Catholic Evangelist

[Lu Rounsaville]

Theterm Evangelical Catholic (from catholic meaning universal and evangelical meaning Gospel-centered) is used in Lutheranism, alongside the terms Augsburg Catholic or Augustana Catholic, with those calling themselves Evangelical Catholic Lutherans or Lutherans of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship stressing the catholicity of historic Lutheranism in liturgy (such as the Mass), beliefs (such as the perpetual virginity of Mary), practices (such as genuflection), and doctrines (such as apostolic succession).[1][2] Evangelical Catholics teach that Lutheranism at its core "is deeply and fundamentally catholic".[3] The majority of Evangelical Catholic Lutheran clergy and parishes are members of mainstream Lutheran denominations.[1]

The Augsburg Confession found within the Book of Concord, a compendium of belief of the Lutheran churches, teaches that "the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church".[4] When the Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1530, they believed it "showed that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils".[4]

In Lutheranism, the term Evangelical Catholic or Augsburg Catholic has a specific meaning. Lutheran Protestantism differs historically from most other kinds of Protestantism in that Lutheranism is the only historical Protestant denomination that confesses belief in three sacraments: regeneration in Holy Baptism, Confession as the sacrament of Absolution, and the Real Presence of Christ in Holy Eucharist.[6][7] In Anglicanism and Methodism, two other Protestant traditions, there has also been a sacramentalism similar to that in orthodox Lutheranism, especially in the high church movement. The Book of Concord states, contrary to "Enthusiast" belief, that salvation can be received only through the means of grace: God's Word and sacraments.[8] The Augsburg Confession stresses that "in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Catholic Church."[8] Article XXIV of the Augsburg Confession "Of the Mass" states: "Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass; for the Mass is retained among us, and celebrated with the highest reverence." Some Lutheran church bodies claim to also have retained the historical episcopate and apostolic succession. The evangelical feature of Lutheranism is justification by faith, as defined by Law and Gospel and simul iustus et peccator. The term evangelical has a different origin and meaning in Lutheranism than in "Evangelicalism". (In German, there is a difference between evangelisch and evangelikal; in Swedish, there is a corresponding difference between evangelisk and evangelikal). In the Lutheran tradition, evangelical (evangelisch) refers to the gospel, with the specific meaning of "grace centered". The opposite of evangelical is not "catholic" or "liberal", but legalistic.[9]

The Lutheran Church traditionally sees itself as the "main trunk of the historical Christian Tree" founded by Christ and the Apostles, holding that during the Reformation, the Church of Rome fell away.[10][11]

In early Lutheranism, the Gnesio-Lutherans compiled the first modern critical history of the world, the Magdeburg Centuries, to show that the Lutheran Church was a continuation of the Christian church throughout its history, though stripped of abuses originating from the pope. Gnesio-Lutherans such as Joachim Westphal and Andreas Musculus had a "high" understanding of the sacraments, and therefore were strongly opposed to any compromise with Calvinism and Zwingliism, as well as with Roman Catholic doctrine. In the era of Lutheran orthodoxy, theologians Martin Chemnitz and Johann Gerhard (especially in his Confessio Catholica) made extensive use of patristic sources. They saw the continuity of the pre-Reformation church in Lutheranism, which they understood not as a re-formation of the church, but rather a renewal movement within and for the Christian church, from which the Roman church did truly represent.

There can only be one true visible Church. Of this our Catechism speaks in Question 192: "Whom do we call the true visible Church?" Answer: "The whole number of those who have, teach and confess the entire doctrine of the Word of God in all its purity, and among whom the Sacraments are duly administered according to Christ's institution." That there can be but one true visible Church, and that, therefore, one is not just as good as another stands to reason because there is only one truth, one Bible, one Word of God. Evidently that Church which teaches this truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, is the true visible Church. Christ says John 8, 31. 32: "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Again Christ says Matt. 28, 20: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." Whatsoever He has commanded us, His Word, and nothing else, we should teach. And again, all things which He has commanded us we should teach. That, therefore is the true visible Church which does this. But that all visible Churches do not this is plain from the fact that they do not agree among themselves. If every Church would teach the whole truth and nothing but the truth as God has revealed it, there could be no difference. So, then, by calling other denominations Churches, we do not mean to say that one Church is just as good as another. Only that one is the true visible Church which teaches and confesses the entire doctrine of the Word of God in all its purity, and in whose midst the Sacraments are duly administered according to Christ's institution. Of all Churches, this can only be said of our Lutheran Church.[11]

