Nov. 9, 2009 issue
Lutherans move toward reconciliation with Mennonites
Web exclusive: Extended version
By Celeste Kennel-Shank Mennonite Weekly ReviewThe Lutheran World Federation is moving toward seeking forgiveness for persecution of Anabaptists centuries ago and failing to acknowledge that history.
The Council approves the statement “Action on the Legacy of Lutheran Persecution of Anabaptists.” 22-27 October Council meeting at Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva. — Photo by H. Putsman Penet /LWF
The LWF’s council unanimously approved a statement Oct. 26 at its meeting near Geneva, Switzerland, asking forgiveness “from God and from our Mennonite brothers and sisters” for violently persecuting Anabaptists in 16th-century Europe.
The council recommended the statement for adoption at the 69-million-member body’s assembly in July 2010 in Stuttgart, Germany.
The statement also asks forgiveness “for forgetting or ignoring this persecution in the intervening centuries, and for all inappropriate, misleading and hurtful portraits of Anabaptists and Mennonites made by Lutheran authors, in both popular and scholarly forms, to the present day.”
Additionally, the global Lutheran body commits “to interpret the Lutheran Confessions in light of the jointly described history between Lutherans and Anabaptists,” including in the way those confessions are taught in seminaries and member churches.
The statement also names and affirms the body’s consensus as “repudiating the use of the state’s power either to exclude or enforce particular religious beliefs.”
Larry Miller, Mennonite World Conference general secretary, said the request for forgiveness would require changes by Mennonites also, according to Lutheran World Information service.
“Mennonites have learned from Lutherans that we are justified by faith alone, because we know that justification produces not only relations between oneself and God but also communion between the churches,” Miller told the news service.
The LWF statement is a product of the Lutheran-Mennonite International Study Commission, which presented a report, “Healing of Memories: Reconciling in Christ,” to the LWF council.
Officers of the 1.1-million-member MWC met Nov. 2-4 in St. Jacobs, Ont. They planned to consider how to respond to the LWF’s action and the study commission report.
Comments
-
The use of the word 'reconciliation' indicates there is something of a grudging nature on the part of the Mennonites that only recently has been troubling. At least in my many years as a Mennonite, I was not aware this was an issue needing to be resolved. Therefore the Lutherans are now expected to take action to remove that which is troubling. Are Anabaptists the only ones who were persecuted by Lutherans? Who is keeping records? Also, what about other Lutheran groups outside of LWF? Are Mennonites also seeking similar reconciliation with these groups?
Seeking acknowledgement from the Lutherans for something that happened several centuries ago seems a bit childish to me as well as making a mountain out of a mole hill. Did Menno Simons leave some forwarding communication as to the need for follow-up to resolve this?
I would have believed Mennonites would have learned something of immediate forgiveness extended to the family of the shooter from the Amish in the Pennsylvania school killings.
-
Martin Luther did call for Anabaptists to be killed on sight. He also made several statements calling for harsher treatment of Jews. He was not particularly friendly toward Catholics, either. In the intervening centuries, the Lutherans became an established church, whereas Mennonites never did.
Until the middle of this century, Mennonites in Germany had to pay taxes to support the Lutheran and/or Catholic Church, although Mennonites were not eligible for such subsides. To this day, only established churches such as Lutherans and Catholic are eligible for government funding in Germany, although Mennonites are no longer required to pay church taxes.
As late as the early twentieth century, Mennonites in Germany had to pay wedding fees, funeral fees, and a host of other banalities to have a member of Lutheran clergy officiate. This, despite the fact that Mennonites ran their own services and Lutheran clergy were rarely even present.
Another issue of difficulty between Mennonites and Lutherans has been differences on the role of government and military service. Prussian Mennonites experienced significant economic persecution since 1772, when Prussia made its first partition of Poland.
By 1871, all exemptions for military service were gone. Mennonite pastors and congregants who could not, of their own faith and conviction, join the military, were imprisoned by the Prussian state under the same Kulturkampf laws that were then used to persecute Catholics. One Lutheran playwrite in particular wrote a play called "Der Menonit" to chastise Mennonites for their stance against military service, accusing them of treason, betrayal, and cowardice.
In short, there is plenty to talk about in the intervening centuries. I agree with the idea that we place too great an emphasis on our first couple of decades in the Anabaptist movements.
Comment on the article Lutherans move toward reconciliation with Mennonites
The purpose of comments is to engage in dialogue. We expect commenters to treat authors and each other as each would want to be treated. Respectful criticism is welcomed; offensive comments or parts of comments will be removed by the site administrator. Name and comment will be posted; email address is for follow-up only and will not be made public.
Download
Download a free PDF showing the populations of
Mennonite groups and other Anabaptists.
