The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Roman Catholic Church will jointly hold an ecumenical commemoration of the Reformation on 31 October 2016 in Lund, Sweden.

Locally co-hosted by the Church of Sweden and the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm, the event will highlight the solid ecumenical developments between Catholics and Lutherans and the joint gifts received through dialogue, particularly in anticipation of the 500th Reformation anniversary in 2017. It will be in two parts: a common prayer service in Lund Cathedral and a public event at the Malmö Arena.

The service in Lund Cathedral will follow the Common Prayer liturgical guide, which is based on the Lutheran-Catholic dialogue report From Conflict to Communion – Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017. Malmö Arena will be the stage for activities focusing on the commitment to common witness and service of Catholics and Lutherans in the world. Pope Francis, LWF President Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan and LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Martin Junge will lead the common prayer service and arena event in cooperation with leaders from Church of Sweden and the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm.

The Common Prayer for the Joint Ecumenical Commemoration is available in English,French, German, Spanish, and Dutch.

Milestones in 50 years of dialogue

The Lutheran – Catholic dialogue has yielded ecumenical milestone outcomes, of which most notably is the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, which was signed by the LWF and Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) in 1999. The JDDJ affirms the consensus in basic truths of the doctrine of justification.

The 2013 publication From Conflict to Communion is the first attempt by both dialogue partners to describe together at international level the history of the Reformation and its implications.

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