Evangelical Catholics of Lutheran churchmanship cherish the practice of Christian monasticism; after the Reformation, many monasteries and convents adopted the Lutheran faith and continued religious life, including lay oblates. Examples include monasteries such as Amelungsborn Abbey near Negenborn and Loccum Abbey in Rehburg-Loccum, as well as convents such as Ebstorf Abbey near the town of Uelzen and Bursfelde Abbey in Bursfelde.[12]

New religious orders were established by Lutherans throughout the centuries such as stanbck Monastery, a Benedictine community in Sala, Sweden and Saint Augustine's House, a monastery in Michigan. Mother Basilea Schlink established the charismatic Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary in Darmstadt, which contains the motherhouse where the Lutheran nuns reside. The Order of Lutheran Franciscans is a religious institute affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.[citation needed]

Lutherans had different views regarding religious imagery than Reformed Christians.[13][14] Martin Luther in Germany allowed and encouraged the display of religious imagery in churches, seeing the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a continuation of the "ancient, apostolic church".[14] Lutheran altarpieces like the Last Supper by the younger Cranach were produced in Germany, especially by Luther's friend Lucas Cranach, to replace Catholic ones, often containing portraits of leading reformers as the apostles or other protagonists, but retaining the traditional depiction of Jesus. As such, "Lutheran worship became a complex ritual choreography set in a richly furnished church interior."[15] Lutherans proudly employed the use of the crucifix as it highlighted their high view of the theology of the Cross.[14][16] Stories grew up of "indestructible" images of Luther that had survived fires by divine intervention.[17] Thus, for Lutherans, "the Reformation renewed rather than removed the religious image."[18] As such, "Lutheran places of worship contain images and sculptures not only of Christ but also of biblical and occasionally of other saints as well as prominent decorated pulpits due to the importance of preaching, stained glass, ornate furniture, magnificent examples of traditional and modern architecture, carved or otherwise embellished altar pieces, and liberal use of candles on the altar and elsewhere."[19]

Lutherans strongly defended their existing sacred art from a new wave of Reformed-on-Lutheran iconoclasm in the second half of the century, as Reformed rulers or city authorities attempted to impose their will on Lutheran populations in the "Second Reformation" of about 1560-1619.[14][20] Against the Reformed, Lutherans exclaimed: "You black Calvinist, you give permission to smash our pictures and hack our crosses; we are going to smash you and your Calvinist priests in return".[14] The Beeldenstorm, a large and very disorderly wave of Calvinist mob destruction of images and church fittings that spread through the Low Countries in the summer of 1566 was the largest outbreak of this sort, with drastic political repercussions.[21] This campaign of Reformed iconoclasm "provoked reactive riots by Lutheran mobs" in Germany and "antagonized the neighbouring Eastern Orthodox" in the Baltic region.[22]

Lutheran Mariology is informed by the Augsburg Confession and honours Mary as "the most blessed Mother of God, the most blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ," and "the Queen of Heaven."[23][24] The Smalcald Articles, a confession of faith of the Lutheran churches, affirm the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary.[25] Lutherans of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship tend to stress a continuity with these pre-Reformational beliefs that have been upheld by many Lutherans theologians since Martin Luther himself.[26][27] As a sign of reverence for and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Martin Luther advocated the use of the original version of the Hail Mary prayer before it was modified at the Roman Catholic Church's Council of Trent (that is, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.")[28] The 1522 Betbchlein (Prayer Book) retained the Ave Maria.[29]

3a8082e126