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Ecclesia Semper Reformanda
On the 10th Anniversary of the Signing of the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification"
On October 31 of this year, the Christian world marked the tenth anniversary of one of the most significant events in the history of the ecumenical movement. On this date, celebrated in the Protestant tradition as Reformation Day, representatives of the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation signed the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" in 1999. The "Great Wall of Justification Theology," which had divided Europe and, subsequently, the world, was symbolically dismantled.
This document represents the visible fruit of thirty years of painstaking collaboration between Catholic and Lutheran theologians. The authors concluded that the issue which had been the foundation of ecclesial division for centuries was, in fact, a point of unity. However, it took centuries for the Churches to recognize this truth, as they had long been deaf to its reality.
The anniversary of the Declaration's signing went completely unnoticed in Ukraine. Information about this milestone was mentioned only on a single Catholic website. Yet, the story behind the signing of this document holds valuable lessons for other participants in the ecumenical movement.
The History and Mythology of the Reformation
The beginning of the Reformation is traditionally traced to October 31, 1517. According to Lutheran tradition, it was on this day that Augustinian monk and Doctor of Theology Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses against the sale of indulgences to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. However, modern biographers of Luther question the historicity of this event.
For instance, German Catholic historian Erwin Iserloh, who headed the Catholic Ecumenical Institute at the University of Münster, noted that Luther never mentioned publicly posting his theses in any of his writings. Instead, based on Luther's own accounts, Iserloh argues that Luther sent letters with the theses to Archbishop Albrecht, under whose authority indulgences were being sold, and to the local ordinary, Bishop Jerome of Brandenburg. In these letters, Luther pleaded with the bishops to prohibit the sacrilegious sermons and practices of indulgence sellers.
The letter to Archbishop Albrecht, dated October 31, the "Vigil of All Saints," has survived. As Church historian Joseph Lortz writes, "The letter begins with a thoroughly Catholic statement that eloquently expresses the Christian teaching on metanoia and the striving for inner righteousness. Overall, these theses were received as a severe critique of the Church, even though they originated within the Church and were conceived by Luther as a serious attempt at reforming it." Initially, Luther had no intention of making these theses public.
The bishops did not respond to Luther but forwarded his letters to Johann Tetzel, who had been tasked with distributing indulgences. In December of that year, Tetzel published a response to Luther. This prompted Luther to send his theses to several theologians, who later convinced him to have them printed. Thus, Luther's public campaign against the abuses of the Catholic Church began in the winter of 1518.
Where, then, did the story originate that Luther nailed his theses to the door of the Wittenberg church? The first mention of this appears in the writings of Luther's close associate, Philipp Melanchthon, who was also the author of many of the Lutheran Church's symbolic books. In the preface to the posthumously published second volume of Luther's works, Melanchthon wrote, "Luther, fervently inspired by true piety, made public theses against indulgences... He nailed them to the church near Wittenberg Castle on the eve of All Saints' Day in 1517."
Today, historians generally agree that this statement was an offhand remark. It is not corroborated by other sources and, therefore, holds no documentary value.
The Doctrine of Justification: A Stumbling Block
The cornerstone of the Reformation was the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Martin Luther arrived at this teaching after a long and painful spiritual journey. He deeply wrestled with the concepts of God's justice and mercy, for a long time perceiving divine justice solely as the punishment of sinners. He asked himself, “Where will I find a merciful God?”
While preparing an academic course on the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Romans and Galatians, Luther discovered the liberating truth that God’s justice lies in justifying believers through faith in Jesus Christ. Forgiveness of sins, he realized, does not depend on human deeds. It is a free gift, unconditioned by works, because Christ has already borne the punishment deserved by humanity. No person can earn God’s mercy and grace through their actions. The only response required from individuals to God’s call is personal faith in the Savior, which itself is a gift of grace.
This revelation became the foundational doctrine of the Protestant world: salvation is found in Christ alone (solus Christus), by faith alone (sola fide), and solely by God’s grace (sola gratia). Eternal life is granted by God as a gift. Luther believed that the heart of the Reformation was the doctrine of justification by grace, which he considered even more foundational than sola fide – justification by faith alone.
