee said.
     "We get along so well because we share our common confession
of the creeds, particularly the Nicene Creed," Lee said.  "It is
our sharing in serious theological reflection that has many
touchstones that indicate ways in which we agree.  It goes back
to the earliest days of the Lutheran movement, when Martin Luther
and Philip Melanchthon were in contact with the Ecumenical
Patriarchate at that time, seeking to engage in conversation."
     This summer, the North American Lutheran-Orthodox dialogue
will complete its third round of meetings, he said.  At that time
the Lutherans and Orthodox hope to publish a common statement and
a guidebook to help members of both traditions learn more about
each other and encourage prayer together, Lee said.
     Accompanying Hanson, his wife, Ione, Almen and Lee on the
visit to Istabul were: the Rev. David E. Jensen, Ascension
Lutheran Church, Minocqua, Wis., and ELCA Church Council member;
Kathy J. Magnus, regional officer for North America, Lutheran
World Federation, Chicago; Arthur Norman, Spanish Fort, Ala.; the
Rev. Fred S. Opalinski, Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading, Pa.;
the  Rev. Karen S. Parker, assistant to the bishop, ELCA Pacifica
Synod, Yorba Linda, Calif.; the Rev. Paul A. Schreck, executive
assistant, ELCA Office of the Secretary, and associate for
bilateral dialogues, ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs,
Chicago.
     Representing the LWF were the Rev. Ishmael Noko, general
secretary; Karin Achtelstetter, director, Office for
Communication Services; and Archbishop Georg Kretschmar, co-
president, Lutheran/Orthodox Joint International Commission.
     Reporting on the trip were Achtelstetter and John R. Brooks,
director for news and media production, ELCA Department for
Communication.
-- -- --
     A video piece on the Lutherans' visit to Istanbul is at
http://www.elca.org/co/news/videos/video.index.html on the ELCA
Web site; photos from the trip are at
http://www.elca.org/co/news/image.index.html on the Web.

     Complete texts of Bishop's Hanson's formal statements to His
All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Beatitude
Mesrob II are at http://www.elca.org/bishop/messages.html on the
ELCA Web site.

     Information about Lutheran-Orthodox dialogues can be found
on the Department for Ecumenical Affairs home page at
http://www.elca.org/ea on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news