On behalf of the World Council of Churches, I send you greetings to mark this Reformation Day in 2024, which also marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification by the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church.
In this declaration you were able to overcome one of the central issues that led to the divisions between Protestants and Catholics at the time of the Reformation.
Lutherans and Catholics declared that a “consensus in basic truths of the doctrine of justification exists between Lutherans and Catholics” and that the doctrinal condemnations of the 16th century do not apply to the partners of today.
This was an inspiration to the entire Christian fellowship to work for the visible unity of all Christ’s followers.
Since you signed the joint declaration in 1999, it has been affirmed by the World Methodist Council, the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), and the Anglican Communion.
I remember how in the year of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the WCRC gathered in the historic town of Wittenberg, where Martin Luther lived and worked, to affirm the joint declaration, and to join with you in seeking to overcome the divisions of the past and to work with other Christian communions for unity and common witness. At that time, in 2017, as the President of the WCRC, I played a great role in initiating and signing the Wittenberg Witness to visibly mark Christian unity in Wittenberg where the Christian church was divided 500 years earlier. It was a remarkable event and witness.
On this Reformation Day we join with you in your affirmation in the joint declaration that it is God who forgives sin by grace and at the same time frees human beings from sin's enslaving power and imparts the gift of new life in Christ. May this Reformation celebration continue to inspire the vision and efforts for Christian unity as Jesus prayed for in John 17.
May this gift of new life in Christ accompany us all in our pilgrimage together for justice, reconciliation, and unity.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay
General Secretary
World Council of Churches