It is important to note that Luther’s teaching on justification by faith followed the Augustinian tradition in theology. Saint Augustine had previously taught justification by faith in opposition to Pelagius, who argued for justification by works. Luther revived and emphasized this theological stance, which resonated widely due to the religious and secular conditions of his time. Other leading Protestant theologians of the Reformation’s early period, such as Zwingli and Calvin, shared Luther’s view on justification. All of them affirmed the weakness of humanity in sin and the sovereignty of God’s grace.
Calvin, building upon the doctrine of justification, later developed the doctrine of predestination, which also originated from Augustine’s teaching on justification by faith. Calvin saw salvation as entirely independent of human will—a sovereign act of God, who decides whom to justify and whom not to.
The principle of justification by faith, as developed by Luther and later by other Reformers, had far-reaching consequences for the life of the Church. By reducing the mystery of salvation to a personal spiritual experience, it annulled the spiritual significance of the entire sacramental system. The authority of Church teaching and tradition was also dismissed in favor of the principle of sola Scriptura – Scripture alone.
Thus, a completely new ecclesial reality emerged. Luther, who began as a reformer of the Church, inadvertently initiated the Reformation, leading to the creation of new church communities.
The Path to Reconciliation
The Second Vatican Council opened a new chapter in interdenominational relations, particularly in theology. The 1964 Decree on Ecumenism emphasized the unique relationship between the Catholic Church and the ecclesial communities that separated from the Roman Apostolic See, stating:
"The Churches and ecclesial Communities separated from the Roman Apostolic See either during that gravest upheaval which began in the West toward the end of the Middle Ages, or at later times, are joined with the Catholic Church in a very special affinity and fellowship owing to the long communion of the Christian people in past centuries" (§19).
Interdenominational dialogues have become a vital and ongoing aspect of the modern ecumenical movement. One such significant initiative was the doctrinal dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), proposed by the LWF in 1964. A joint working group was established in 1965 to structure the topics and methods of dialogue, with the doctrine of justification becoming the key focus.
Polish theologian and participant in the commission (1976–1984), Celestine Napiórkowski, wrote:
"The tragedy of divided Western Christianity began with the dispute over the justification of sinners, and no miracle of reunification will occur without prior genuine agreement on this issue."
The First Phase of Dialogue (1967–1972)
The first phase culminated in the document Gospel and Church, also known as the "Malta Report." It marked significant progress toward mutual understanding. Catholic theologians emphasized that God's gift of salvation for believers is unconditional (acknowledging sola gratia). Lutheran theologians, on the other hand, highlighted that justification is not limited to the individual forgiveness of sins but encompasses a broader renewal of the sinner—a departure from the earlier Lutheran doctrine of iustificatio mere forensis (merely forensic justification).
The Second Phase of Dialogue (1973–1984)
During the second phase, the Mixed Commission produced six more documents:
- The Lord's Supper (correspondence-based agreement, 1978, after a meeting in Paderborn);
- Ways to Communion (Augsburg, 1980);
- All Under One Christ (Augsburg, 1980, concerning the Augsburg Confession);
- Spiritual Ministry in the Church (Lantana, USA, 1981);
- Martin Luther – Witness of Jesus Christ (Kloster Kirchberg, FRG, 1983);
- Unity Ahead of Us: Models, Forms, and Stages of Lutheran-Catholic Church Communion (Rome, 1984).
In All Under One Christ (1980), the Commission stated:
"In the teaching on justification, which held particular significance for the reformers, a fundamental agreement emerges: by grace alone and through faith in the saving work of Christ—not because of our merits—we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts, calls us, and enables us to perform good works."
The document reflected advancements in understanding the causes, development, and implications of the Reformation. It concluded that the era of fundamental division and opposition had ended and that it was time to stand "shoulder to shoulder" in witnessing to the salvation of the world in Jesus Christ and proclaiming it as "a renewed offer of God’s grace."
Acknowledgment of Martin Luther (1983)
In 1983, on the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s birth, the Catholic-Lutheran Commission issued the joint statement Martin Luther – Witness of Jesus Christ. It noted:
"In our time [...] we recognize that his central reforming thesis on righteousness granted in Christ without our merits does not contradict genuine Catholic tradition and is found particularly in Augustine and Thomas Aquinas."
