Book Description:
Developments affecting the ecclesiological self understanding of Lutheran churches worldwide vary according to context. It was the goal of this study process to develop Lutheran theological reflection on the understanding of the church. Taking into account the actual contexts, this book reflects an effort to sharpen theological reflection on and the spiritual understanding of the church by taking up doctrinal considerations. On the one hand, there is the simple question if and what Lutheran churches can learn from the ecumenical ecclesiological expression: We believe ... in the one holy, catholic and apostolic church, which has been part of the truly ecumenical Creed of Nicaea that Lutheran churches share as their doctrinal and confessional basis. On the other, how do churches, past and present, realize in their life and theology their belief in the church as one holy, catholic and apostolic?
It is vital that the global communion of Lutheran churches pursue a common theological discussion on the understanding and realization of the one holy, catholic and apostolic church. Various challenges affect how churches conceive of themselves as being church, and a number of Lutheran churches find themselves in historical processes of transition.
In the global South, Lutheran churches, the products of the missionary activities of churches and mission organizations, try to define themselves as churches in their own right and not according to their origins in a European or North American church or mission society. In this respect, ecclesiological considerations are necessary, at least as part of a post colonial theology that is developing its own theology in light of its cultural, political, economic and religious contexts.
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