The statement also acknowledged that many of Luther’s principles—such as the primacy of Scripture, the priesthood of all baptized believers, the significance of freedom of conscience, and the introduction of vernacular languages into liturgical practice—were later reflected in the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
This recognition marked a significant step toward mutual understanding and respect, demonstrating how the fruits of Reformation thinking could harmonize with the Catholic Church’s evolving theology.
The Third and Fourth Phases of Dialogue: Toward the Joint Declaration
The third phase of the Catholic-Lutheran dialogue began in 1986 and concluded in 1993 with the signing of the document Church and Justification: Understanding the Church in Light of the Doctrine of Justification. Based on this document and the results of Catholic-Lutheran dialogues in Germany and the United States, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity developed a draft of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (the fourth phase of dialogue).
At the beginning of 1997, the leadership of the LWF distributed the draft Declaration to all its member churches. By May 1, 1998, all churches had submitted their feedback and comments, which were reviewed and processed by the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg. The plan was clear: if the LWF approved the Declaration and the Catholic Church did likewise, the document would be signed.
Based on the Institute’s findings, the LWF reached its decision. On June 16, 1998, after extensive discussions, the LWF unanimously approved the Joint Declaration. This decision was supported by responses from 89 churches, representing 95% of all Lutheran churches within the Federation. Among these, 80 churches accepted the Declaration, five rejected it, and the responses of four others were deemed too ambiguous to interpret.
The Vatican’s response, jointly prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, was issued on June 25, 1998.
Subsequently, the Declaration was supplemented with a brief annex, publicly presented on June 11, 1999. Finally, on October 31, 1999, the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification was signed in Augsburg. The choice of city, day, and month was highly symbolic: it was in Augsburg in 1530 that the Lutheran Augsburg Confession was presented at the Diet of Augsburg, an event considered by many historians and theologians as marking the formal beginning of the Lutheran Church.
In 2006, the Declaration was also signed by members of the World Methodist Council, further expanding its ecumenical significance.
Lessons from the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
The signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification—an event doubted by many experts until the very last moment—was hailed by Pope John Paul II as “an outstanding milestone on the arduous path toward the full unity of Christians.”
Not everyone shared this optimism. Significantly, on the eve of the Declaration’s signing, 240 Protestant theologians in Germany issued a sharp critique. In their statement, they argued that by signing the Declaration, Protestant representatives would, in essence, concede to the Catholic understanding of salvation. Debates continued even after the signing, but it became evident to all that “from the moment it was signed, relations between Catholics and Lutherans changed significantly” (as noted by Cardinal Walter Kasper in an interview with the German news agency KNA during the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Declaration in Rome).
Only time will tell what the Declaration truly means for the global Christian community, but even now, several practical lessons can be drawn from the process and its outcome.
- Dialogue over Polemics
The process of reaching consensus demonstrated that abandoning polemics creates the space to hear one’s dialogue partner. This is an essential prerequisite for initiating any meaningful dialogue. - Dialogue as a Tool for Unity
The negotiation process revealed how effective dialogue can be as a tool for building ecclesial unity. - Consensus Without Loss of Identity
The process showed that dialogue and the search for consensus do not necessarily lead to the loss of one’s identity. On the contrary, they can help Churches uncover a deeper sense of their identity, one that reveals their shared foundational principles. An example of this is the new interpretation of the doctrine of justification.
In conclusion, Russian scholar V. Nikitin provides an excellent summary of this idea:
“The document’s most significant formulation is as follows: ‘Together we confess that God accepts us and that we receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts, strengthens us, and calls us to good works—not because of our merits, but only through grace and faith in the saving work of Christ.’ If we distill the essence of this formulation, it could be stated as follows: ‘God calls us to good works only through faith.’ This phrase can be interpreted in both Catholic terms (salvation involves faith in God and good works) and Lutheran terms (salvation is through faith alone).”
This dual interpretability highlights how the Declaration serves as a bridge between traditions, fostering greater mutual understanding while preserving theological distinctions.
A lecture by Alexander Dobroyer, Director of the European Institute of Social Communications, on the topic of Protestant-Catholic dialogue, delivered at the meeting of the Odessa Theological Society on December 12, 2009.